Summary
One of the sub-projects within the sea ice research programme carried out at SMHI deals with the thermodynamics of the sea and the ice. In these studies the sea surface temperature plays a fundamental r ole. During the latest years considerable efforts have been made in order to obtain more temperature observations, in particular from the open sea. Various vessels have been equipped with new instruments, the collection of observations improved, the sea surface temperature distribution analyzed every second day and all information stored in digital form.
The instruments are discribed and their specifications given in the report. Various observational methods are compared and examples of sea surface temperature analyses for the period July 1973 - July 1974 illustrating yearly variations, tendency to circulation patterns, coastal effects, up-welling etc. are given.