Oceanus High-Resolution CTD/STD Profiles from the North Atlantic

NOAA's National Oceanographic Data Center provides high-resolution CTD/STD data from the R/V Oceanus in the North Atlantic Ocean. The dataset contains nearly continuous profiles of temperature, salinity, density, and other parameters, processed to the NODC F022 standard format. Measurements were collected from September 28, 1978, to July 31, 1979.

Use Cases

• Analyzing vertical structure of the water column using temperature, salinity, and density (sigma-t) profiles.
• Studying seasonal oceanographic changes in the NW Atlantic between 1978 and 1979.
• Correlating environmental conditions like meteorological data with subsurface ocean properties recorded at each station.
• Calibrating satellite-derived sea surface salinity data with in-situ conductivity measurements.

Strengths

• Data is processed to a documented standard format (NODC F022), ensuring structured consistency.
• Provides high-resolution profiles with sampling intervals as fine as 1 meter.
• Includes contextual station data such as cruise information, position, date, time, and environmental conditions.

Limitations

• Specific column names, row counts, and file sizes are not provided by any source.
• Sources conflict on the dataset's title and primary parameters: one title mentions cloud amount/frequency and nitrate, while the description focuses on CTD/STD physical parameters.
• License information is not specified.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Data collected using CTD (conductivity-temperature-depth) and STD (salinity-temperature-depth) instruments from the R/V Oceanus and processed by NODC.

Time Range

1978-09-28 to 1979-07-31

Freshness

2026-03-05 23:27:56.644232

Geography

North Atlantic Ocean, specifically the NW Atlantic