Atlantic Ocean XBT Temperature Profiles from the POLYMODE Project

Atlantic Ocean temperature-depth profiles were collected using expendable bathythermograph (XBT) casts from the vessel BARTLETT between December 1975 and September 1978. The data were submitted by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution as part of the International Decade of Ocean Exploration's POLYMODE project and processed by the NODC into the Universal Bathythermograph Output (UBT) format. Profiles contain non-uniform depth measurements recorded at inflection points to define the temperature curve, with potential depths reaching 1830 meters.

Use Cases

• Analyzing historical vertical temperature structure in the Atlantic Ocean using paired temperature-depth values.
• Studying water mass properties and thermocline variability over the 1975-1978 period.
• Validating or initializing ocean circulation models with in-situ temperature profile data.
• Investigating the spatial distribution of ocean heat content using geolocated cast positions.

Strengths

• Data originates from a major oceanographic institution (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution) and a significant international project (IDOE/POLYMODE).
• Profiles are processed to a standard format (NODC UBT) and use inflection points for efficient data representation.
• The time range is precisely documented across all sources, spanning nearly three years from 1975-12-06 to 1978-09-30.

Limitations

• Specific column names, row counts, and dataset size are not provided by any source.
• Conflicting 'last updated' dates exist between platforms (1978-09-30 vs. 2026-03-06), creating uncertainty about metadata freshness.
• License information is not provided, restricting clarity on reuse permissions.

Provenance

Source

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), submitted to NOAA NCEI/NODC.

Collection Method

Collected using expendable bathythermograph (XBT) casts from the vessel BARTLETT.

Time Range

1975-12-06 to 1978-09-30

Freshness

2026-03-06 00:17:37.658282

Geography

Atlantic Ocean