Using SeaDataNet management system to preserve the XBT data-set of the Mediterranean Sea

A significant amount of Expendable Bathythermograph (XBT) data has been collected in the Mediterranean Sea since 1999 in the framework of operational oceanography activities. The management and storage of such a volume of data poses significant challenges and opportunities. The SeaDataNet project, a pan-European infrastructure for marine data diffusion, provides a convenient way to avoid dispersion of these temperature vertical profiles and to facilitate access to a wider public. The XBT data flow, along with the recent improvements in the quality check procedures and the consistence of the available historical data set are described. The main features of SeaDataNet services and the advantage of using this system for long-term data archiving are presented. Finally, focus on the Ligurian Sea is included in order to provide an example of the kind of information and final products devoted to different users can be easily derived from the SeaDataNet web portal.