Historical Ocean Temperature Profiles from the KING Expedition

Mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) data documents ocean temperature-depth profiles from the vessel KING during a 1963 cruise. The dataset covers the North Pacific Ocean, Philippine Sea, and South China Sea over a seven-week period. Data was processed by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) into its standard C128 format.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the thermal structure of the upper ocean (up to 285m) in the western Pacific.
• Studying temporal changes in sea surface temperature and subsurface layers during the 1963 cruise period.
• Correlating temperature profiles with specific cruise locations, dates, and times.
• Providing a historical baseline for comparison with modern ocean temperature data.

Strengths

• Data is structured to the NODC's standardized C128 format, ensuring consistent interpretation.
• Temperature values are recorded at uniform 5-meter depth intervals, facilitating systematic analysis.
• Each observation includes associated metadata: cruise information, date, geographic position, and time.

Limitations

• The mechanical bathythermograph instrument limits observations to a maximum depth of approximately 285 meters.
• Key metadata such as row count, specific column names, and license information are unavailable from the provided sources.
• Platforms disagree on the 'last updated' date (2026-03-05 vs. 1963-10-06), creating uncertainty about maintenance.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

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

Time Range

1963-08 19 to 1963-10-06

Freshness

2026-03-05 23:52:59.894068

Geography

North Pacific Ocean, Philippine Sea, South China Sea