North Pacific Ocean Temperature Profiles from 1958 Cruise

285 temperature-depth profiles were collected by the vessel CURRIER in the North Pacific Ocean between February and April 1958. The data has been processed by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) into the standard C128 format for Mechanical Bathythermograph (MBT) records. This dataset captures the thermal structure of the ocean's upper layers to a maximum depth of approximately 285 meters.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the vertical thermal structure of the North Pacific upper ocean in early 1958 using paired temperature-depth values.
• Studying seasonal ocean heat content changes by examining temperature profiles recorded at uniform 5-meter depth intervals.
• Mapping historical ocean conditions by correlating temperature data with reported cruise position, date, and time for each observation.
• Calibrating or validating ocean model hindcasts for the North Pacific region using this precisely dated and geolocated profile data.

Strengths

• Data is processed to a recognized standard format (NODC C128), ensuring structural consistency.
• Each observation includes associated metadata such as cruise information, date, position, and time.
• Temperature data is recorded at a uniform vertical resolution of 5-meter depth intervals.

Limitations

• The exact number of rows (profiles/observations) is not specified in the provided metadata.
• The MBT instrument's maximum depth of approximately 285 meters limits analysis to the ocean's upper layers only.
• Conflicting 'last updated' dates exist between platforms (2026-03-05 on datagov vs. 1958-04-17 on nasa_earthdata), creating uncertainty about recent curation.

Provenance

Source

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), from NODC processing.

Collection Method

Collected via Mechanical Bathythermograph (MBT) instrument during the CURRIER cruise.

Time Range

1958-02-11 to 1958-04-17

Freshness

2026-03-05 23:48:21.989574

Geography

North Pacific Ocean