Historical Atlantic Ocean Temperature Profiles from COMODORO LASERRE

NOAA NCEI provides mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) data from the COMODORO LASERRE vessel, capturing temperature-depth profiles in the North and South Atlantic Ocean. The dataset contains observations from a single cruise spanning from February to September 1963. Data is processed into the NODC standard C128 format, with temperature recorded at uniform 5-meter depth intervals up to approximately 285 meters.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the thermal structure of the upper ocean (0-285m) using paired temperature-depth values.
• Studying seasonal temperature changes in the Atlantic Ocean from February to September 1963.
• Validating or calibrating ocean model simulations for the upper water column with historical in-situ data.
• Mapping cruise-based temperature observations using reported date, position, and time metadata.

Strengths

• Data is processed to a standardized format (NODC C128), ensuring consistent structure.
• Provides a focused temporal snapshot from a single research cruise over a 7-month period in 1963.
• Temperature measurements are recorded at uniform 5-meter depth intervals, facilitating analysis.

Limitations

• Key metadata such as row count, file size, and specific column names are unavailable from all sources.
• Instrument limitation restricts observations to a maximum depth of ~285m, capturing only the upper ocean.
• A conflict exists on the last updated date: one source lists 2026-03 05 (likely a metadata update), while another lists the original data end date of 1963-09-04.

Provenance

Source

NOAA NCEI (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Centers for Environmental Information).

Collection Method

Mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) instrument measurements processed by NODC.

Time Range

1963-02-15 to 1963-09-04

Freshness

2026-03-05 23:50:26.468531

Geography

North Atlantic Ocean and South Atlantic Ocean.