CHICAGO Bathythermograph Temperature-Depth Profiles from 1964

NODC-processed mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) data from the CHICAGO cruise in the North Pacific Ocean. The dataset contains temperature-depth profile pairs recorded at uniform 5-meter intervals to a maximum depth of approximately 285 meters. It was collected and standardized by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration during a one-month period from November 2 to December 1, 1964.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the vertical temperature structure of the upper ocean from paired temperature-depth values.
• Studying short-term thermal variability in the North Pacific using cruise date, position, and time metadata.
• Calibrating or validating models of upper-ocean heat content for a specific historical period.
• Investigating the capabilities and data characteristics of the mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) instrument.

Strengths

• Data processed to a standardized NODC format (C128), ensuring consistent structure.
• Provides precise temporal coverage for a focused one-month cruise from 1964-11-02 to 1964-12-01.
• Temperature measurements are recorded at uniform 5-meter depth intervals, facilitating systematic analysis.

Limitations

• Key metadata such as row count, file size, specific column names, and license are unreported across all platforms.
• Data is limited to the upper ocean, with a maximum observation depth of approximately 285 meters.
• Conflicting 'last updated' dates exist between Data.gov (2026) and NASA Earthdata (1964), creating provenance ambiguity.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

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

Time Range

1964-11-02 to 1964-12-01

Freshness

2026-03-06 00:19:25.745312

Geography

North Pacific Ocean, CHICAGO cruise