High-Resolution Ocean CTD/STD Profiles from 1986 Pacific Cruises

North Pacific Ocean, Philippine Sea, and South Pacific Ocean data from two research vessels in 1986. This dataset contains high-resolution vertical profiles of oceanographic parameters, processed by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) to its standard F022 format. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is the authoritative source.

Use Cases

• Analyzing vertical profiles of temperature and salinity for water mass identification.
• Studying density (sigma-t) variations to understand ocean stratification and circulation.
• Investigating potential dissolved oxygen or water clarity (transmissivity) trends at depth.
• Correlating oceanographic casts with concurrent meteorological and sea surface conditions.
• Examining spatial and temporal coverage from specific cruise tracks of the XIANG YANG HONG vessels.

Strengths

• Data is processed to a recognized standard format (NODC F022), ensuring structural consistency.
• Provides high-resolution profiles with depth intervals as fine as 1 meter.
• Includes ancillary station data such as position, date, time, and instrument metadata.
• Covers a specific, defined time range (1986) across multiple Pacific Ocean regions.

Limitations

• Critical quantitative metadata (row count, file size, specific column list) is unavailable from all sources.
• The last updated date conflicts between platforms (2026 vs. 1986), casting doubt on maintenance.
• The presence on NASA Earthdata lacks a descriptive entry, suggesting incomplete metadata propagation.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Collected via CTD (Conductivity-Temperature-Depth) and STD (Salinity-Temperature-Depth) instruments deployed from research vessels.

Time Range

1986-01-30 to 1986-12-16

Freshness

2026-04-01 15:12:44.502368

Geography

North Pacific Ocean, Philippine Sea, South Pacific Ocean