Furman Ship Upper Ocean Temperature Profiles from 1970

Mechanical bathythermograph data records temperature-depth pairs at uniform 5-meter intervals from the research vessel Furman in the North Pacific Ocean. The dataset contains profiles from a one-month cruise in early 1970, processed into the NODC standard C128 format. It is published by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the thermal structure of the upper 285 meters of the ocean using temperature-depth pairs.
• Studying short-term ocean temperature variability in the North Pacific during January-February 1970.
• Correlating cruise information, date, position, and time with observed temperature profiles.
• Using standardized C128 format data for historical comparisons or model validation.

Strengths

• Data is processed to a known standard format (NODC C128), ensuring structural consistency.
• Temperature readings are recorded at a uniform 5-meter depth interval, facilitating analysis.
• Each observation includes associated metadata: cruise information, date, position, and time.

Limitations

• Key quantitative details like row count, file size, and specific column names are unavailable from all sources.
• The maximum observation depth is approximately 285 meters, limiting study to the ocean's upper layers only.
• Sources conflict on the 'last updated' date (2026-03 06 vs. 1970-02-05), creating uncertainty about metadata maintenance.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Collected using a mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) instrument from the vessel Furman and processed by NODC.

Time Range

1970-01-06 to 1970-02 05

Freshness

2026-03-06 00:00:03.794399

Geography

North Pacific Ocean