North Pacific Upper Ocean Temperature Profiles from 1972

285 meters is the approximate maximum depth for temperature-depth profile pairs recorded at uniform 5-meter intervals. This dataset contains mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) observations from the CAYUSE cruise, processed by the National Oceanographic Data Center into the standard C128 format. It captures the thermal structure of the upper ocean layers in the North Pacific over a five-day period in April 1972.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the vertical temperature gradient in the upper 285 meters of the North Pacific Ocean using temperature-depth pairs.
• Studying short-term thermal variability in a specific ocean region from cruise information, date, position, and time data.
• Calibrating or validating models of upper ocean heat content based on instrument-recorded profiles.
• Investigating historical oceanographic conditions from a defined time period using standardized NODC format data.

Strengths

• Data is processed to a known standard format (NODC C128), ensuring structured temperature-depth pairs.
• Provides specific instrument and methodological context (Mechanical Bathythermograph/MBT) with a defined maximum observation depth of ~285m.
• Contains precise temporal coverage for a single cruise from 1972-04-19 to 1972-04-23.
• Originates from an authoritative source (NOAA/NODC) and is hosted on multiple government platforms.

Limitations

• The exact row count, file size, and complete column list are not provided by any source.
• Data is limited to the upper ocean (max ~285m depth) and is not suitable for studying deep ocean thermal structure.
• Sources conflict on the 'last updated' metadata, with one listing 2026-03 06 and another listing the original data date of 1972-04-23.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce (processed by NODC).

Collection Method

Mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) instrument measurements processed to the NODC standard Bathythermograph (C128) format.

Time Range

1972-04-19 to 1972-04-23

Freshness

2026.03.06 00:05:37.352233

Geography

North Pacific Ocean (from the CAYUSE cruise).