ESSEX MBT Ocean Temperature Profiles Across Nine Seas

Nine ocean regions, including the Arabian Sea and North Atlantic Ocean, are covered by this dataset of historical bathythermograph (MBT) measurements. It contains temperature-depth profile pairs recorded at uniform 5-meter intervals down to a maximum depth of approximately 285 meters, collected by the vessel ESSEX between July 1960 and June 1961. The data has been processed by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) into the standard C128 format.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the thermal structure of the upper ocean using paired temperature-depth values.
• Studying spatial variability of sea surface temperature across nine listed ocean regions.
• Investigating seasonal changes in ocean heat content from 1960 to 1961 using time-series data.
• Mapping historical cruise tracks and sampling locations using reported position, date, and time.

Strengths

• Provides standardized data processed to the NODC C128 format, ensuring consistency.
• Offers a specific temporal snapshot with a clear collection period from 1960-07-29 to 1961-06-26.
• Covers a wide geographic scope across nine distinct ocean basins and seas.

Limitations

• Key quantitative details like total row count, file size, and specific column names are unknown.
• Instrument limitation restricts data usefulness to the upper ocean layers, with a maximum depth of ~285m.
• A conflict exists on the 'last updated' metadata, with one source stating 2026-03-06 and another 1961-06-26.

Provenance

Source

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI).

Collection Method

Collected via mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) instrument from the vessel ESSEX and processed by NODC.

Time Range

1960-07-29 to 1961-06-26

Freshness

2026-03-06 00:03:12.128338

Geography

Arabian Sea, Bay of Biscay, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Mexico, Gulf of Oman, Mediterranean Sea, North Atlantic Ocean, Norwegian Sea, Red Sea.