Historical Ocean Temperature Profiles from the Gulf of Guinea

Gulf of Guinea and North Atlantic Ocean temperature-depth profiles collected by the KIARA vessel using a Mechanical Bathythermograph (MBT) in 1963. The dataset, processed by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC), contains observations from a one-month cruise. It is useful for studying the thermal structure of the ocean's upper layers.

Use Cases

• Analyzing historical sea surface temperature and upper ocean thermal structure.
• Studying temperature variation with depth at uniform 5-meter intervals.
• Mapping cruise track and spatial distribution of observations in the Gulf of Guinea and North Atlantic.
• Correlating temperature profiles with recorded date, time, and position data.

Strengths

• Data is processed to a standardized NODC format (C128), ensuring consistency.
• Provides precise temporal coverage from February 21 to March 22, 1963.
• Includes core metadata for each observation: cruise information, date, position, and time.

Limitations

• MBT instrument limits observations to a maximum depth of approximately 285 meters, restricting analysis to the upper ocean.
• Key quantitative details like row count, file size, and specific column names are unavailable from all sources.
• Conflicting 'last updated' dates exist between platforms (2026 vs. 1963), creating uncertainty about metadata maintenance.

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

1963-02-21 to 1963-03-22

Freshness

2026-04-01 15:26:34.934045

Geography

Gulf of Guinea and North Atlantic Ocean