Historical Ocean Temperature Profiles from Multiple Seas

LOCH FYNE cruise data provides temperature-depth profiles from the Alboran Sea, Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, and Red Sea during April 1963. The dataset contains observations processed by the National Oceanographic Data Center into the standard C128 format for Mechanical Bathythermograph (MBT) data, with measurements recorded at uniform 5-meter depth intervals up to approximately 285 meters. It serves as a record of upper ocean thermal structure from a specific mid-20th century period.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the thermal structure of the upper ocean layer across multiple seas using paired temperature-depth values.
• Studying spatial variability of sea surface and subsurface temperatures in spring 1963 using cruise position and time data.
• Calibrating or validating historical ocean climate models with instrument-specific (MBT) profile data.
• Researching the operational history and data standards of the NODC C128 format for bathythermograph records.

Strengths

• Data is processed to a known, documented standard (NODC C128 format), ensuring a consistent structure.
• Provides a specific temporal snapshot from a well-defined period (April 6-29, 1963) across multiple ocean regions.
• Measurements are recorded at a uniform vertical resolution (5-meter depth intervals), facilitating comparative analysis.

Limitations

• Key metadata such as row count, file size, and specific column names are unavailable from the provided sources.
• The MBT instrument's maximum depth of ~285 meters limits analysis to the upper ocean layer only.
• Conflicting 'last updated' dates exist between platforms (2026-03-06 on datagov vs. 1963-04-29 on nasa_earthdata), creating uncertainty about provenance maintenance.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Processed by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) from Mechanical Bathythermograph (MBT) instrument readings.

Time Range

1963-04-06 to 1963-04-29

Freshness

2026-03-06 00:04:23.618593

Geography

Alboran Sea, Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea