North Pacific Ocean Temperature Profiles from Mechanical Bathythermograph

North Pacific Ocean data contains temperature-depth profiles from a mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) on the CAYUSE vessel, recorded on June 11-12, 1972. The dataset was processed by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) into its standard C128 format. It provides structured observations of the ocean's upper thermal layers.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the vertical thermal structure of the upper ocean up to 285 meters depth using temperature-depth value pairs.
• Studying short-term temperature variability in a specific North Pacific location using data from a precise two-day cruise.
• Correlating historical ocean surface conditions with cruise information, date, position, and time reported for each observation.

Strengths

• Data is structured to a known standard (NODC C128 format) ensuring consistent interpretation.
• Temperature readings are recorded at uniform 5-meter depth intervals, facilitating systematic analysis.
• Provides precise temporal and spatial context with specific dates (1972-06-11 to 1972-06-12) and a defined geographic region (North Pacific Ocean).

Limitations

• Key metadata such as row count, column names, file size, and license are unavailable from all sources.
• Instrument limitation restricts observations to a maximum depth of approximately 285 meters, capturing only the upper ocean layers.
• Conflicting 'last updated' dates exist between platforms (2026-04-01 on datagov vs. 1972-06-12 on nasa_earthdata), creating provenance uncertainty.

Provenance

Source

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), originally from NODC processing.

Collection Method

Data gathered using a mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) instrument during a vessel cruise and processed to a standard format.

Time Range

1972-06-11 to 1972-06-12

Freshness

2026-04-01 14:57:26.342711

Geography

North Pacific Ocean