Hawaiian Islands Shipboard XBT Temperature and Depth Profiles from Cetacean Survey

Main Hawaiian Islands ocean temperature and depth profiles were collected from the NOAA Ship OSCAR ELTON SETTE during a 2008 cetacean survey. The data originate from XBT casts using T-7 and Fast Deep probes, reaching terminal depths of 760 m and 1000 m, conducted at whale sighting locations and opportunistically. This dataset supports the integration of physical oceanography with marine mammal research.

Use Cases

• Analyzing vertical temperature structure in the Hawaiian Islands region based on XBT depth profiles.
• Correlating cetacean sighting locations with concurrent oceanographic conditions.
• Calibrating or supplementing CTD data from the same research cruise.
• Studying short-term ocean variability during a dedicated ship survey in July 2008.

Strengths

• Data collection is tied to a specific, documented research cruise (SE 08-06) with known instrumentation.
• Includes precise technical details: probe types (Lockheed Martin Sippican T-7, Fast Deep) and their terminal depths (760 m, 1000 m).
• Cross-platform presence (Data.gov, NASA Earthdata) indicates recognized importance and curation.

Limitations

• Critical metadata is missing: column names, row count, file formats, and specific license are unknown.
• Conflicting 'last updated' dates between platforms (2008-07-29 vs. 2026-03 06) create uncertainty about metadata freshness.
• The dataset's scale and completeness for the stated time range (2008-07-11 to 2008-07-29) are not quantified.

Provenance

Source

Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center's Cetacean Research Program, NOAA, Department of Commerce.

Collection Method

Shipboard survey using expendable bathythermograph (XBT) casts from NOAA Ship OSCAR ELTON SETTE.

Time Range

2008-07-11 to 2008-07-29

Freshness

Last updated metadata dates conflict: 2008-07-29 (NASA Earthdata) and 2026-03-06 (Data.gov).

Geography

Main Hawaiian Islands, Pacific Ocean.