North Pacific Ocean Temperature Profiles from the CHELAN Cruise

North Pacific Ocean data contains mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) temperature-depth profiles collected during the CHELAN cruise from July 5 to July 15, 1964. The dataset, processed by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) into the C128 standard format, provides paired temperature and depth values at uniform 5-meter intervals. It is hosted by NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI).

Use Cases

• Analyzing the thermal structure of the upper ocean (up to ~285m) using temperature-depth pairs.
• Studying short-term oceanic temperature variability in the North Pacific during July 1964.
• Validating or calibrating ocean model outputs for historical surface layer conditions.
• Correlating cruise information, date, position, and time with observed temperature profiles.

Strengths

• Data is processed to a known standard (NODC C128 format) ensuring consistent structure.
• Provides precise temporal coverage for a 10-day period in July 1964.
• Temperature values are recorded at uniform 5-meter depth intervals, facilitating analysis.

Limitations

• Key metadata such as row count, column names, and file size are unavailable from all sources.
• The maximum observation depth of ~285 meters limits analysis to the ocean's upper layers only.
• A conflict exists on the 'last updated' date between platforms (2026-03-05 vs. 1964-07-15).

Provenance

Source

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), via the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC).

Collection Method

Collected using a Mechanical Bathythermograph (MBT) instrument during the CHELAN cruise.

Time Range

1964-07-05 to 1964-07-15

Freshness

2026-03-05 23:44:55.112782

Geography

North Pacific Ocean, specific to the CHELAN cruise track.