HIDALGO Bathythermograph Profiles from the Gulf of Mexico

Temperature-depth profiles from the mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) instrument aboard the HIDALGO in the Gulf of Mexico. The dataset comprises pairs of temperature-depth values recorded at uniform 5-meter intervals, processed by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) into its standard C128 format. Data collection occurred over a brief period from December 26, 1960, to January 5, 1961.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the vertical thermal structure of the upper ocean (up to ~285m) for a specific cruise.
• Studying short-term temperature variations in the Gulf of Mexico during late December 1960.
• Using cruise information, date, position, and time metadata to contextualize historical oceanographic observations.
• Examining temperature data recorded at uniform 5-meter depth intervals for profile consistency.

Strengths

• Data processed to a known standard format (NODC C128) ensuring structured temperature-depth pairs.
• Provides specific temporal context with a clear collection period from 1960-12-26 to 1961-01-05.
• Includes key metadata for each observation: cruise information, date, position, and time.

Limitations

• Maximum observation depth is approximately 285 meters, limiting analysis to the ocean's upper layers.
• Key metadata such as row count, column names, license, and author are unavailable across all sources.
• Data is historical and from a single, short cruise, limiting spatial and temporal generalizability.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

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

Time Range

1960-12 26 to 1961-01-05

Freshness

2026-03-05 22:28:28.547895

Geography

Gulf of Mexico