North Atlantic Upper Ocean Temperature Profiles from USNS Golden Eagle, 1961

285 meters is the maximum depth for temperature-depth profiles recorded by a mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) aboard the USNS Golden Eagle. The dataset contains observations from a 51-day cruise in the North Atlantic Ocean, processed by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) into its standard C128 format. Temperature values are recorded at uniform 5-meter depth intervals for each cast.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the vertical temperature structure of the upper ocean up to 285m depth.
• Studying seasonal thermal changes in the NW Atlantic during summer 1961.
• Validating or calibrating ocean model simulations for historical surface layers.
• Correlating cruise position and time data with specific temperature-depth profile observations.

Strengths

• Data is processed to a known standard format (NODC C128), ensuring structural consistency.
• Provides a focused 51-day time series (1961-06 19 to 1961-08-08) from a single research vessel.
• Records temperature at uniform 5-meter depth intervals, enabling straightforward vertical analysis.

Limitations

• Key quantitative details like total row count, file size, and specific column names are unavailable from all sources.
• Instrument limitation restricts data to the upper ocean only, with a maximum observation depth of approximately 285 meters.
• Conflicting 'last updated' metadata exists between platforms (2026-03-06 on Data.gov vs. 1961-08-08 on NASA Earthdata).

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) casts from the USNS Golden Eagle, processed by NODC.

Time Range

1961-06-19 to 1961-08-08

Freshness

2026-03-06 00:26:17.758138

Geography

North Atlantic Ocean