North Pacific Ocean Temperature Profiles from Mechanical Bathythermograph, 1969

North Pacific temperature-depth profiles from mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) surveys conducted in the Bering Sea, Gulf of Alaska, and North Pacific Ocean during the summer of 1969. The dataset contains observations processed by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) into the standard C128 format. Data is useful for studying the thermal structure of the ocean's upper layers to a maximum depth of approximately 285 meters.

Use Cases

• Analyzing historical upper-ocean thermal structure using paired temperature-depth values.
• Studying seasonal oceanographic conditions in the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska during summer 1969.
• Investigating spatial temperature gradients across the North Pacific Ocean from cruise-based observations.
• Calibrating or validating ocean model simulations for the upper 285 meters of the water column.

Strengths

• Data processed to a consistent standard format (NODC C128) ensuring interoperability.
• Provides a focused temporal snapshot of summer conditions from June to August 1969.
• Includes key metadata for each observation: cruise information, date, position, and time.

Limitations

• Conflict in reported 'last updated' dates: datagov lists 2026-03 05, while nasa_earthdata lists the original collection end date of 1969-08-16.
• Limited vertical resolution, with temperature recorded at uniform 5-meter depth intervals.
• Instrument limitation restricts observations to the upper ocean (max depth ~285 m).

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Temperature-depth profiles obtained using mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) instruments and processed by NODC.

Time Range

1969-06-01 to 1969-08-16

Freshness

2026-03-05 22:31:07.921497

Geography

Bering Sea, Gulf of Alaska, and North Pacific Ocean