Historical North Atlantic Ocean Temperature Profiles from L/S BOSTON

Bathythermograph (MBT) data from the L/S BOSTON vessel in the North Atlantic Ocean, processed by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC). The dataset contains temperature-depth profiles for the upper ocean layers, collected between July 1965 and September 1968. Data is formatted to the NODC standard C128 format, with observations reported at uniform 5-meter depth intervals.

Use Cases

• Analyzing seasonal and interannual temperature changes in the upper 285 meters of the North Atlantic.
• Studying the vertical thermal structure of the ocean using paired temperature-depth values.
• Correlating historical cruise information, date, position, and time with oceanographic conditions.
• Investigating pre-satellite era ocean surface layer physics for climate model validation.

Strengths

• Data is processed to a standardized NODC format (C128), ensuring consistent structure.
• Provides a multi-year time series from 1965 to 1968 for temporal analysis.
• Records temperature at uniform 5-meter depth intervals, facilitating profile comparison.

Limitations

• Maximum observation depth is approximately 285 meters, limiting study to the ocean's upper layers.
• Key metadata such as row count, column names, and license are unavailable across all sources.
• Conflicting 'last updated' dates exist between platforms (2026-03-05 vs. 1968-09-30).

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

Collected using mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) instruments from the L/S BOSTON vessel and processed by NODC.

Time Range

1965-07-01 to 1968-09-30

Freshness

2026-03 05 22:41:03.948399

Geography

North Atlantic Ocean