NORPAX XBT Temperature Profiles from the Pacific Ocean, 1981-1988

From January 5, 1981 to February 1, 1988, this dataset contains ocean temperature-depth profiles collected via expendable bathythermograph (XBT) casts from the SEAPAC BUNKER HILL and other ships in the Pacific Ocean. The data were processed by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) into the Universal Bathythermograph Output (UBT) format, which records temperature at non-uniform inflection points to define the profile curve. These observations were part of the International Decade of Ocean Exploration / North Pacific Experiment (IDOE/NORPAX) project, submitted by the US Navy and Ships of Opportunity.

Use Cases

• Analyzing historical ocean thermal structure changes in the North Pacific based on temperature-depth profiles.
• Calibrating or validating ocean circulation models using in-situ temperature observations from the 1980s.
• Studying the vertical distribution of ocean heat content from inflection-point temperature data.
• Researching the performance and data characteristics of expendable bathythermograph (XBT) instruments.

Strengths

• Provides a multi-year time series from 1981 to 1988, capturing a specific historical period.
• Data is processed to a recognized standard format (NODC UBT), suggesting consistency.
• Includes metadata such as cruise information, position, date, and time for each cast.

Limitations

• Key metadata such as row count, file size, specific column names, and license are unknown across all sources.
• There is a conflict in the temporal coverage: the title suggests data ends in 1982-02-01, while descriptions state 1988-02-01.
• The dataset's freshness is unclear; one platform shows a 2026 metadata update, while another indicates the data itself is from 1988.

Provenance

Source

US Navy; Ships of Opportunity, processed by NODC.

Collection Method

Collected using bathythermograph (BT/XBT) casts from ships.

Time Range

1981-01-05 to 1988-02-01

Freshness

1988-02-01 00:00:00

Geography

Pacific Ocean