Return to the Data page1.1 Parameter/Measurement. This dataset consists of the Tahiti/Darwin Southern Oscillation Index (SOI), and the mean sea level pressure for both Tahiti and Darwin.
1.2 Unit of Measurement. The mean sea level pressure for both Tahiti and Darwin is measured in millibars x 10, and the SOI is dimensionless.
1.3 Data Source. This dataset was compiled from a variety of sources. Data for Tahiti covering the period 1875 to 1933 were taken at the hospital in Papeete and obtained from manuscript records held at the French Meteorological Service. Additional data for Tahiti covering the period between 1932 to 1934 were obtained from Reseau Mondial. Data for Darwin for the period after 1908 were obtained from the Commonwealth Bureau of Meteorology in Australia. Data for Darwin for the period 1876 to 1907 were obtained from reports by the Adelaide Observatory in South Australia, with overlapping data from the Smithsonian Institution and the Australian Bureau of Meteorology. Recently, additional data obtained from publications of the Adelaide Observatory held in the Northern Territory Branch of the Australian Archives were found that extends the coverage to the period 1865 to 1881. Data from Tahiti and Darwin were obtained from World Weather Records publications for the period after 1935.
1.4 Data Set Identification. The Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) data set consists of level III data and is referred to as the Climate Research Unit Southern Oscillation Index (CRU-SOI).
2. SPATIAL CHARACTERISTICS
2.1 Spatial Coverage. The CRU-SOI data cover the region of the South Pacific between Darwin, Australia (131 deg W., 12 deg S.) and Papeete, Tahiti (149 deg W, 17 deg S).
