Historical North Pacific Ocean Temperature Profiles from Black Douglas

Mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) data from the research vessel BLACK DOUGLAS, capturing temperature-depth profiles in the North Pacific Ocean. The dataset, processed by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) into the standard C128 format, covers a specific cruise from February 14 to 25, 1951. It provides a detailed record of the thermal structure of the ocean's upper layers.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the vertical temperature structure of the upper ocean (up to ~285m) for a specific time and location.
• Studying short-term thermal variability during a 12-day research cruise in the North Pacific.
• Using cruise information, date, position, and time metadata to contextualize historical oceanographic observations.
• Examining temperature data recorded at uniform 5-meter depth intervals for consistent profile comparison.

Strengths

• Data is processed to a known standard format (NODC C128), ensuring structural consistency.
• Provides precise temporal (1951-02 14 to 25) and spatial (North Pacific Ocean) context for each profile.
• Temperature measurements are recorded at uniform 5-meter depth intervals, facilitating analysis.

Limitations

• Key quantitative details like row count, file size, and specific column names are unavailable from all sources.
• The MBT instrument's maximum depth of approximately 285 meters limits analysis to the upper ocean only.
• License and authorship information is not provided, creating uncertainty for reuse.

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

Collected via mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) instrument and processed by NODC.

Time Range

1951-02-14 to 1951-02-25

Freshness

2026-03-05 23:02:18.063221

Geography

North Pacific Ocean