Bathythermograph Temperature-Depth Profiles from the Bering Sea

From May to August 1961, this dataset contains mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) observations from the research vessel MARINE VIEW in the Bering Sea and North Pacific Ocean. It provides temperature-depth profile pairs recorded at uniform 5-meter intervals down to approximately 285 meters, processed by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) into the standard C128 format. The data is curated and hosted by NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI).

Use Cases

• Analyzing the vertical temperature stratification of the upper ocean (0-285m) during the summer months.
• Studying spatial thermal gradients in the Bering Sea and North Pacific using reported position data.
• Investigating short-term seasonal changes in sea surface temperature and mixed layer depth from May to August 1961.
• Validating or providing historical context for regional oceanographic models using precisely timed and located profile data.

Strengths

• Data is processed to a known, documented standard (NODC C128 format) ensuring structural consistency.
• Provides precise temporal coverage for a specific summer season from 1961-05-04 to 1961-08-16.
• Includes core metadata for each observation: cruise information, date, position, and time.

Limitations

• Key technical specifications are unknown, including the total number of rows, columns, and file size.
• The dataset's license and original author are not specified in the provided metadata.
• The maximum observation depth of ~285m limits analysis to the upper ocean layers only.

Provenance

Source

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), from the research vessel MARINE VIEW.

Collection Method

Mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) instrument measurements, processed by NODC.

Time Range

1961-05-04 to 1961-08-16

Freshness

2026-03-05 23:38:02.670214

Geography

Bering Sea and North Pacific Ocean