Ocean Temperature Profiles from NOAA Ship Researcher, 1985

From September 17 to October 16, 1985, temperature-depth profiles were collected using expendable bathythermograph (XBT) and bathythermograph (BT) casts from NOAA Ship RESEARCHER in the TOGA Area of the Pacific Ocean. The data were processed by the National Oceanographic Data Center into the Universal Bathythermograph Output (UBT) format, which records temperature values at non-uniform 'inflection points' to represent the profile curve. This dataset provides paired temperature-depth observations for a specific oceanographic cruise.

Use Cases

• Analyzing vertical ocean temperature structure based on paired temperature-depth values.
• Studying historical ocean thermal conditions in the Tropical Ocean-Global Atmosphere (TOGA) area.
• Calibrating or validating ocean models using in-situ temperature profile data from XBT instruments.
• Investigating short-term oceanographic variability during a specific research cruise.

Strengths

• Data processed to a documented standard format (NODC UBT), enhancing interoperability.
• Provides specific temporal coverage for a focused research cruise from September 17 to October 16, 1985.
• Contains measurements from specialized instruments capable of profiling depths up to 1830 meters.

Limitations

• Conflicting information on the data collector: one source lists the US Coast Guard, another lists NOAA's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory.
• Key metadata such as row count, file size, and specific column names are unavailable across all sources.
• The dataset's age (1985) may limit its utility for studying contemporary ocean conditions.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Collected using XBT and BT casts from NOAA Ship RESEARCHER.

Time Range

1985-09-17 to 1985-10-16

Freshness

2026-04-01 14:56:30.750004

Geography

TOGA Area - Pacific Ocean