High-Resolution CTD Profiles from the Indian Ocean in 1987

111 oceanographic casts were collected by the R/V Charles Darwin over a one-month period from November 13 to December 16, 1987. The dataset contains high-resolution profiles of temperature, salinity, density, and other parameters processed into the NODC standard F022 format. Data was submitted by Dr. John Toole of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

Use Cases

• Analyzing vertical profiles of temperature and salinity to study water mass structure.
• Calculating density (sigma-t) from measured parameters to investigate ocean stratification.
• Examining time-series of ocean conditions from November to December 1987 for seasonal studies.
• Correlating station position, date, and time with environmental data like meteorological conditions.
• Using high-resolution depth/pressure interval data for fine-scale oceanographic process modeling.

Strengths

• Contains 111 distinct oceanographic casts, providing substantial spatial/temporal sampling.
• Data is processed to a standard high-resolution format (NODC F022) with potential 1-meter depth intervals.
• Includes metadata for each station: cruise information, position, date, time, and sampling interval.

Limitations

• Key structural details are unknown: total row count, specific column names, and exact file size.
• Conflicting 'last updated' dates exist between platforms (1987-12-16 vs. 2026 03-05), obscuring provenance timeline.
• License information is not provided, restricting clarity on reuse permissions.

Provenance

Source

Dr. John Toole, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, submitted to NODC/NOAA.

Collection Method

Collected using CTD/STD instruments deployed from the R/V Charles Darwin.

Time Range

1987-11 13 to 1987-12-16

Freshness

2026-03-05 22:36:31.921569

Geography

Indian Ocean (specific cruise track unknown)