Historical North Pacific Ocean Temperature Profiles from NOAA Ship Townsend Cromwell

Temperature-depth profiles collected in the North Pacific Ocean using mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) instruments aboard the NOAA Ship Townsend Cromwell. The dataset covers a period from June 20, 1966, to September 9, 1968, and was processed by the National Oceanographic Data Center into the standard C128 format. Each observation includes cruise information, date, position, and time, with temperature recorded at uniform 5-meter depth intervals up to approximately 285 meters.

Use Cases

• Analyzing thermal stratification and mixed-layer depth in the North Pacific using paired temperature-depth values.
• Studying seasonal or interannual temperature changes in the upper ocean from 1966 to 1968.
• Validating or calibrating ocean model simulations for the historical period with in-situ profile data.
• Mapping the spatial distribution of near-surface ocean temperatures from cruise track positions.

Strengths

• Data is processed to a known standard format (NODC C128), ensuring consistent structure.
• Provides a continuous time series of over two years (1966-1968) for temporal analysis.
• Includes precise metadata for each profile: cruise, date, position, and time.

Limitations

• Maximum observation depth is limited to ~285 meters, restricting analysis to the upper ocean only.
• Conflicting last updated dates exist between platforms (2026-03-05 vs. 1968-09-09), creating uncertainty about metadata freshness.
• Key technical details like row count, file size, and specific column names are unavailable.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) instrument measurements processed by NODC.

Time Range

1966-06-20 to 1968-09-09

Freshness

2026-03 05 23:19:52.612254

Geography

North Pacific Ocean