North Pacific Ocean Temperature Profiles from the HUGH M. SMITH Cruise

North Pacific Ocean data contains mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) temperature-depth profiles from the research vessel HUGH M. SMITH. The dataset covers a 10-day cruise from September 6 to 15, 1952, processed by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) into the standard C128 format. It provides paired temperature and depth measurements at uniform 5-meter intervals down to a maximum of approximately 285 meters.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the vertical thermal structure of the upper ocean using paired temperature-depth values.
• Studying short-term oceanic variability during a specific cruise by examining data linked to date, position, and time.
• Investigating historical sea surface temperature conditions in the North Pacific region.
• Calibrating or validating models of upper-ocean heat content using instrument-specific profile data.

Strengths

• Data is processed to a recognized standard format (NODC C128), ensuring structural consistency.
• Provides precise temporal coverage for a specific 10-day research cruise in September 1952.
• Measurements are recorded at uniform 5-meter depth intervals, facilitating systematic analysis.

Limitations

• Key metadata such as row count, file size, and specific column names are unavailable across all sources.
• The mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) instrument limits observations to a maximum depth of approximately 285 meters, restricting analysis to the upper ocean.
• Sources conflict on the last updated date, with one platform listing 2026-03 05 and another listing the original collection date of 1952-09-15.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Collected via mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) instrument during a research cruise and processed by NODC.

Time Range

1952-09-06 to 1952-09-15

Freshness

2026-03-05 22:30:41.124522

Geography

North Pacific Ocean