Bering Sea Temperature Profiles from 1967 MBT Survey

June 18 to September 4, 1967, this dataset contains temperature-depth profiles from the mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) instrument deployed during the CHELSEA cruise in the Bering Sea. Data was processed by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) into its standard C128 format, with temperature recorded at uniform 5-meter depth intervals. The dataset is provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the vertical thermal structure of the upper ocean (up to ~285m) using paired temperature-depth values.
• Studying seasonal ocean temperature changes in the Bering Sea during summer 1967 using time-stamped profiles.
• Correlating cruise location and time data with temperature observations for spatial-temporal analysis.
• Using the standardized NODC C128 format data for historical baseline comparisons in climate studies.

Strengths

• Data covers a specific summer season with clear temporal bounds from 1967-06-18 to 1967-09-04.
• Profiles are processed to a known standard (NODC C128 format) with temperature recorded at uniform 5-meter intervals.
• Each observation includes associated metadata: cruise information, date, position, and time.

Limitations

• Key technical details are missing: total number of profiles (rows), specific column names, and dataset size are unknown.
• The maximum observation depth of ~285m limits analysis to the ocean's upper thermal structure only.
• Conflicting 'last updated' dates exist between platforms (2026-03-05 on Data.gov vs. 1967-09-04 on NASA Earthdata).

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce.

Collection Method

Mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) instrument measurements processed by NODC to its C128 format.

Time Range

1967-06-18 to 1967-09-04

Freshness

2026-03-05 22:40:34.155958

Geography

Bering Sea, specific cruise track of CHELSEA.