he Global ARMOR3D L4 Reprocessed dataset is obtained by combining satellite (Sea Level Anomalies, Geostrophic Surface Currents, Sea Surface Temperature) and in-situ (Temperature and Salinity profiles) observations through statistical methods. References : - ARMOR3D: Guinehut S., A.-L. Dhomps, G. Larnicol and P.-Y. Le Traon, 2012: High resolution 3D temperature and salinity fields derived from in situ and satellite observations. Ocean Sci., 8(5):845–857. - ARMOR3D: Guinehut S., P.-Y. Le Traon, G. Larnicol and S. Philipps, 2004: Combining Argo and remote-sensing data to estimate the ocean three-dimensional temperature fields - A first approach based on simulated observations. J. Mar. Sys., 46 (1-4), 85-98. - ARMOR3D: Mulet, S., M.-H. Rio, A. Mignot, S. Guinehut and R. Morrow, 2012: A new estimate of the global 3D geostrophic ocean circulation based on satellite data and in-situ measurements. Deep Sea Research Part II : Topical Studies in Oceanography, 77–80(0):70–81.

'''This product has been archived''' For operational and online products, please visit https://marine.copernicus.eu '''Short description:''' For the '''North Atlantic''' Ocean '''Satellite Observations''', Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML) is providing '''Bio-Geo_Chemical (BGC)''' products based on the ESA-CCI reflectance inputs. * Upstreams: SeaWiFS, MODIS, MERIS, VIIRS-SNPP, OLCI-S3A & OLCI-S3B for the '''""multi""''' products, and S3A & S3B only for the '''""olci""''' products. * Variables: Chlorophyll-a ('''CHL''') and Diffuse Attenuation ('''KD490'''). * Temporal resolutions: '''monthly'''. * Spatial resolutions: '''1 km''' (multi) or '''300 meters''' (olci). * Recent products are organized in datasets called Near Real Time ('''NRT''') and long time-series (from 1997) in datasets called Multi-Years ('''MY'''). To find these products in the catalogue, use the search keyword '''""ESA-CCI""'''. '''DOI (product) :''' https://doi.org/10.48670/moi-00287

'''DEFINITION''' Estimates of Ocean Heat Content (OHC) are obtained from integrated differences of the measured temperature and a climatology along a vertical profile in the ocean (von Schuckmann et al., 2018). The products used include three global reanalyses: GLORYS, C-GLORS, ORAS5 (GLOBAL_MULTIYEAR_PHY_ENS_001_031) and two in situ based reprocessed products: CORA5.2 (INSITU_GLO_PHY_TS_OA_MY_013_052) , ARMOR-3D (MULTIOBS_GLO_PHY_TSUV_3D_MYNRT_015_012). Additionally, the time series based on the method of von Schuckmann and Le Traon (2011) has been added. The regional OHC values are then averaged from 60°S-60°N aiming i) to obtain the mean OHC as expressed in Joules per meter square (J/m2) to monitor the large-scale variability and change. ii) to monitor the amount of energy in the form of heat stored in the ocean (i.e. the change of OHC in time), expressed in Watt per square meter (W/m2). Ocean heat content is one of the six Global Climate Indicators recommended by the World Meterological Organisation for Sustainable Development Goal 13 implementation (WMO, 2017). '''CONTEXT''' Knowing how much and where heat energy is stored and released in the ocean is essential for understanding the contemporary Earth system state, variability and change, as the ocean shapes our perspectives for the future (von Schuckmann et al., 2020). Variations in OHC can induce changes in ocean stratification, currents, sea ice and ice shelfs (IPCC, 2019; 2021); they set time scales and dominate Earth system adjustments to climate variability and change (Hansen et al., 2011); they are a key player in ocean-atmosphere interactions and sea level change (WCRP, 2018) and they can impact marine ecosystems and human livelihoods (IPCC, 2019). '''CMEMS KEY FINDINGS''' Since the year 2005, the upper (0-700m) near-global (60°S-60°N) ocean warms at a rate of 0.6 ± 0.1 W/m2. Note: The key findings will be updated annually in November, in line with OMI evolutions. '''DOI (product):''' https://doi.org/10.48670/moi-00234

'''This product has been archived''' "''DEFINITION''' Marine primary production corresponds to the amount of inorganic carbon which is converted into organic matter during the photosynthesis, and which feeds upper trophic layers. The daily primary production is estimated from satellite observations with the Antoine and Morel algorithm (1996). This algorithm modelized the potential growth in function of the light and temperature conditions, and with the chlorophyll concentration as a biomass index. The monthly area average is computed from monthly primary production weighted by the pixels size. The trend is computed from the deseasonalised time series (1998-2022), following the Vantrepotte and Mélin (2009) method. The trend estimate is not shown because the length of the time series does not allow to completely differentiate the climate trend to the natural variability of the primary production. More details are provided in the Ocean State Reports 4 (Cossarini et al. ,2020). '''CONTEXT''' Marine primary production is at the basis of the marine food web and produce about 50% of the oxygen we breath every year (Behrenfeld et al., 2001). Study primary production is of paramount importance as ocean health and fisheries are directly linked to the primary production (Pauly and Christensen, 1995, Fee et al., 2019). Changes in primary production can have consequences on biogeochemical cycles, and specially on the carbon cycle, and impact the biological carbon pump intensity, and therefore climate (Chavez et al., 2011). Despite its importance for climate and socio-economics resources, primary production measurements are scarce and do not allow a deep investigation of the primary production evolution over decades. Satellites observations and modelling can fill this gap. However, depending of their parametrisation, models can predict an increase or a decrease in primary production by the end of the century (Laufkötter et al., 2015). Primary production from satellite observations presents therefore the advantage to dispose an archive of more than two decades of global data. This archive can be assimilated in models, in addition to direct environmental analysis, to minimise models uncertainties (Gregg and Rousseaux, 2019). In the Ocean State Reports 4, primary production estimate from satellite and from modelling are compared at the scale of the Mediterranean Sea. This demonstrates the ability of such a comparison to deeply investigate physical and biogeochemical processes associated to the primary production evolution (Cossarini et al., 2020) '''CMEMS KEY FINDINGS''' Global primary production does not show specific trend and remain relatively constant over the archive 1998-2022. The temporal variability of the primary production appears to be mainly driven by the seasonal variation. However, some specific inter-annual event may induce noticeable increase or decrease in primary production, as for example in the second part of 2011. '''DOI (product):''' https://doi.org/10.48670/moi-00225

'''DEFINITION''' The Mediterranean water mass formation rates are evaluated in 4 areas as defined in the Ocean State Report issue 2 (OSR2, von Schuckmann et al., 2018) section 3.4 (Simoncelli and Pinardi, 2018): (1) the Gulf of Lions for the Western Mediterranean Deep Waters (WMDW); (2) the Southern Adriatic Sea Pit for the Eastern Mediterranean Deep Waters (EMDW); (3) the Cretan Sea for Cretan Intermediate Waters (CIW) and Cretan Deep Waters (CDW); (4) the Rhodes Gyre, the area of formation of the so-called Levantine Intermediate Waters (LIW) and Levantine Deep Waters (LDW). Annual water mass formation rates have been computed using daily mixed layer depth estimates (density criteria Δσ = 0.01 kg/m3, 10 m reference level) considering the annual maximum volume of water above mixed layer depth with potential density within or higher the specific thresholds specified in Table 1 then divided by seconds per year. Annual mean values are provided using the Mediterranean 1/24o eddy resolving reanalysis (Escudier et al. 2020, 2021). Time spans from 1987 to the year preceding the current one [-1Y], operationally extended yearly. '''CONTEXT''' The formation of intermediate and deep water masses is one of the most important processes occurring in the Mediterranean Sea, being a component of its general overturning circulation. This circulation varies at interannual and multidecadal time scales and it is composed of an upper zonal cell (Zonal Overturning Circulation) and two main meridional cells in the western and eastern Mediterranean (Pinardi and Masetti 2000). The objective is to monitor the main water mass formation events using the eddy resolving Mediterranean Sea Reanalysis (MEDSEA_MULTIYEAR_PHY_006_004, Escudier et al. 2020, 2021) and considering Pinardi et al. (2015) and Simoncelli and Pinardi (2018) as references for the methodology. The Mediterranean Sea Reanalysis can reproduce both Eastern Mediterranean Transient and Western Mediterranean Transition phenomena and catches the principal water mass formation events reported in the literature. This will permit constant monitoring of the open ocean deep convection process in the Mediterranean Sea and a better understanding of the multiple drivers of the general overturning circulation at interannual and multidecadal time scales. Deep and intermediate water formation events reveal themselves by a deep mixed layer depth distribution in four Mediterranean areas: Gulf of Lions, Southern Adriatic Sea Pit, Cretan Sea and Rhodes Gyre. '''KEY FINDINGS''' The Western Mediterranean Deep Water (WMDW) formation events in the Gulf of Lion appear to be larger after 1999 consistently with Schroeder et al. (2006, 2008) related to the Eastern Mediterranean Transient event. This modification of WMDW after 2005 has been called Western Mediterranean Transition. WMDW formation events are consistent with Somot et al. (2016) and the event in 2009 is also reported in Houpert et al. (2016). The Eastern Mediterranean Deep Water (EMDW) formation in the Southern Adriatic Pit region displays a period of water mass formation between 1988 and 1993, in agreement with Pinardi et al. (2015), in 1996, 1999 and 2000 as documented by Manca et al. (2002). Weak deep water formation in winter 2006 is confirmed by observations in Vilibić and Šantić (2008). An intense deep water formation event is detected in 2012-2013 (Gačić et al., 2014). Last years are characterized by large events starting from 2017 (Mihanovic et al., 2021). Cretan Intermediate Water formation rates present larger peaks between 1989 and 1993 with the ones in 1992 and 1993 composing the Eastern Mediterranean Transient phenomena. The Cretan Deep Water formed in 1992 and 1993 is characterized by the highest densities of the entire period in accordance with Velaoras et al. (2014). The Levantine Deep Water formation rate in the Rhode Gyre region presents the largest values between 1992 and 1993 in agreement with Kontoyiannis et al. (1999). '''DOI (product):''' https://doi.org/10.48670/mds-00318

'''DEFINITION''' Variations of the Mediterranean Outflow Water at 1000 m depth are monitored through area-averaged salinity anomalies in specifically defined boxes. The salinity data are extracted from several CMEMS products and averaged in the corresponding monitoring domain: * IBI-MYP: IBI_MULTIYEAR_PHY_005_002 * IBI-NRT: IBI_ANALYSISFORECAST_PHYS_005_001 * GLO-MYP: GLOBAL_REANALYSIS_PHY_001_030 * CORA: INSITU_GLO_TS_REP_OBSERVATIONS_013_002_b * ARMOR: MULTIOBS_GLO_PHY_TSUV_3D_MYNRT_015_012 The anomalies of salinity have been computed relative to the monthly climatology obtained from IBI-MYP. Outcomes from diverse products are combined to deliver a unique multi-product result. Multi-year products (IBI-MYP, GLO,MYP, CORA, and ARMOR) are used to show an ensemble mean and the standard deviation of members in the covered period. The IBI-NRT short-range product is not included in the ensemble, but used to provide the deterministic analysis of salinity anomalies in the most recent year. '''CONTEXT''' The Mediterranean Outflow Water is a saline and warm water mass generated from the mixing processes of the North Atlantic Central Water and the Mediterranean waters overflowing the Gibraltar sill (Daniault et al., 1994). The resulting water mass is accumulated in an area west of the Iberian Peninsula (Daniault et al., 1994) and spreads into the North Atlantic following advective pathways (Holliday et al. 2003; Lozier and Stewart 2008, de Pascual-Collar et al., 2019). The importance of the heat and salt transport promoted by the Mediterranean Outflow Water flow has implications beyond the boundaries of the Iberia-Biscay-Ireland domain (Reid 1979, Paillet et al. 1998, van Aken 2000). For example, (i) it contributes substantially to the salinity of the Norwegian Current (Reid 1979), (ii) the mixing processes with the Labrador Sea Water promotes a salt transport into the inner North Atlantic (Talley and MacCartney, 1982; van Aken, 2000), and (iii) the deep anti-cyclonic Meddies developed in the African slope is a cause of the large-scale westward penetration of Mediterranean salt (Iorga and Lozier, 1999). Several studies have demonstrated that the core of Mediterranean Outflow Water is affected by inter-annual variability. This variability is mainly caused by a shift of the MOW dominant northward-westward pathways (Bozec et al. 2011), it is correlated with the North Atlantic Oscillation (Bozec et al. 2011) and leads to the displacement of the boundaries of the water core (de Pascual-Collar et al., 2019). The variability of the advective pathways of MOW is an oceanographic process that conditions the destination of the Mediterranean salt transport in the North Atlantic. Therefore, monitoring the Mediterranean Outflow Water variability becomes decisive to have a proper understanding of the climate system and its evolution (e.g. Bozec et al. 2011, Pascual-Collar et al. 2019). The CMEMS IBI-OMI_WMHE_mow product is aimed to monitor the inter-annual variability of the Mediterranean Outflow Water in the North Atlantic. The objective is the establishment of a long-term monitoring program to observe the variability and trends of the Mediterranean water mass in the IBI regional seas. To do that, the salinity anomaly is monitored in key areas selected to represent the main reservoir and the three main advective spreading pathways. More details and a full scientific evaluation can be found in the CMEMS Ocean State report Pascual et al., 2018 and de Pascual-Collar et al. 2019. '''CMEMS KEY FINDINGS''' The absence of long-term trends in the monitoring domain Reservoir (b) suggests the steadiness of water mass properties involved on the formation of Mediterranean Outflow Water. Results obtained in monitoring box North (c) present an alternance of periods with positive and negative anomalies. The last negative period started in 2016 reaching up to the present. Such negative events are linked to the decrease of the northward pathway of Mediterranean Outflow Water (Bozec et al., 2011), which appears to return to steady conditions in 2020 and 2021. Results for box West (d) reveal a cycle of negative (2015-2017) and positive (2017 up to the present) anomalies. The positive anomalies of salinity in this region are correlated with an increase of the westward transport of salinity into the inner North Atlantic (de Pascual-Collar et al., 2019), which appear to be maintained for years 2020-2021. Results in monitoring boxes North and West are consistent with independent studies (Bozec et al., 2011; and de Pascual-Collar et al., 2019), suggesting a westward displacement of Mediterranean Outflow Water and the consequent contraction of the northern boundary. Note: The key findings will be updated annually in November, in line with OMI evolutions. '''DOI (product):''' https://doi.org/10.48670/moi-00258

'''This product has been archived''' For operationnal and online products, please visit https://marine.copernicus.eu '''DEFINITION''' This product includes the Mediterranean Sea satellite chlorophyll trend map from 1997 to 2020 based on regional chlorophyll reprocessed (REP) product as distributed by CMEMS OC-TAC. This dataset, derived from multi-sensor (SeaStar-SeaWiFS, AQUA-MODIS, NOAA20-VIIRS, NPP-VIIRS, Envisat-MERIS and Sentinel3A-OLCI) (at 1 km resolution) Rrs spectra produced by CNR using an in-house processing chain, is obtained by means of the Mediterranean Ocean Colour regional algorithms: an updated version of the MedOC4 (Case 1 (off-shore) waters, Volpe et al., 2019, with new coefficients) and AD4 (Case 2 (coastal) waters, Berthon and Zibordi, 2004). The processing chain and the techniques used for algorithms merging are detailed in Colella et al. (2021). The trend map is obtained by applying Colella et al. (2016) methodology, where the Mann-Kendall test (Mann, 1945; Kendall, 1975) and Sens’s method (Sen, 1968) are applied on deseasonalized monthly time series, as obtained from the X-11 technique (see e. g. Pezzulli et al. 2005), to estimate, trend magnitude and its significance. The trend is expressed in % per year that represents the relative changes (i.e., percentage) corresponding to the dimensional trend [mg m-3 y-1] with respect to the reference climatology (1997-2014). Only significant trends (p < 0.05) are included. '''CONTEXT''' Phytoplankton are key actors in the carbon cycle and, as such, recognised as an Essential Climate Variable (ECV). Chlorophyll concentration - as a proxy for phytoplankton - respond rapidly to changes in environmental conditions, such as light, temperature, nutrients and mixing (Colella et al. 2016). The character of the response depends on the nature of the change drivers, and ranges from seasonal cycles to decadal oscillations (Basterretxea et al. 2018). The Mediterranean Sea is an oligotrophic basin, where chlorophyll concentration decreases following a specific gradient from West to East (Colella et al. 2016). The highest concentrations are observed in coastal areas and at the river mouths, where the anthropogenic pressure and nutrient loads impact on the eutrophication regimes (Colella et al. 2016). The the use of long-term time series of consistent, well-calibrated, climate-quality data record is crucial for detecting eutrophication. Furthermore, chlorophyll analysis also demands the use of robust statistical temporal decomposition techniques, in order to separate the long-term signal from the seasonal component of the time series. '''CMEMS KEY FINDINGS''' Chlorophyll trend in the Mediterranean Sea, for the period 1997-2020, is negative over most of the basin. Positive trend areas are visible only in the southern part of the western Mediterranean basin, in the Gulf of Lion, Rhode Gyre and partially along the Croatian coast of the Adriatic Sea. On average the trend in the Mediterranean Sea is about -0.5% per year. Nevertheless, as shown by Salgado-Hernanz et al. (2019) in their analysis (related to 1998-2014 satellite observations), there is not a clear difference between western and eastern basins of the Mediterranean Sea. In the Ligurian Sea, the trend switch to negative values, differing from the positive regime observed in the trend maps of both Colella et al. (2016) and Salgado-Hernanz et al. (2019), referred, respectively, to 1998-2009 and 1998-2014 time period, respectively. The waters offshore the Po River mouth show weak negative trend values, partially differing from the markable negative regime observed in the 1998-2009 period (Colella et al., 2016), and definitely moving from the positive trend observed by Salgado-Hernanz et al. (2019). Note: The key findings will be updated annually in November, in line with OMI evolutions. '''DOI (product):''' https://doi.org/10.48670/moi-00260

'''Short description: ''' For the Global Ocean - In-situ observation yearly delivery in delayed mode of Ocean surface currents. '''Detailed description: ''' The In Situ delayed mode product designed for reanalysis purposes integrates the best available version of in situ data for Ocean surface currents. The data are collected from the Surface Drifter Data Assembly Centre (SD-DAC at NOAA AOML) completed by European data provided by EUROGOOS regional systems and national systems by the regional INS TAC components. All surface drifters data have been processed to check for drogue loss. Drogued and undrogued drifting buoy surface ocean currents are provided with a drogue presence flag as well as a wind slippage correction for undrogued buoy. '''Processing information: ''' From the near real time INS TAC product validated on a daily and weekly basis for forecasting purposes, and from the SD-DAC quality controlled dataset a scientifically validated product is created . It s a """"reference product"""" updated on a yearly basis. This product has been processed using a method that checks for drogue loss. Altimeter and wind data have been used to extract the direct wind slippage from the total drifting buoy velocities. The obtained wind slippage values have then been analyzed to identify probable undrogued data among the drifting buoy velocities dataset. A simple procedure has then been applied to produce an updated dataset including a drogue presence flag as well as a wind slippage correction. '''Suitability, Expected type of users / uses: ''' The product is designed to be assimilated into or for validation purposes of operational models operated by ocean forecasting centers for reanalysis purposes or for research community. These users need data aggregated and quality controlled in a reliable and documented manner.

'''This product has been archived''' For operationnal and online products, please visit https://marine.copernicus.eu '''Short description:''' The Global Ocean Satellite monitoring and marine ecosystem study group (GOS) of the Italian National Research Council (CNR), in Rome operationally distributes Remote Sensing Reflectances (Rrs) and diffuse attenuation coefficient of light at 490 nm (kd490) data. These datasets derived from Rrs multi-sensor (MODIS-AQUA, NOAA20-VIIRS, NPP-VIIRS, Sentinel3A-OLCI) spectra at the state-of-the-art algorithms for multi-sensor merging. Single sensor Rrs fields are band-shifted, over the SeaWiFS native bands (using the QAAv6 model, Lee et al., 2002) and merged with a technique aimed at smoothing the differences among different sensors. Reprocessed (multi-year) products are consistent and homogeneous in terms of format, algorithms and processing software. Rrs is defined as the ratio of upwelling radiance and downwelling irradiance at any wavelength (412, 443, 490, 555, and 670 nm). Kd490 is defined as the diffuse attenuation coefficient of light at 490 nm, and is a measure of the turbidity of the water column, i.e., how visible light in the blue-green region of the spectrum penetrates within the water column. It is directly related to the presence of scattering particles in the water column and is estimated through the ratio between Rrs at 490 and 555 nm. Kd490 is achieved via Mediterranean regional algorithm developed by GOS on the basis of MedBiOp in situ dataset (Volpe et al., 2019). The current day data temporal consistency is evaluated as Quality Index (QI): QI=(CurrentDataPixel-ClimatologyDataPixel)/STDDataPixel where QI is the difference between current data and the relevant climatological field as a signed multiple of climatological standard deviations (STDDataPixel). Inherent Optical Properties (aph443, adg443 and bbp443 at 443nm) are derived via QAAv6 model. '''Processing information:''' Multi-sensor product is constituted by MODIS-AQUA, NOAA20-VIIRS, NPP-VIIRS and Sentinel3A-OLCI. For consistency with NASA L2 dataset, BRDF correction was applied to Sentinel3A-OLCI prior to band shifting and multi sensor merging. Single sensor NASA Level-2 data are destriped and then all Level-2 data are remapped at 1 km spatial resolution using cylindrical equirectangular projection. Afterwards, single sensor Rrs fields are band-shifted, over the SeaWiFS native bands (using the QAAv6 model, Lee et al., 2002) and merged with a technique aimed at smoothing the differences among different sensors. This technique is developed by The Global Ocean Satellite monitoring and marine ecosystem study group (GOS) of the Italian National Research Council (CNR, Rome). Then geophysical fields (i.e. chlorophyll and kd490, bbp, aph and adg) are estimated via state-of-the-art algorithms for better product quality. The entire data set is consistent and processed in one-shot mode (with an unique software version and identical configurations). '''Description of observation methods/instruments:''' Ocean colour technique exploits the emerging electromagnetic radiation from the sea surface in different wavelengths. The spectral variability of this signal defines the so-called ocean colour which is affected by the presence of phytoplankton. '''Quality / Accuracy / Calibration information:''' A detailed description of the calibration and validation activities performed over this product can be found on the CMEMS web portal. '''Suitability, Expected type of users / uses:''' This product is meant for use for educational purposes and for the managing of the marine safety, marine resources, marine and coastal environment and for climate and seasonal studies. '''Dataset names:''' * dataset-oc-med-opt-multi-l3-rrs412_1km_daily-rep-v02 * dataset-oc-med-opt-multi-l3-rrs443_1km_daily-rep-v02 * dataset-oc-med-opt-multi-l3-rrs490_1km_daily-rep-v02 * dataset-oc-med-opt-multi-l3-rrs510_1km_daily-rep-v02 * dataset-oc-med-opt-multi-l3-rrs555_1km_daily-rep-v02 * dataset-oc-med-opt-multi-l3-rrs670_1km_daily-rep-v02 * dataset-oc-med-opt-multi-l3-kd490_1km_daily-rep-v02 * dataset-oc-med-opt-multi-l3-bbp443_1km_daily-rep-v02 * dataset-oc-med-opt-multi-l3-adg443_1km_daily-rep-v02 * dataset-oc-med-opt-multi-l3-aph443_1km_daily-rep-v02 '''Files format:''' *CF-1.4 *INSPIRE compliant '''DOI (product) :''' https://doi.org/10.48670/moi-00116

'''This product has been archived'''                For operationnal and online products, please visit https://marine.copernicus.eu '''DEFINITION''' The indicator of the Kuroshio extension phase variations is based on the standardized high frequency altimeter Eddy Kinetic Energy (EKE) averaged in the area 142-149°E and 32-37°N and computed from the DUACS (https://duacs.cls.fr) delayed-time (reprocessed version DT-2021, CMEMS SEALEVEL_GLO_PHY_L4_MY_008_047) and near real-time (CMEMS SEALEVEL_GLO_PHY_L4_NRT_OBSERVATIONS_008_046) altimeter sea level gridded products. The change in the reprocessed version (previously DT-2018) and the extension of the mean value of the EKE (now 27 years, previously 20 years) induce some slight changes not impacting the general variability of the Kuroshio extension (correlation coefficient of 0.988 for the total period, 0.994 for the delayed time period only). '''CONTEXT''' The long-term mean and trends alone do not give a complete view of the likely changes in position of unstable western boundary current extensions (Kelly et al., 2010). The Kuroshio Extension is an eastward-flowing current in the subtropical western North Pacific after the Kuroshio separates from the coast of Japan at 35°N, 140°E. Being the extension of a wind-driven western boundary current, the Kuroshio Extension is characterized by a strong variability and is rich in large-amplitude meanders and energetic eddies (Niiler et al., 2003; Qiu, 2003, 2002). The Kuroshio Extension region has the largest sea surface height variability on sub-annual and decadal time scales in the extratropical North Pacific Ocean (Jayne et al., 2009; Qiu and Chen, 2010, 2005). Prediction and monitoring of the path of the Kuroshio are of huge importance for local economies as the position of the Kuroshio extension strongly determines the regions where phytoplankton and hence fish are located. '''CMEMS KEY FINDINGS''' The different states of the Kuroshio extension phase have been presented and validated by Bessières et al. (2013) and further reported by Drévillon et al. (2018) in the Copernicus Ocean State Report #2. Two rather different states of the Kuroshio extension are observed: an ‘elongated state’ (also called ‘strong state’) corresponding to a narrow strong steady jet, and a ‘contracted state’ (also called ‘weak state’) in which the jet is weaker and more unsteady, spreading on a wider latitudinal band. When the Kuroshio Extension jet is in a contracted (elongated) state, the upstream Kuroshio Extension path tends to become more (less) variable and regional eddy kinetic energy level tends to be higher (lower). In between these two opposite phases, the Kuroshio extension jet has many intermediate states of transition and presents either progressively weakening or strengthening trends. In 2018, the indicator reveals an elongated state followed by a weakening neutral phase since then. '''DOI (product):''' https://doi.org/10.48670/moi-00222