Historical Upper Ocean Temperature Profiles from Gulf of Guinea and North Atlantic

Temperature-depth profiles collected using Mechanical Bathythermograph (MBT) instruments during the DIANA cruise in 1961. The dataset contains observations from the Gulf of Guinea and North Atlantic Ocean, processed into the NODC standard C128 format. It is useful for studying 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 upper ocean (0-285m) using temperature-depth value pairs.
• Studying spatial and temporal variability of sea surface temperature and subsurface layers in the Gulf of Guinea and North Atlantic.
• Calibrating or validating ocean model simulations for the 1961 time period using in-situ profile data.
• Investigating cruise-based oceanographic observations, as each record includes associated cruise information, date, position, and time.

Strengths

• Data is processed to a standardized format (NODC C128), ensuring consistency for analysis.
• Temperature measurements are recorded at uniform 5-meter depth intervals, facilitating direct profile comparisons.
• Provides a focused temporal snapshot from a specific research cruise (DIANA) over a one-month period in 1961.

Limitations

• Row count, total size, and specific column names are not provided by any source, limiting preliminary assessment.
• The MBT instrument's maximum observation depth is ~285m, restricting analysis to the upper ocean only.
• Conflicting 'last updated' metadata exists between platforms (2026-03-05 on Data.gov vs. 1961-10-28 on NASA Earthdata).

Provenance

Source

NOAA NCEI (National Centers for Environmental Information), from the DIANA cruise.

Collection Method

In-situ measurements gathered using Mechanical Bathythermograph (MBT) instruments and processed by NODC.

Time Range

1961-09 26 to 1961-10-28

Freshness

2026-03-05 22:46:50.689849

Geography

Gulf of Guinea and North Atlantic Ocean