Furman MBT Temperature-Depth Profiles from the North Pacific Ocean

Temperature-depth profile data collected using a Mechanical Bathythermograph (MBT) from the vessel FURMAN in the North Pacific Ocean. The dataset contains observations processed to the NODC C128 standard format, with temperature recorded at uniform 5-meter depth intervals up to approximately 285 meters. Data collection occurred during a single cruise from February 17 to March 14, 1966.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the vertical thermal structure of the upper ocean (using temperature-depth value pairs).
• Studying historical ocean conditions in the North Pacific during February-March 1966 (using date, position, and time per observation).
• Investigating cruise-specific oceanographic data (using reported cruise information).
• Calibrating or validating models of upper ocean heat content (using standardized temperature profiles at 5m intervals).

Strengths

• Data is processed to a standardized format (NODC C128), ensuring consistency.
• Provides precise temporal and spatial context for each profile (cruise info, date, position, time).
• Observations cover a defined time period from 1966-02-17 to 1966-03-14.

Limitations

• Key metadata is missing or conflicting: row count, column names, file size, and license are unknown across sources.
• Instrument limitation restricts data to the upper ocean (maximum depth ~285 m).
• Data freshness is unclear: one source lists a 2026 update, while another lists the original 1966 date.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Mechanical Bathythermograph (MBT) instrument measurements processed by NODC.

Time Range

1966-02 17 to 1966-03-14

Freshness

2026-03-05 23:50:28.512381

Geography

North Pacific Ocean