North Atlantic Ocean Temperature Profiles from 1970 Bathythermograph Cruise

North Atlantic Ocean temperature-depth profiles collected from the vessel A. E. VERRILL over four days in October 1970. The dataset contains processed mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) observations, formatted to the NODC C128 standard for the upper ocean layers. Data was processed and published by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Oceanographic Data Center.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the thermal structure of the upper ocean (to ~285m) using paired temperature-depth values.
• Studying short-term oceanographic conditions during a specific cruise using reported date, position, and time.
• Examining data formatted to the NODC C128 standard for mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) records.

Strengths

• Data is processed to a recognized standard format (NODC C128) ensuring consistency.
• Provides precise temporal coverage for a specific research cruise from 1970-10-20 to 1970-10-23.
• Temperature observations are recorded at uniform 5-meter depth intervals, facilitating analysis.

Limitations

• Key metadata conflicts exist: 'last_updated' dates differ significantly between Data.gov (2026) and NASA Earthdata (1970).
• Core dataset attributes like row count, column names, and file size are unknown across all sources.
• Instrument limitation: MBT maximum depth is approximately 285 meters, restricting analysis to the ocean's upper layers.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) instrument measurements processed by NODC to C128 format.

Time Range

1970-10-20 to 1970-10-23

Freshness

2026-04-01 15:32:11.889531

Geography

North Atlantic Ocean