South Pacific Ocean Temperature Profiles from B. ESTHER Cruise, 1957

February 13 to March 8, 1957 data comprises temperature-depth profiles from the B. ESTHER cruise in the South Pacific Ocean. The dataset contains observations processed by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) into the standard C128 format for Mechanical Bathythermograph (MBT) data. It is useful for studying the thermal structure of the ocean's upper layers to a maximum depth of approximately 285 meters.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the vertical temperature structure of the upper ocean (0-285m) using paired temperature-depth values.
• Studying spatial and temporal thermal variability in the South Pacific Ocean during February-March 1957.
• Using cruise information, date, position, and time metadata to contextualize individual profile observations.
• Benchmarking or validating models of historical ocean surface layer thermodynamics.

Strengths

• Data is processed to a known, documented standard (NODC C128 format).
• Temperature data is recorded at uniform 5-meter depth intervals, enabling consistent analysis.
• Covers a specific 24-day cruise in the South Pacific Ocean, providing a coherent temporal snapshot.

Limitations

• Key metadata such as row count, file size, and specific column names are unavailable from all sources.
• The MBT instrument limits observations to a maximum depth of ~285m, restricting analysis to the upper ocean only.
• Sources conflict on the 'last updated' date (2026-03 06 vs. 1957-03-08), creating uncertainty about metadata maintenance.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Observations gathered via Mechanical Bathythermograph (MBT) instrument and processed by NODC.

Time Range

1957-02-13 to 1957-03-08

Freshness

2026-03-06 00:20:46.087705

Geography

South Pacific Ocean