North Atlantic Upper Ocean Temperature Profiles from Mechanical Bathythermograph

North Atlantic Ocean data from the CHAMBERS vessel contains temperature-depth profiles collected using a Mechanical Bathythermograph (MBT). The dataset covers the period from June 1957 to August 1958 and was processed into the NODC standard C128 format by the National Oceanographic Data Center. It is provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the thermal structure of the upper ocean (up to 285m) using temperature-depth value pairs.
• Studying seasonal or spatial temperature variations in the North Atlantic using cruise date, position, and time data.
• Calibrating or validating ocean models with historical in-situ temperature profiles recorded at 5-meter intervals.

Strengths

• Data is standardized to the NODC C128 format, ensuring a consistent structure for temperature-depth profiles.
• Provides a focused temporal record of over one year (1957-1958) from a specific research vessel.
• Each observation includes associated metadata such as cruise information, date, position, and time.

Limitations

• Instrument limitation restricts observations to a maximum depth of approximately 285 meters, capturing only the upper ocean layer.
• Key quantitative details like row count, file size, and specific column names are unavailable from the provided sources.
• Conflicting 'last updated' dates exist between platforms (2026-03-06 on Data.gov vs. 1958-08-22 on NASA Earthdata).

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Collected via Mechanical Bathythermograph (MBT) instrument and processed by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC).

Time Range

1957-06-18 to 1958-08-22

Freshness

2026-03 06 00:00:17.038154

Geography

North Atlantic Ocean, from the CHAMBERS vessel