Caribbean Sea Temperature Profiles from the R/V Eastward

January 1970 to April 1971 temperature-depth profiles collected via mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) aboard the R/V Eastward in the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean. The dataset, processed by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC), contains standardized records of cruise information, date, position, time, and paired temperature-depth values. Observations are limited to the upper ocean, with a maximum recorded depth of approximately 285 meters.

Use Cases

• Analyzing seasonal temperature changes in the upper ocean from 1970 to 1971.
• Mapping the thermal structure of the Caribbean Sea and western North Atlantic using latitude and longitude coordinates.
• Studying vertical temperature gradients at uniform 5-meter depth intervals up to 285 meters.
• Correlating cruise-based observations with specific dates and times for historical oceanographic reconstruction.

Strengths

• Data is standardized to the NODC C128 format, ensuring consistent structure and processing.
• Provides a focused 15-month time series from a specific research vessel, the R/V Eastward.
• Includes core metadata fields such as cruise information, date, position, and time for each observation.

Limitations

• Key quantitative details like row count, file size, and specific column names are unavailable from all sources.
• Instrument limitation restricts data to the upper ocean layers, with a maximum depth of approximately 285 meters.
• Conflicting last-updated timestamps exist between platforms (2026-03-06 on Data.gov vs. 1971-04-30 on NASA Earthdata).

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

Collected via mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) instrument during R/V Eastward cruises.

Time Range

1970-01-21 to 1971-04-30

Freshness

2026-03-06 00:04:33.652225

Geography

Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean