Historical Upper Ocean Temperature Profiles from the Gulf of Guinea

Mechanical bathythermograph data from the 1964 ACHIMOTA cruise provides temperature-depth profiles for the upper ocean layers in the Gulf of Guinea and adjacent Atlantic Ocean regions. The National Oceanographic Data Center processed the data into its standard C128 format, reporting cruise details, position, time, and temperature at uniform 5-meter intervals. This dataset captures a specific four-day observation period from March 7 to 10, 1964.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the vertical temperature structure of the upper ocean up to approximately 285 meters depth.
• Studying historical ocean thermal conditions in the Gulf of Guinea and adjacent North and South Atlantic regions.
• Validating or providing baseline data for models of upper ocean heat content from the mid-20th century.
• Correlating cruise-reported position and time data with temperature-depth profile pairs for spatiotemporal analysis.

Strengths

• Data is processed to a known standard format (NODC C128), ensuring a consistent structure for temperature-depth pairs.
• Provides precise temporal (1964-03-07 to 1964-03-10) and geographic (Gulf of Guinea, North/South Atlantic) context for each profile.
• Temperature readings are recorded at uniform 5-meter depth intervals, facilitating consistent vertical analysis.

Limitations

• Key quantitative details like row count, file size, and specific column names are unavailable from all sources.
• The mechanical bathythermograph instrument limits observations to a maximum depth of ~285 meters, restricting analysis to the upper ocean only.
• Sources conflict on the 'last updated' metadata, with one platform listing 2026 and another listing the original 1964 collection date.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Temperature-depth profiles gathered using a Mechanical Bathythermograph (MBT) instrument during the ACHIMOTA cruise and processed by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC).

Time Range

1964-03-07 to 1964-03-10

Freshness

2026-03-06 00:16:17.006308

Geography

Gulf of Guinea, North Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic Ocean