Malaspina Expedition Historical Ocean Temperature Profiles

285 mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) profiles capture temperature-depth pairs at 5-meter intervals in the upper ocean. The data, processed to the NODC C128 standard, originates from the 1963-1964 MALASPINA cruise in the Gulf of Guinea and Atlantic Ocean. This dataset provides a snapshot of mid-20th-century upper ocean thermal conditions.

Use Cases

• Analyzing historical upper ocean thermal stratification using temperature-depth value pairs.
• Studying spatial variability of sea surface temperature and mixed layer depth across the Gulf of Guinea and Atlantic Ocean.
• Providing a baseline for climate change studies by comparing 1960s ocean temperatures with modern data.
• Validating or calibrating ocean model hindcasts for the 1963-1964 period using precise cruise date, position, and time metadata.

Strengths

• Data is standardized to the NODC C128 format, ensuring consistent structure for temperature-depth profiles.
• Provides a focused temporal snapshot from a specific 7-month research cruise (1963-08-10 to 1964-03-12).
• Temperature measurements are recorded at uniform 5-meter depth intervals, facilitating systematic analysis of the upper 285 meters.

Limitations

• The maximum observation depth is approximately 285 meters, limiting analysis to the upper ocean layers only.
• Exact row count, column names, and dataset size are not provided by any source.
• Conflicting 'last updated' dates exist between platforms (2026-03-05 on datagov vs. 1964-03 12 on nasa_earthdata).

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) instrument measurements processed by NODC to the C128 standard format.

Time Range

1963-08-10 to 1964-03-12

Freshness

2026-03 05 22:31:03.103090

Geography

Gulf of Guinea, North Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic Ocean