Historical Ocean Temperature Profiles from the North Pacific

Mechanical bathythermograph data from the J. R. PERRY cruise in the North Pacific Ocean during January 1967. The dataset contains pairs of temperature-depth values recorded at uniform 5-meter intervals, processed by the NODC into the standard C128 format. It provides a detailed snapshot of the thermal structure of the ocean's upper layers over a specific two-week period.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the vertical temperature structure of the upper ocean to a depth of approximately 285 meters.
• Studying short-term thermal variability in the North Pacific during January 1967 using paired temperature-depth values.
• Using cruise information, date, position, and time metadata to contextualize historical oceanographic observations.
• Benchmarking historical upper-ocean heat content against modern measurements.

Strengths

• Data is processed to a known standard format (NODC C128), ensuring structural consistency.
• Temporal and spatial scope is precisely defined for the cruise from 1967-01-16 to 1967-01-30 in the North Pacific Ocean.
• Depth measurements are recorded at a uniform 5-meter interval, facilitating systematic analysis of the water column.

Limitations

• Key quantitative details like row count, file size, and specific column names are unavailable across all sources.
• The mechanical bathythermograph instrument limits observations to a maximum depth of approximately 285 meters, excluding deeper ocean layers.
• Sources conflict on the last update date, with one platform listing 2026-04-01 and another listing the original collection date of 1967-01-30.

Provenance

Source

NOAA_NCEI (formerly NODC)

Collection Method

Collected via mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) instrument during a specific oceanographic cruise and processed to the NODC C128 format.

Time Range

1967-01-16 to 1967-01-30

Freshness

2026-04-01 15:18:30.338386

Geography

North Pacific Ocean