Historical North Atlantic Ocean Temperature-Depth Profiles from HARKNESS

NOAA_NCEI provides bathythermograph (MBT) data collected by the HARKNESS vessel in the North Atlantic Ocean between March 1 and August 8, 1955. The dataset contains processed temperature-depth profile pairs recorded at uniform 5-meter intervals, useful for studying the thermal structure of the ocean's upper layers. It is formatted to the NODC standard C128 specification for mechanical bathythermograph observations.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the vertical thermal structure of the North Atlantic's upper ocean (up to ~285m) using temperature-depth value pairs.
• Studying seasonal ocean temperature variations in spring and summer 1955 using date and time stamps for each observation.
• Mapping historical cruise tracks and sampling locations in the North Atlantic using reported position data.
• Benchmarking or validating ocean model reconstructions of mid-20th century conditions with in-situ profile data.

Strengths

• Data is processed to a consistent, documented standard (NODC C128 format).
• Provides a specific temporal snapshot of ocean conditions over a 5-month period in 1955.
• Includes core metadata for each observation: cruise information, date, position, and time.

Limitations

• Key quantitative details are missing: row count, file size, and specific column names are unknown.
• The MBT instrument limits observations to a maximum depth of approximately 285 meters, restricting analysis to the upper ocean.
• Conflicting metadata exists: one platform lists an update date of 2026-04-01, while another uses the original collection end date (1955-08-08) as the 'last updated' field.

Provenance

Source

NOAA_NCEI (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Centers for Environmental Information).

Collection Method

Collected via mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) instrument from the HARKNESS vessel and processed by NODC.

Time Range

1955-03-01 to 1955-08-08

Freshness

2026-04-01 15:32:44.636593

Geography

North Atlantic Ocean.