NOAA MF-81-01 Cruise: High-Resolution Ocean Profiles from the Gulf of Alaska

NOAA Ship MILLER FREEMAN collected 55 days of high-resolution oceanographic data in the Gulf of Alaska from March 30 to May 23, 1981. The dataset, processed to the NODC F022 standard, contains nearly continuous vertical profiles of temperature, salinity, density, and possibly dissolved oxygen or transmissivity at depth intervals as fine as 1 meter. Each station record includes cruise information, position, date, time, and may include concurrent meteorological and sea surface conditions.

Use Cases

• Analyzing vertical stratification and water mass properties based on temperature and salinity profiles.
• Calibrating or validating regional ocean models using high-resolution in-situ conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) data.
• Studying temporal oceanographic variability during the spring transition period from the time-series station data.
• Investigating relationships between surface meteorological conditions and subsurface ocean structure from the concurrent environmental data.

Strengths

• Data is processed to a documented, standard format (NODC High-Resolution CTD/STD F022).
• Provides high-resolution vertical sampling, with data points potentially reported at 1-meter intervals.
• Covers a specific, multi-leg cruise over a 55-day period, offering a coherent temporal snapshot.
• Includes multiple related parameters (temperature, salinity, density, possibly oxygen) for integrated analysis.

Limitations

• Critical metadata is missing or conflicting: row count, file size, specific column names, and license are unknown across all sources.
• The 'last updated' date (2026) on Data.gov is likely a platform refresh and conflicts with the actual data collection date (1981), indicating potential metadata staleness.
• Documentation gaps exist regarding specific instrument models, data processing algorithms (averaging/filtering), and the exact availability of optional parameters like dissolved oxygen.

Provenance

Source

NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL), submitted and processed by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC).

Collection Method

Ship-based deployment of Conductivity-Temperature-Depth (CTD) and Salinity-Temperature-Depth (STD) instruments during a defined research cruise.

Time Range

1981-03-30 to 1981-05-24

Freshness

2026-03-05 23:53:26.774663 (Data.gov metadata update); data collection ended 1981-05-24.

Geography

Gulf of Alaska, specific stations along the cruise track of NOAA Ship MILLER FREEMAN, cruise MF-81-01, legs 3, 4, and 5.