High-Resolution CTD/STD Ocean Profiles from Gulf of Alaska Cruises

Gulf of Alaska and Boca de Quadra areas are covered by 190 oceanographic stations from two research cruises in 1983 and 1984. The dataset contains high-resolution vertical profiles of temperature, salinity, density, and possibly dissolved oxygen or transmissivity, processed to the NODC F022 standard. Data were collected using CTD and STD instruments, providing near-continuous measurements at depth intervals as fine as one meter.

Use Cases

• Analyzing water mass structure and variability based on temperature and salinity profiles.
• Calculating ocean density (sigma-t) for studies of stratification and mixing.
• Investigating dissolved oxygen distribution or water clarity (transmissivity) at specified depth levels.
• Correlating subsurface ocean conditions with reported surface meteorological data from the time of cast.

Strengths

• Contains data from 190 distinct oceanographic stations (125 in Gulf of Alaska, 65 in Boca de Quadra).
• Provides high-resolution vertical profiles with sampling potentially as fine as 1-meter intervals.
• Processed to a recognized standard format (NODC F022), ensuring consistency and interoperability.

Limitations

• Column names and exact data schema are not provided in the available metadata.
• Data is historical, with the most recent collection ending in November 1984.
• Conflicting 'last updated' metadata exists between platforms (1984 vs. 2026), suggesting potential provenance confusion.

Provenance

Source

University of Alaska, Institute of Marine Science (Drs. Royer and Burrell); processed by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC).

Collection Method

Collected via CTD (Conductivity-Temperature-Depth) and STD (Salinity-Temperature-Depth) instruments aboard R/V Alpha Helix (cruise HX65) and R/V Redoubt (cruise RT41).

Time Range

1983-10-14 to 1984-11-03

Freshness

2026-03-05 23:17:29.770944

Geography

Gulf of Alaska and Boca de Quadra area (North Pacific Ocean)