NCEI Accession 8400102: High-Resolution Ocean CTD Profiles

NCEI Accession 8400102 contains CTD (Conductivity-Temperature-Depth) and STD (Salinity-Temperature-Depth) data from the R/V SHIJIAN cruise EC-2, a joint U.S./China research effort from November 18-23, 1981. The data, released by Dr. Bob Beardsley of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, has been processed by NODC into the standard High-Resolution F022 format. It provides nearly continuous vertical profiles of temperature, salinity, density, and potentially dissolved oxygen or transmissivity at depth intervals as fine as one meter.

Use Cases

• Analyzing vertical ocean structure based on high-resolution temperature and salinity profiles.
• Studying water mass properties and ocean circulation from cruise station data including position, date, and time.
• Investigating historical joint U.S./China research efforts in oceanography during the specified cruise period.
• Calibrating or validating ocean models using in-situ conductivity-temperature-depth measurements.
• Examining potential relationships between surface conditions (meteorological data) and subsurface ocean parameters.

Strengths

• Data is processed to the NODC standard High-Resolution CTD/STD (F022) format, ensuring a consistent structure.
• Profiles offer high vertical resolution, with data potentially reported at depth intervals as fine as 1 meter.
• Represents data from a documented joint international research cruise between the U.S. and China.

Limitations

• Specific column names, row counts, and file size are unknown across all platform sources.
• Metadata on license, author, and precise data collection methodology is incomplete.
• A conflict exists in 'last updated' metadata between platforms (2026 vs. 1981), casting doubt on provenance tracking.

Provenance

Source

Dr. Bob Beardsley, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution; processed by NODC/NOAA NCEI.

Collection Method

Collected using CTD and STD instruments lowered and raised from the R/V SHIJIAN during cruise EC-2.

Time Range

1981-11-18 to 1981-11-23

Freshness

2026-03-05 22:39:47.544523

Geography

Ocean regions covered by the R/V SHIJIAN cruise EC-2 track (specific coordinates not provided).