North Pacific Upper Ocean Temperature Profiles from RV Alpha Helix

285 meters is the maximum observation depth for this dataset of mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) profiles. It contains temperature-depth pairs recorded at uniform 5-meter intervals from a research cruise in the North Pacific Ocean between July 8 and July 14, 1970. The data was processed by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) into its standard C128 format.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the vertical temperature gradient in the upper 285 meters of the ocean.
• Studying short-term thermal variability during a specific July 1970 research cruise.
• Validating or calibrating models of upper ocean mixed-layer dynamics.
• Providing historical baseline data for climate change studies in the North Pacific.

Strengths

• Data is processed to a known standard format (NODC C128), ensuring consistency.
• Temperature values are recorded at uniform 5-meter depth intervals, facilitating analysis.
• Each observation includes associated cruise, date, position, and time metadata.
• The dataset's presence on multiple government platforms signals its archival importance.

Limitations

• Key metadata such as row count, file size, and column names are unavailable from all sources.
• The data is limited to the upper ocean (max ~285m depth), excluding deeper thermal structure.
• Sources conflict on the 'last updated' date, reporting either 1970-07-14 or 2026-03 05.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce.

Collection Method

Mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) instrument measurements processed by NODC.

Time Range

1970-07-08 to 1970-07-14

Freshness

2026-03-05 23:24:59.915759

Geography

North Pacific Ocean (specific cruise track of RV Alpha Helix).