FURMAN Ship Upper Ocean Temperature Profiles from 1969

North Pacific Ocean temperature-depth profiles collected by the ship FURMAN using a Mechanical Bathythermograph (MBT) from May 30 to June 27, 1969. The dataset contains pairs of temperature and depth values recorded at uniform 5-meter intervals, processed by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) into the standard C128 format. These observations are limited to the upper 285 meters of the ocean.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the vertical thermal structure of the upper ocean using paired temperature-depth columns.
• Studying temporal changes in sea surface temperature and mixed layer depth during the late spring period via date and time fields.
• Mapping regional oceanographic conditions in the North Pacific using cruise position data.
• Calibrating or validating ocean model simulations for the upper 285 meters with historical in-situ measurements.

Strengths

• Data is standardized to the NODC C128 format, ensuring consistent structure for temperature-depth profile pairs.
• Provides a focused temporal snapshot with a clear one-month observation period from 1969-05-30 to 1969 06-27.
• Temperature measurements are recorded at a consistent, high-resolution 5-meter depth interval.

Limitations

• Key metadata such as row count, file size, and specific column names are unavailable from all sources.
• The MBT instrument limits observations to a maximum depth of approximately 285 meters, restricting analysis to the ocean's upper layers.
• Sources conflict on the 'last updated' date, with one platform listing 2026-04 01 and another listing the original collection date of 1969-06-27.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Mechanical Bathythermograph (MBT) instrument measurements processed by NODC.

Time Range

1969-05-30 to 1969-06-27

Freshness

2026-04-01 15:02:28.842021

Geography

North Pacific Ocean