Deep Freeze Project: CTD Profiles from the Ross Sea

From 1976 to 1985, four high-resolution CTD profiles were collected from vessels in the Ross Sea during the Deep Freeze project. The dataset likely contains measurements of depth or pressure, temperature, and salinity for each profile. The principal investigator was Stanley Jacobs of the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.

Use Cases

• Analyzing vertical temperature and salinity structure in the Ross Sea based on the CTD profile data.
• Calibrating or validating regional oceanographic models using historical in-situ measurements.
• Studying decadal-scale changes in Antarctic water masses by comparing these profiles with modern data.

Strengths

• Data collection spans a multi-year period from 1976 to 1985, providing a temporal snapshot.
• Profiles were collected during a named scientific project (Deep Freeze) with a documented principal investigator.
• Includes data from multiple research vessels (Northwind, Burton Island, Polar Sea, Polar Star).

Limitations

• The exact column names, row count, and file size are unknown, limiting immediate usability.
• Metadata freshness is conflicting: one source shows a 2026 update, while another indicates the data itself is from 1985.
• The dataset is small in scope, consisting of only four individual CTD profiles.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce; Stanley Jacobs, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory.

Collection Method

Collected using high-resolution CTD instruments from research vessels.

Time Range

1976-12-26 to 1985-01-29

Freshness

2026-03-05 23:20:38.302031 (metadata update); 1985-01-29 (data collection end)

Geography

Ross Sea, Antarctic