Historical North Pacific Ocean Temperature Profiles from 1950

285 meters is the maximum depth for temperature-depth profiles collected by the mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) instrument aboard BLACK DOUGLAS. The dataset contains observations from a two-week cruise in the North Pacific Ocean during April 1950, processed into the NODC standard C128 format. Data records consist of temperature values recorded at uniform 5-meter depth intervals.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the thermal structure of the upper ocean (up to 285m) using paired temperature-depth values.
• Studying short-term oceanographic conditions during a specific cruise using date, position, and time metadata.
• Investigating historical data collection methods and formats, specifically the NODC C128 standard for MBT instruments.

Strengths

• Data is processed to a known standard format (NODC C128) ensuring structural consistency.
• Temperature measurements are recorded at a uniform 5-meter depth interval, facilitating analysis.
• Provides precise temporal coverage for a specific research cruise from April 4 to April 17, 1950.

Limitations

• Key metadata such as row count, column names, and exact file size are unavailable from all sources.
• Instrument limitation restricts data usefulness to the upper ocean layers, with a maximum depth of approximately 285 meters.
• A conflict exists in the 'last updated' metadata between platforms (2026 vs. 1950), creating uncertainty about data currency.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) instrument measurements processed by NODC.

Time Range

1950-04-04 to 1950-04-17

Freshness

2026-03-05 23:16:33.869165

Geography

North Pacific Ocean