Historical Gulf of Mexico Upper Ocean Temperature Profiles from R/V GERDA

Mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) data collected during a two-day cruise by the R/V GERDA in the Gulf of Mexico in December 1959. The dataset contains temperature-depth profile pairs, processed by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) into the standard C128 format. Observations are limited to the upper 285 meters of the ocean, providing a snapshot of the thermal structure.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the vertical temperature gradient in the Gulf of Mexico's upper ocean for a specific historical period.
• Calibrating or validating ocean model simulations of the Gulf's mixed layer using precise cruise, date, position, and time metadata.
• Studying short-term thermal variability over a two-day period using observations recorded at uniform 5-meter depth intervals.

Strengths

• Data is processed to a known, documented standard (NODC C128 format) ensuring consistent structure.
• Provides precise spatiotemporal context with reported cruise information, date, position, and time for each observation.
• Temperature measurements are recorded at a consistent, fine vertical resolution of 5-meter intervals.

Limitations

• The dataset's scope is limited to the upper ocean, with a maximum observation depth of approximately 285 meters.
• Key metadata such as row count, file size, and license information is unavailable across all sources.
• The temporal coverage is extremely brief, spanning only two days in December 1959.

Provenance

Source

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), originally from R/V GERDA cruise.

Collection Method

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

Time Range

1959-12-13 to 1959-12-14

Freshness

2026-03-06 00:27:00.584944

Geography

Gulf of Mexico