Caribbean Sea Upper Ocean Temperature Profiles from 1969 Cruise

Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico temperature-depth profiles were collected by the NOAA Ship Mt. Mitchell from April 24 to 30, 1969. The National Oceanographic Data Center processed this mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) data into the standard C128 format. Each profile contains paired temperature and depth values recorded at uniform 5-meter intervals down to a maximum depth of approximately 285 meters.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the thermal structure of the upper ocean (0-285m) using temperature-depth pairs.
• Studying short-term ocean temperature variability during a specific cruise in late April 1969.
• Validating regional ocean models for the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico with historical in-situ data.
• Investigating the relationship between cruise location, date, time, and observed temperature profiles.

Strengths

• Data is processed to a known standard format (NODC C128), ensuring structural consistency.
• Provides a focused temporal snapshot from a specific 7-day cruise in 1969.
• Temperature values are recorded at uniform 5-meter depth intervals, facilitating analysis.

Limitations

• Key technical details like row count, file size, and specific column names are unavailable from all sources.
• Instrument limitation restricts observations to a maximum depth of ~285m, capturing only the upper ocean.
• A conflict exists in last updated metadata: one platform reports 2026, another reports the original 1969 date.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Collected via mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) instrument from NOAA Ship Mt. Mitchell and processed by NODC.

Time Range

1969-04-24 to 1969-04-30

Freshness

2026-03-05 22:56:49.120933

Geography

Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico