BALD EAGLE XBT Ocean Temperature Profiles from 1969

Temperature-depth profile data collected using expendable bathythermograph (XBT) instruments during a cruise of the vessel BALD EAGLE. The dataset covers a specific voyage in the North Atlantic Ocean from February 21 to March 5, 1969. It was processed by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) into the standard C116/C118 format, which records temperature at non-uniform inflection points to define the profile curve.

Use Cases

• Analyzing vertical temperature structure in the North Atlantic Ocean during late winter 1969.
• Studying historical oceanographic conditions along the specific cruise track of the BALD EAGLE.
• Validating or calibrating ocean models using in-situ temperature profile data from inflection points.
• Researching the technical application and data format of historical XBT (C116/C118) instruments.

Strengths

• Data processed to a documented NODC standard format (C116/C118), ensuring a known structure.
• Provides specific spatiotemporal context: a single cruise in the North Atlantic from 1969-02-21 to 1969-03-05.
• Records temperature at scientifically relevant inflection points rather than uniform depth intervals, optimizing data representation.

Limitations

• Critical metadata conflicts: row count, size, and specific column names are unknown across all platforms.
• Limited temporal scope to a two-week period in 1969, reducing utility for long-term trend analysis.
• Platform reliability varies; NASA Earthdata entry lacks a description, reducing cross-validation.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Collected via expendable bathythermograph (XBT) instruments from the vessel BALD EAGLE and processed by NODC.

Time Range

1969-02-21 to 1969-03-05

Freshness

2026-04-01 15:15:17.167610

Geography

North Atlantic Ocean