GERDA Ship Upper Ocean Temperature Profiles from 1962

Mechanical bathythermograph data collected aboard the R/V GERDA in the North Atlantic Ocean during a 10-day cruise in March 1962. The dataset contains temperature-depth profile pairs recorded at uniform 5-meter intervals down to a maximum depth of approximately 285 meters. Data was processed by the National Oceanographic Data Center into the standard C128 format.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the thermal structure of the upper ocean (0-285m) using paired temperature-depth values.
• Studying short-term temperature variability in the North Atlantic during early spring using date, time, and position columns.
• Calibrating or validating historical ocean model outputs for the 1960s era.

Strengths

• Data is formatted to a consistent NODC standard (C128) for temperature-depth profiles.
• Provides precise temporal coverage for a specific 10-day research cruise from 1962-03-10 to 1962-03-20.
• Temperature measurements are recorded at uniform 5-meter depth intervals, enabling structured analysis.

Limitations

• Key metadata such as row count, file size, and specific column names are unavailable from all sources.
• Instrument limitation restricts observations to a maximum depth of ~285m, capturing only the upper ocean layer.
• Conflicting 'last updated' dates exist between platforms (2026-04-01 on datagov vs. 1962-03-20 on nasa_earthdata).

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

Mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) instrument measurements processed by NODC.

Time Range

1962-03-10 to 1962-03-20

Freshness

2026-04-01 15:03:28.363700

Geography

North Atlantic Ocean