North Pacific Ocean Temperature-Depth Profiles from Mechanical Bathythermograph

North Pacific Ocean and Philippine Sea temperature-depth profiles collected by the MARSH vessel using a mechanical bathythermograph (MBT). The dataset, processed by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC), covers a 22-month period from January 1955 to October 1956. It provides standardized observations of the ocean's upper thermal layers.

Use Cases

• Analyzing historical upper-ocean thermal stratification using temperature-depth value pairs.
• Studying seasonal temperature changes in the North Pacific from 1955 to 1956 using cruise date and position data.
• Calibrating or validating ocean mixed-layer models with instrument-specific data limited to approximately 285 meters depth.
• Mapping regional oceanographic conditions using geospatial cruise information and time stamps.

Strengths

• Data is processed to a recognized standard format (NODC C128), ensuring consistency.
• Provides a specific 22-month time series from 1955-01-12 to 1956-10-19 for temporal analysis.
• Temperature observations are recorded at uniform 5-meter depth intervals, facilitating profile comparison.
• Cross-platform presence on NOAA and NASA portals indicates recognized importance and curation.

Limitations

• Key structural metadata like row count, column names, and file size are unavailable from all sources.
• Observations are limited to a maximum depth of ~285 meters, restricting analysis to the ocean's upper layers.
• Sources conflict on the 'last updated' metadata (2026 vs. 1956), casting doubt on maintenance timelines.

Provenance

Source

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), originating from the MARSH vessel.

Collection Method

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

Time Range

1955-01-12 to 1956-10-19

Freshness

2026-03-06 00:02:36.393654

Geography

North Pacific Ocean and Philippine Sea