Historical Ocean Temperature Profiles from GENIE II Cruise

Bathythermograph data captures temperature-depth profiles from the GENIE II cruise in the North Atlantic and South Pacific Oceans. The dataset contains measurements recorded at uniform 5-meter intervals down to a maximum depth of approximately 285 meters. Data was processed by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) into its standard C128 format.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the vertical temperature gradient in the upper ocean using paired temperature-depth values.
• Studying short-term thermal variability in specific ocean regions from cruise date, position, and time data.
• Calibrating or validating models of upper-ocean heat content for the 1950s era.
• Investigating the spatial distribution of surface layer temperatures across the North Atlantic and South Pacific.

Strengths

• Data is structured to a known standard (NODC C128 format) ensuring consistent interpretation.
• Measurements are recorded at a uniform 5-meter depth interval, facilitating systematic analysis.
• Provides precise spatiotemporal context with reported cruise information, date, position, and time for each observation.

Limitations

• The maximum observation depth of ~285 meters limits analysis to the ocean's upper layers only.
• Conflicting metadata exists: one platform lists a last update in 2026, while another shows the data date from 1956.
• Key quantitative details like total row count, file size, and specific column names are unavailable from all sources.

Provenance

Source

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), originating from the GENIE II cruise.

Collection Method

Collected via mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) instrument and processed by NODC.

Time Range

1956-05-01 to 1956-05-03

Freshness

2026-03-05 23:07:11.736161

Geography

North Atlantic Ocean and South Pacific Ocean