Coral Sea Temperature Profiles from HMNZS Waikato Cruise, 1969

The Coral Sea and South Pacific Ocean dataset contains temperature-depth profiles from a mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) deployed by HMNZS Waikato. Data was collected during a 16-day cruise in October 1969 and processed by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) into the standard C128 format. This dataset captures the thermal structure of the ocean's upper layers to a maximum depth of approximately 285 meters.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the vertical temperature structure of the upper ocean (285m) using paired temperature-depth values.
• Studying temporal changes in sea surface temperature and mixed layer depth during the cruise period from October 14-30, 1969.
• Mapping regional thermal features in the Coral Sea and South Pacific using reported position (latitude/longitude) data.
• Validating or calibrating ocean model outputs for historical conditions using precisely recorded 5-meter interval profiles.

Strengths

• Data is processed to a documented standard format (NODC C128), ensuring consistency for analysis.
• Provides high-resolution vertical sampling with temperature recorded at uniform 5-meter depth intervals.
• Each observation includes associated metadata: cruise information, date, position, and time.

Limitations

• Instrument limitation restricts observations to a maximum depth of ~285m, excluding deeper ocean layers.
• Key metadata conflicts exist: row count, column names, and exact license are unknown across all sources.
• Data is from a single, short-duration cruise, limiting temporal and spatial generalization.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) instrument measurements processed by NODC.

Time Range

1969-10 14 to 1969-10-30

Freshness

2026-03-05 22:56:49.087853

Geography

Coral Sea and South Pacific Ocean