XBT (eXpendable BathyThermographs) transect AX08, a component of the Tropical Atlantic Observing System, crosses the tropical Atlantic in a NW-SE direction between North America and South Africa. Historical data along AX08 and other historical temperature observations in the tropics exhibit decadal and multi-decadal signals. It has been hypothesized that this large time scale signal may cause atmospheric variability. Given the importance of the tropical Atlantic in climate variability, and the scarcity of observations in this region, data obtained from the measurements along this transect are key to improving our understanding of the ocean and our ability to forecast climate. Temperature profiles obtained from this transect will help to monitor the main zonal currents, countercurrents and undercurrents in the tropical Atlantic and to investigate their spatial and temporal variability.