Historical North Atlantic Ocean Temperature Profiles from German Research Vessels

North Atlantic Ocean data from German research vessels GAUSS and METEOR, covering 1959 and 1967-1973. The dataset contains oceanographic station data, surface observations, and mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) profiles processed to the NODC C128 standard. It was submitted by D. Kohnke of the DOD and processed by the National Oceanographic Data Center.

Use Cases

• Analyzing temperature-depth profiles at 5-meter intervals to study upper ocean thermal structure.
• Mapping historical sea surface temperature observations from specific cruise stations.
• Correlating cruise information, date, position, and time with temperature data for spatiotemporal analysis.
• Studying the thermal properties of the ocean's upper 285 meters using mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) records.

Strengths

• Data is processed to a standardized NODC format (C128) ensuring consistency.
• Provides detailed vertical temperature profiles at uniform 5-meter depth intervals.
• Covers a multi-year time range from 1959 to 1973 from dedicated research vessel cruises.

Limitations

• MBT instrument data is limited to a maximum depth of approximately 285 meters, restricting analysis to the upper ocean.
• Key metadata such as exact row count, column names, and license are unavailable from the sources.
• A conflict exists in the last updated date: one source lists 2026-04-01, while another lists 1972-03 14.

Provenance

Source

German research vessels (e.g., GAUSS, METEOR), submitted by D. Kohnke of DOD, processed by NODC/NOAA.

Collection Method

Mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) observations and other oceanographic station data collected during research cruises.

Time Range

1959-11-18 to 1972-03-14

Freshness

2026-04-01 15:24:55.704822

Geography

North Atlantic Ocean