Historical Upper Ocean Temperature Profiles from the HUGH M. SMITH

North and South Pacific Ocean temperature-depth profiles were collected by the vessel HUGH M. SMITH using a Mechanical Bathythermograph (MBT) from January to March 1950. The dataset contains processed observations formatted to the NODC C128 standard, with temperature recorded at uniform 5-meter intervals down to a maximum depth of approximately 285 meters. It provides a snapshot of post-war oceanographic conditions in the Pacific.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the thermal structure of the upper ocean (0-285m) using paired temperature-depth values.
• Studying spatial temperature gradients across the North and South Pacific Ocean using reported position data.
• Investigating short-term seasonal changes in early 1950 using the date and time fields for each profile.
• Correlating cruise information and observation metadata with other historical oceanographic datasets.

Strengths

• Data is processed to a known standard format (NODC C128), ensuring structural consistency.
• Temperature observations are recorded at a uniform 5-meter depth interval, facilitating direct comparison.
• Provides a focused temporal snapshot from a specific research vessel over a 1.5-month period in 1950.

Limitations

• Key metadata such as row count, file size, and specific column names are unavailable from all sources.
• Instrument limitation restricts data to the upper 285 meters of the ocean, excluding deeper thermal features.
• Conflicting 'last updated' dates exist between platforms (2026 vs. 1950), casting doubt on provenance maintenance.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) instrument measurements processed by NODC.

Time Range

1950-01 16 to 1950-03-01

Freshness

2026-03-05 22:55:15.341921

Geography

North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific Ocean