Mediterranean Sea Upper-Layer Temperature Profiles from 1969

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data contains bathythermograph (MBT) measurements from the COLUMBUS cruise in the Mediterranean Sea. The dataset provides temperature-depth profile pairs recorded at uniform 5-meter intervals, processed into the NODC standard C128 format. Observations cover a specific period from January 4 to January 29, 1969.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the thermal structure of the upper 285 meters of the Mediterranean Sea using temperature-depth pairs.
• Studying seasonal or short-term temperature variations in January 1969 from cruise-reported date and time.
• Mapping historical ocean conditions using reported position (latitude/longitude) data for each observation.
• Calibrating or validating models of upper-ocean heat content with instrument-specific MBT data.

Strengths

• Data is processed to a known standard format (NODC C128), ensuring consistent structure.
• Provides specific temporal coverage from 1969-01-04 to 1969-01 29 for focused analysis.
• Temperature measurements are recorded at a consistent, high-resolution 5-meter depth interval.
• Cross-platform presence on Data.gov signals institutional importance and curation.

Limitations

• Key metadata like row count, column names, and file size are unavailable from all sources.
• The MBT instrument limits observations to a maximum depth of approximately 285 meters, excluding deeper ocean layers.
• Sources conflict on the 'last updated' date (2026-03-06 vs. 1969-01-29), creating uncertainty about recent modifications.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) instrument measurements processed by NODC.

Time Range

1969-01-04 to 1969-01-29

Freshness

2026-03-06 00:13:19.725920

Geography

Mediterranean Sea (specific cruise track of COLUMBUS unknown)