South China Sea Upper Ocean Temperature Profiles from 1965

285 meters is the maximum depth for temperature observations in this dataset, which captures the thermal structure of the upper ocean. The data comprises temperature-depth profile pairs recorded at uniform 5-meter intervals from a cruise aboard the O'BRIEN. Processed by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) into its standard C128 format, the records cover a specific period from November 6 to November 24, 1965.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the vertical thermal structure of the upper ocean up to 285 meters depth.
• Studying historical ocean temperature conditions for a specific three-week period in November 1965.
• Correlating temperature profiles with recorded cruise information, date, position, and time for each observation.
• Using standardized NODC C128 format data for comparative studies with other historical bathythermograph records.

Strengths

• Data is processed to a known, documented standard (NODC C128 format) ensuring structural consistency.
• Provides precise temporal coverage for a focused 19-day research cruise in November 1965.
• Temperature measurements are recorded at uniform depth intervals (5 meters), facilitating systematic analysis.

Limitations

• Key quantitative details like row count, file size, and specific column names are unavailable from all sources.
• The dataset is limited to the upper ocean, with a maximum observation depth of approximately 285 meters.
• The NASA Earthdata platform provides no descriptive information, indicating potential metadata gaps on some portals.

Provenance

Source

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), originating from NODC processing.

Collection Method

Mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) instrument measurements processed to the NODC standard C128 format.

Time Range

1965-11-06 to 1965-11-24

Freshness

2026-03-05 23:36:28.842234

Geography

South China Sea