North Atlantic Ocean Temperature Profiles from NOAA Ship Delaware II

North Atlantic Ocean temperature-depth profiles collected via expendable bathythermographs (XBT) from the NOAA Ship Delaware II. Data was processed by the National Oceanographic Data Center into the standard C116 format, capturing temperature at inflection points along non-uniform depth intervals. The dataset covers a specific cruise from May 9 to May 22, 1985.

Use Cases

• Analyzing vertical temperature structure in the North Atlantic using paired temperature-depth values.
• Studying short-term oceanographic conditions during a specific research cruise in May 1985.
• Comparing historical XBT profile methodologies (inflection point recording) against other bathythermograph data.
• Mapping cruise track and station locations using reported position, date, and time for each observation.

Strengths

• Data processed to a documented NODC standard format (C116) for consistency.
• Provides specific temporal coverage for a two-week cruise in May 1985.
• Includes metadata such as cruise information, position, date, and time for contextual analysis.
• Cross-platform presence on Data.gov and NASA Earthdata indicates recognized archival importance.

Limitations

• No column names, row counts, or file size information are provided in the source metadata.
• Data is from a single, short cruise, limiting spatial and temporal scope for long-term studies.
• Conflict in last updated date: Data.gov reports 2026-03-05 (likely metadata update), while NASA Earthdata lists 1985-05-22 (data collection end).

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Expendable bathythermograph (XBT) instruments deployed from NOAA Ship Delaware II, processed by NODC.

Time Range

1985-05-09 to 1985-05-22

Freshness

2026-03 05 22:45:55.754899

Geography

North Atlantic Ocean