ALAMINOS Bathythermograph Temperature Profiles in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico

Temperature-depth profiles from the RV ALAMINOS collected using a Mechanical Bathythermograph (MBT) instrument. The dataset contains observations from the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico during a cruise from June 4 to June 22, 1969. Data was processed and standardized into the NODC C128 format by the National Oceanographic Data Center.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the thermal structure of the upper ocean (up to ~285m) using paired temperature-depth values.
• Studying spatial and temporal temperature variations in the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico for a specific cruise period.
• Validating or supplementing regional ocean models with historical in-situ temperature profile data.
• Investigating cruise-specific oceanographic conditions using reported cruise information, date, position, and time for each observation.

Strengths

• Data is standardized to the authoritative NODC C128 format, ensuring consistency for analysis.
• Temperature values are recorded at uniform 5-meter depth intervals, facilitating systematic profile comparison.
• Provides a focused temporal snapshot from a single research cruise over a 19-day period in June 1969.

Limitations

• The MBT instrument's maximum depth of ~285 meters limits analysis to the upper ocean layers only.
• Key metadata such as exact row count, column names, and file size are unavailable from the provided sources.
• There is a conflict in 'last updated' metadata between platforms (2026-03-05 on Data.gov vs. 1969-06-22 on NASA Earthdata).

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

1969-06-04 to 1969-06-22

Freshness

2026-03 05 22:36:32.818083

Geography

Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico