Historical Upper Ocean Temperature Profiles from Multiple Ships

Temperature-depth profile pairs from mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) instruments, recorded at uniform 5-meter intervals down to a maximum depth of approximately 285 meters. The dataset captures observations from nine research vessels in the Bay of Fundy, Gulf of Mexico, and North Atlantic Ocean over a focused period from October to December 1968. Data was processed by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) into the standard C128 format.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the thermal structure of the upper ocean (up to ~285m) using paired temperature-depth values.
• Studying spatial patterns of sea surface temperature and subsurface layers across the Gulf of Mexico and North Atlantic.
• Investigating seasonal changes in ocean temperature during the fall of 1968 using time-stamped cruise data.
• Calibrating or validating ocean model outputs for historical periods using precisely located profile data.

Strengths

• Data is processed to a known, documented standard (NODC C128 format).
• Provides consistent vertical resolution with temperature recorded at uniform 5-meter depth intervals.
• Covers a specific, focused three-month time range with observations from nine distinct vessels.

Limitations

• Key metadata such as row count, file size, and specific column names are unavailable from all sources.
• Instrument limitation restricts data to the upper ocean, with a maximum observation depth of approximately 285 meters.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) instrument readings processed by NODC.

Time Range

1968-10-01 to 1968-12-19

Freshness

2026-03-06 00:11:08.413300

Geography

Bay of Fundy, Gulf of Mexico, North Atlantic Ocean