OWC Release V3.1.0

New in release 3.1.0, Oct 2025, by @cabanesc, @apswong, @Anto79124, @delphinedobler , @dirkslawinski and @kamwal

1. Resolve some issues when no reference profile is found (modify calculate_piecewisefit.m; fixes issue #6)
2. Resolve an error in the find_10thetas.m when the search in the PTMP difference results in an array (modify find_10thetas.m; fixes issue #7)
3. Remove cal_COND and cal_COND_err from cal*.mat output (modify calculate_piecewisefit.m; fixes issue #9).
4. Secure noise.m function call in case of insufficient CTD data (modify update_salinity_mapping.m; fixes issue #12)
5. Improve the handling of split time series in graphical outputs (modify plot_diagnostics_ow.m; fixes issue #11) to output separate figures 6 and 8 per time series: ({wmo}_{6|8}split{n}.eps)
6. Facilitate some initialization steps (modify update_salinity_mapping.m, set_calseries.m, plot_diagnostics_ow.m and create create_la_wmo_boxes_file.m; see PR#14)
7. Improve execution performance of the mapping step (modify get_region_ow.m, retr_region_ow.m, map_data_grid.m and update_salinity_mapping.m; see #PR15)
8. Ensure theta levels consistency between calculation and plots in case of split time series and a few plot enhancements (modify calculate_piecewisefit.m and plt_diagnostics_ow.m; see PR#16).
9. Improve the output plots for newer Matlab versions (see PR#19), especially the legends in Figures 2 and 4. The compatibility with Matlab versions 2016b, 2017b, 2018b, 2020b, 2021b, 2023b and 2024b has been tested. This also fixes issue #17.
10. Introduce three new options in the call to plot_diagnostics_ow.m to :(i) goHeadless to disable interactive plotting (ii) appendRef to append a suffix to figure filenames and (iii) pltFileType to select the output format of the plots. Original behavior is kept as default. (see PR#20)
11. Add an example script to run bulk processing (see PR #21).

OWC version 3.0.0

New in release 3.0.0, Sept-Oct 2020, by Cecile and Annie

1. To resolve some legacy issues with the old OW variables:
   "scale_age" is renamed "scale_age_small";
   "scale_age_large" is set to NaN for the old OW mapped profiles.

2. "build_ptmp_xyt_cov.m" is now used in "calculate_piecewisefit.m" to compute the number of degrees of freedom (NDF) and the error estimates.

3. In "fit_cond.m", the condition related to the low NDF values (lines 278-281, NDF<13) which forces the fit to be an offset is removed. Instead, a warning is displayed to indicate that the fit may not be the "best one" when the NDF value is low.

4. In the configuration file, we suggest the default mapping length scales be set to 6/3, 3/1, based on Ninove et al (2016). There is also information on how to set the mapping scales for the subpolar North Atlantic. Lastly, we recommend the default "max_breaks" be set to = 3 as a first pass.

5. An error that occured when the number of prescribed breakpoints is equal to (max_breaks - 1) (e.g. 2 breakpoints are specified in set_calseries.m and max_break=3) was solved.

6. An error that occurred when there was no valid value on any of the 10 theta levels for the first few cycles of a float and when the proposed adjustment was linear or contained one or more breakpoints was solved.

OWC version 2.1.0

New in release 2.1.0:

The LMA.m function that implements a minimization algorithm is used by OWC in case the Matlab Optimization Toolbox is not available. Changes have been made to this function to ensure that it converges in the same way as the functions available in the Matlab Optimization Toolbox. Upgrading to this new version is then strongly recommended for those who do not have the Matlab Optimization Toolbox installed.

A problem related to the Matlab version (R2016b) has been fixed.

Changes have been made to accommodate the low salinity and small salinity range in the Black Sea.

OW version 2.0.1

New in release 2.0.1:

Minor fixes

OW version 2.0

New in release 2.0:

1. modifications proposed by Cabanes et al, DSRI 2016: the covariance function used to map reference salinity data at the float profile position was modified in order to minimize the contribution of the oldest reference data to the large scale field estimate. Mapping errors now includes errors in the large scale field estimates and fit error now takes into account the lateral dependence between climatological profiles.
2. two functions were optimized in order to speed up the mapping stage: changedates.m and get_region_ow.m.

OW version 1.1

OW software version 1.1 as decribed in Owens & Wong, DSRI, 2009