Gulf of Mexico Temperature Profiles from Ship EDGAR M. QUEENY

Temperature-depth profiles were collected in the Gulf of Mexico using bathythermograph (BT/XBT) instruments aboard the vessel EDGAR M. QUEENY. The National Marine Fisheries Service gathered this data over a ten-day period in December 1985 as part of the Ships Of Opportunity Program. Data was processed by the National Oceanographic Data Center into the standard C116 XBT format, which records paired temperature and depth values at inflection points along the profile curve.

Use Cases

• Analyzing vertical ocean temperature structure in the Gulf of Mexico using paired temperature-depth values.
• Studying short-term oceanic variability during December 1985 from time-stated profiles.
• Calibrating or validating ocean models with in-situ temperature measurements from a specific vessel cruise.
• Researching historical data collection methods via the Ships Of Opportunity Program and XBT technology.

Strengths

• Data is processed to a recognized standard format (NODC C116) for bathythermograph data.
• Collection details are precise, including vessel (EDGAR M. QUEENY), collector (NMFS), and program (SOOP).
• Profiles capture temperature at non-uniform inflection points, efficiently defining the temperature curve.

Limitations

• Core metadata such as row count, file size, and specific column names are unavailable from all sources.
• There is a conflict in the 'last updated' date: Data.gov reports 2026-03-05, while NASA Earthdata reports 1985-12 22.
• The dataset's temporal coverage is very brief, limited to a single 10-day cruise in 1985.

Provenance

Source

National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Narragansett Bay Laboratory.

Collection Method

Collected via BT and XBT casts from the ship EDGAR M. QUEENY under the Ships Of Opportunity Program.

Time Range

1985-12-13 to 1985-12-22

Freshness

2026-03-05 22:53:55.961943

Geography

Gulf of Mexico