RESEARCHERS RECOVER MARINE DATA FROM HISTORICAL LOGBOOKS

Aug. 20, 2004 — For centuries, mariners have kept detailed records of meteorological observations, because, at least until the advent of steam ships, weather was key to navigation. An international team, including NOAA officials, are incorporating many of those data, stored in logbooks dating back to the mid-1700s, into a database for climate research and to test the accuracy of automated observing systems. (Click image for larger view of Spanish logbook from the 1700s that lists various weather observations. Photo courtesy of the Universidad Complutense of Madrid.)

Scott Woodruff and Joe Elms of the NOAA Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C., are organizing an international meeting Aug. 23-24 in Asheville, about a proposed new sub-project for the international database, aiming to digitize additional European logbooks to enrich the currently data-sparse World War II period and eventually extend the climate record back to about 1700.

“It’s fascinating to read these logbooks, especially knowing what we know today about weather and climate,” said Scott Woodruff of the NOAA Climate Diagnostics Center in Boulder, Colo., one of NOAA’s representatives on the team. “Mariners recorded what they saw, but cannot have understood the immense scientific value to later generations of their efforts. Having this information accessible electronically will be of great value to researchers.”

In 1981, NOAA and the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, began a cooperative project called the Comprehensive Ocean-Atmosphere Data Set, or COADS, to look at historical marine observations. The first set of data covered 1854 to 1979 and included many international data. (Click image for larger view of Spanish fleet logbook from the 1700s. Click here for high resolution version, which is a large file. Photo courtesy of the Universidad Complutense of Madrid.)

In 2002, a new name was adopted in recognition of the multinational efforts and data contributions—the International COADS. Additional data from Japanese whalers, German merchant ships, Spanish sailors and Dutch mariners began to be added.

“We thought we might have an opportunity and resources through the NOAA Climate Database Modernization Project to make progress on this and make more data available to the scientific community through ICOADS,” Woodruff said.

The effort to transfer the information to a database was begun to not only catalogue the data but also to preserve it. Many logbooks have been lost because of fire or natural disasters, while others languish in public or private collections.

With some variations most of the logbooks, especially those in the mid-to-late 1700s, recorded the ship’s speed and the winds every few hours. Mariners also took note of weather and precipitation, the state of the sea and sky, thunder and lightning.

NOAA is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and providing environmental stewardship of the nation’s coastal and marine resources. NOAA is part of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Relevant Web Sites
NOAA Climatic Data Center

NOAA Climate Diagnostics Center

Climatological Database for the World's Oceans 1750-1850

Media Contact:
Jana Goldman, NOAA Research, (301) 713-2483 ext. 181