Arctic Ocean Temperature Profiles from Ice Island Expedition

Mechanical bathythermograph data captures temperature-depth profiles from the Ice Island research platform in the Arctic Ocean and Northwestern Passages. The dataset covers a single expedition from May to September 1958, processed into the NODC standard C128 format. It was collected and standardized by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) under NOAA NCEI.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the thermal structure of the upper ocean layers up to 285 meters depth.
• Studying historical Arctic Ocean conditions during a specific summer expedition.
• Correlating temperature profiles with recorded cruise information, date, position, and time.
• Investigating temperature changes at uniform 5-meter depth intervals.

Strengths

• Data is processed to a known, documented standard format (NODC C128).
• Provides precise temporal coverage for a focused Arctic expedition from 1958-05-29 to 1958-09-17.
• Records data pairs at consistent 5-meter depth intervals for comparative analysis.

Limitations

• Key metadata conflicts exist: one platform lists a last update in 2026, while another shows 1958.
• Core technical details like row count, file size, and specific column names are unavailable from all sources.
• Instrument limitation: MBT data is only useful for the upper ocean layers, with a maximum depth of approximately 285 meters.

Provenance

Source

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) / National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC).

Collection Method

Collected via mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) instrument from the ICE ISLAND platform and processed to NODC standard C128 format.

Time Range

1958-05-29 to 1958-09-17

Freshness

2026-03-05 22:41:19.149725

Geography

Arctic Ocean and Northwestern Passages.