Mediterranean Sea Temperature Profiles from 1970 Research Vessels

May 5 to May 19, 1970, temperature-depth profiles from three research vessels in the Mediterranean Sea. The dataset contains processed mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) observations, formatted to the NODC C128 standard with temperature recorded at uniform 5-meter intervals. Data was collected by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Use Cases

• Analyzing upper ocean thermal structure using temperature-depth value pairs.
• Studying spatial temperature variation in the Mediterranean Sea using cruise position data.
• Investigating short-term temperature changes in May 1970 using date and time stamps for each profile.
• Correlating surface layer temperature data from multiple vessels (BANNOCK, MIRTO, STAFFETTA).

Strengths

• Data is processed to a consistent standard format (NODC C128).
• Provides a focused two-week temporal snapshot from May 1970.
• Includes profiles from three distinct research vessels, allowing for spatial comparison.
• Temperature measurements are recorded at a uniform 5-meter depth resolution.

Limitations

• Exact row count, column names, and dataset size are unknown.
• MBT instrument maximum depth is ~285 meters, limiting analysis to the upper ocean only.
• Conflicting 'last updated' dates: datagov reports 2026-03 05, while nasa_earthdata reports 1970-05-19.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) instrument measurements processed by NODC.

Time Range

1970-05-05 to 1970-05-19

Freshness

2026-03-05 23:51:03.652653

Geography

Mediterranean Sea