North Pacific Ocean Temperature Profiles from CAYUSE Cruise

NOAA NCEI provides mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) data from the CAYUSE cruise in the North Pacific Ocean. The dataset contains temperature-depth profile pairs recorded at uniform 5-meter intervals, with a maximum observation depth of approximately 285 meters. Data is formatted to the NODC standard C128 format and covers a two-day period in March 1972.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the vertical temperature gradient in the upper 285 meters of the North Pacific Ocean.
• Studying short-term thermal variability over a two-day cruise period using temperature-depth pairs.
• Validating or calibrating models of upper ocean heat content based on historical instrument data.
• Correlating cruise information, date, position, and time with specific thermal observations.

Strengths

• Data is processed to a standardized format (NODC C128), ensuring consistency for analysis.
• Temperature values are recorded at a uniform 5-meter depth interval, providing structured vertical resolution.
• Includes precise metadata for each observation: cruise information, date, position, and time.

Limitations

• Key quantitative details like row count, file size, and specific column names are unavailable from all sources.
• The dataset's utility is limited to the upper ocean, with a maximum instrument depth of approximately 285 meters.
• The temporal coverage is very brief, spanning only two days in March 1972.

Provenance

Source

NOAA NCEI (National Centers for Environmental Information)

Collection Method

Collected via mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) instrument during the CAYUSE cruise and processed by NODC.

Time Range

1972-03 15 to 1972-03-16

Freshness

2026-03-06 00:18:28.306273

Geography

North Pacific Ocean