Historical Ocean Temperature Profiles from the HUGH M. SMITH Expedition

Mechanical bathythermograph data from the 1951 HUGH M. SMITH cruise across the North and South Pacific. The dataset contains temperature-depth profile pairs recorded at uniform 5-meter intervals, processed by the National Oceanographic Data Center into its standard C128 format. Observations are limited to the upper ocean layers, with a maximum depth of approximately 285 meters.

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 from recorded positions.
• Investigating seasonal or short-term ocean variability during the 1951 cruise period using date and time stamps.
• Calibrating or validating historical ocean model reanalyses with instrument-specific (MBT) profile data.

Strengths

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

Limitations

• The dataset's exact row count, column names, and file size are not provided by any source.
• Observations are limited to the upper 285 meters of the ocean, excluding deeper thermal structure.
• Sources conflict on the 'last updated' date, reporting both 2026-03-06 and the original 1951-03-12.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Data gathered using a mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) instrument and processed by NODC.

Time Range

1951-01 17 to 1951-03-12

Freshness

2026-03-06 00:14:13.976195

Geography

North Pacific Ocean and South Pacific Ocean