Vertical Profiles

The Vertical Profile Viewer is a feature of OceanGraph that allows you to visualize and compare vertical profiles of oceanographic data.

With this tool, you can:

• Upload one or more JSON files containing vertical profile data.
• Visualize temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, and supported optional BGC variables by depth; null stays missing, and charts connect two or more finite cells with straight lines.
• Add a brief note that is included in the downloaded ZIP file.
• Download profile charts and the note as a ZIP file.

Access and Limits

Vertical Profiles is available to signed-in users on desktop browsers only.

• Open Menu > Analysis Lab > Vertical Profiles in the live app.
• Upload up to 30 JSON files.
• If you upload a file with the same filename as an existing uploaded file, the previous file is replaced.
• Select or deselect uploaded files to control which profiles are shown in the charts.
• Use Clear All to remove uploaded files and clear the note.

The downloaded ZIP contains one PNG file for each chart type and note.txt. The draggable legend is available in the viewer only.

Supported JSON Format

Each JSON file must contain the following keys:

{
  "pressure": [ ... ],
  "potential_temperature": [ ... ],
  "absolute_salinity": [ ... ],
  "oxygen": [ ... ],
  "wmo_id": "2902447",
  "cycle_number": 17
}

• "pressure": array of numbers (required, must not be empty)
• "potential_temperature": array of numbers or nulls (required; if non-empty, same length as pressure)
• "absolute_salinity": array of numbers or nulls (required; if non-empty, same length as pressure)
• "oxygen": array of numbers or nulls — dissolved oxygen concentration (μmol/kg) (required; if non-empty, same length as pressure)
• "wmo_id": string or number (required, up to 20 characters after conversion to text)
• "cycle_number": number (required)

Optional BGC keys can also be included:

• "chlorophyll": array of numbers or nulls — chlorophyll-a (mg/m³) (same length as pressure, if present)
• "nitrate": array of numbers or nulls — nitrate (μmol/kg) (same length as pressure, if present)
• "bbp700": array of numbers or nulls — particulate backscattering at 700 nm (m⁻¹) (same length as pressure, if present)
• "ph": array of numbers or nulls — in-situ pH (same length as pressure, if present)
• "irradiance490": array of numbers or nulls — downwelling irradiance at 490 nm (W/m²/nm) (same length as pressure, if present). This key is accepted, but it is not displayed as a chart in the current interface.
• "par": array of numbers or nulls — photosynthetically available radiation (μmol/m²/s) (same length as pressure, if present)

Any additional keys will be ignored. Files that do not follow the required structure or fail validation will be skipped during upload.

Related Reading

For a beginner-friendly explanation of profile context, variables, quality information, and vertical structure, read How to Read Argo Float Data for Beginners in OceanGraph Articles.