Historical Upper Ocean Temperature Profiles from Beacon Hill

Temperature-depth profile data collected using a Mechanical Bathythermograph (MBT) from the vessel BEACON HILL in the North Pacific Ocean. The dataset contains observations from 1953 to 1960, processed into the NODC standard C128 format. It was created by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and is accessible via multiple government data platforms.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the thermal structure of the upper ocean (up to ~285m) using paired temperature-depth values.
• Studying temporal changes in sea surface and subsurface temperatures from 1953 to 1960.
• Correlating temperature profiles with cruise metadata including date, position, and time for each observation.
• Investigating oceanographic conditions in the North Pacific Ocean during the mid-20th century.

Strengths

• Data is processed to a standardized format (NODC C128), ensuring consistency.
• Provides a multi-year time series from June 1953 to February 1960.
• Temperature data is recorded at uniform 5-meter depth intervals, facilitating analysis.

Limitations

• Key metadata such as row count, file size, column names, and license are unavailable from all sources.
• Instrument limitation: MBT maximum depth is ~285m, restricting analysis to the upper ocean only.
• Conflicting 'last updated' dates exist between platforms (2026 vs. 1960), indicating potential metadata inconsistency.

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

Data gathered using a Mechanical Bathythermograph (MBT) instrument and processed by NODC.

Time Range

1953-06-01 to 1960-02-10

Freshness

2026-04-01 15:26:51.295498

Geography

North Pacific Ocean (from the vessel BEACON HILL).