Historical Gulf of Mexico Temperature Profiles from ALAMINOS Cruise

Temperature-depth profiles from the Gulf of Mexico were collected using a mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) aboard the ALAMINOS from February 27 to March 7, 1964. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration processed the data into the NODC standard C128 format, which records temperature at uniform 5-meter intervals. This dataset provides a snapshot of the upper ocean's thermal structure from a specific research cruise.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the vertical thermal structure of the upper ocean (up to ~285m) for a specific time and location.
• Studying historical ocean temperature conditions in the Gulf of Mexico during late winter.
• Validating or supplementing regional oceanographic models with in-situ profile data.
• Examining cruise-based observational data formats and standards (NODC C128).

Strengths

• Data is processed to a recognized standard format (NODC C128) ensuring structural consistency.
• Provides a focused temporal snapshot from a continuous 9-day cruise in 1964.
• Temperature values are recorded at uniform 5-meter depth intervals, facilitating analysis.

Limitations

• The MBT instrument limits observations to a maximum depth of approximately 285 meters, capturing only the upper ocean layer.
• Specific column names, row counts, and file size are not provided by any source.
• The dataset's license and author information are unknown.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Collected via mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) instrument during a research cruise and processed by NODC.

Time Range

1964-02 27 to 1964-03-07

Freshness

2026-03-05 22:41:17.335000

Geography

Gulf of Mexico (specific cruise track of ALAMINOS unknown)