Historical Ocean Temperature Profiles from the R/V Columbia

1959-10-18 to 1960 08-15 is the period covered by this dataset of mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) temperature-depth profiles. It was collected by the R/V Columbia across the Gulf of Guinea, Indian Ocean, and North and South Atlantic Oceans. The National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) processed the data into its standard C128 format.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the thermal structure of the upper ocean (up to 285m) using paired temperature-depth values.
• Studying spatial and temporal variability of sea surface temperature and subsurface layers across multiple ocean basins.
• Validating or supplementing historical oceanographic models for the late 1950s and early 1960s.
• Correlating cruise information, date, position, and time with observed temperature profiles.

Strengths

• Data is processed to a known standard format (NODC C128), ensuring structural consistency.
• Provides a focused temporal snapshot (approximately 10 months) from a specific research vessel.
• Covers multiple major ocean basins (Gulf of Guinea, Indian, North and South Atlantic).
• Temperature data is recorded at uniform 5-meter depth intervals, facilitating analysis.

Limitations

• Key metadata is missing or conflicting: row count, file size, license, and specific column names are unknown.
• The maximum observation depth is approximately 285 meters, limiting analysis to the upper ocean only.
• The 'last updated' date conflicts between sources (2026-03-05 on Data.gov vs. 1960-08-15 on NASA Earthdata).

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

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

Time Range

1959-10-18 to 1960-08-15

Freshness

2026-03-05 23:45:50.918384

Geography

Gulf of Guinea, Indian Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic Ocean