Historical Atlantic Ocean Temperature Profiles from Mechanical Bathythermograph

Mechanical bathythermograph data from the research vessel NIZERY, ANDRE provides temperature-depth profiles for the upper ocean. The dataset covers a seven-month period in 1970 across the Gulf of Guinea, North Atlantic, and South Atlantic Oceans. It was processed and standardized by the National Oceanographic Data Center.

Use Cases

• Analyzing temperature gradients at uniform 5-meter depth intervals up to 285 meters.
• Mapping the thermal structure of the upper ocean in the Gulf of Guinea.
• Correlating cruise date, position, and time with observed temperature-depth pairs.
• Studying seasonal changes in near-surface ocean temperatures from May to December 1970.

Strengths

• Data is processed to a known standard format (NODC C128), ensuring structural consistency.
• Profiles provide consistent measurements at uniform 5-meter depth intervals.
• Covers a specific seven-month time range (1970-05 29 to 1970-12-10) across multiple ocean regions.

Limitations

• Instrument limitation restricts observations to a maximum depth of approximately 285 meters, capturing only the upper ocean.
• Key metadata such as row count, column names, and exact file size are unavailable from all sources.
• Conflicting 'last updated' dates exist between platforms (2026-04-01 on Data.gov vs. 1970-12-10 on NASA Earthdata).

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce.

Collection Method

Temperature-depth profiles gathered using a mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) instrument from the vessel NIZERY, ANDRE, later processed by NODC.

Time Range

1970-05-29 to 1970-12-10

Freshness

2026-04-01 15:18:18.059054

Geography

Gulf of Guinea, North Atlantic Ocean, and South Atlantic Ocean.