North Atlantic Ocean Temperature Profiles from the KIRKPATRICK Cruise

Mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) data documents temperature-depth profiles from the KIRKPATRICK research cruise in the North Atlantic Ocean. The dataset, processed by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) into the standard C128 format, covers a specific voyage from April 22 to May 12, 1958. It provides paired temperature-depth values recorded at uniform 5-meter intervals, useful for studying the thermal structure of the ocean's upper layers.

Use Cases

• Analyzing historical thermal stratification in the North Atlantic upper ocean using temperature-depth pairs.
• Studying seasonal warming patterns in spring 1958 via time-series data linked to cruise dates and positions.
• Calibrating or validating ocean model outputs for the upper 285 meters using standardized NODC C128 format data.

Strengths

• Data is processed to a known, documented standard (NODC C128 format), ensuring consistency.
• Provides precise temporal and spatial context with specific cruise dates (1958-04-22 to 1958-05-12) and a defined region (North Atlantic Ocean).
• Temperature measurements are recorded at uniform 5-meter depth intervals, facilitating systematic analysis of the water column.

Limitations

• Key quantitative details are missing across all sources: row count, file size, and specific column names are unknown.
• The maximum observation depth is limited to approximately 285 meters, restricting analysis to the ocean's upper layers only.
• Conflicting 'last updated' dates exist between platforms (2026-03-05 on Data.gov vs. 1958-05-12 on NASA Earthdata), obscuring the provenance timeline.

Provenance

Source

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), originally from the KIRKPATRICK cruise.

Collection Method

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

Time Range

1958-04-22 to 1958-05-12

Freshness

2026-03-05 23:28:24.162924

Geography

North Atlantic Ocean