High-Resolution Atlantic Ocean CTD Profiles from POLYMODE Project

These data contain high-resolution vertical profiles of temperature, salinity, and density from the Atlantic Ocean, collected during the 1978 POLYMODE experiment. The dataset was submitted by the University of Washington and processed by the National Oceanographic Data Center into the standard F022 format. Measurements were taken from the R/V Oceanus over a 16-day period in June 1978.

Use Cases

• Analyzing vertical temperature and salinity gradients in the Atlantic Ocean using the temperature, salinity, and sigma-T columns.
• Studying water mass properties and density stratification via the computed sigma-t (density) data.
• Validating or calibrating historical ocean models with high-resolution profile data reported at intervals as fine as 1 meter.
• Investigating the relationship between surface conditions and subsurface properties using the reported meteorological and sea surface data.

Strengths

• Data is high-resolution, with values potentially reported at depth intervals as fine as 1 meter.
• Profiles include multiple derived parameters, such as computed sigma-t for density.
• Dataset is part of a major international oceanographic experiment (IDOE/POLYMODE), indicating rigorous collection standards.

Limitations

• Specific column names, row counts, and dataset size are unknown from all provided sources.
• Conflicting last updated dates exist between platforms (2026-03-05 and 1978-06-22), creating uncertainty about metadata maintenance.

Provenance

Source

University of Washington; processed by NOAA National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC).

Collection Method

Collected using STD/CTD casts from the R/V Oceanus and processed to the NODC standard High-Resolution STD/CTD Data (F022) format.

Time Range

1978-06-06 to 1978-06-22

Freshness

2026-03-05 23:40:59.986517

Geography

Atlantic Ocean