Historical Bathythermograph Data from the North Pacific Ocean

NOAA_NCEI provides mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) data collected from the vessel ONTARIO in the North Pacific Ocean. The dataset contains temperature-depth profile pairs recorded at uniform 5-meter intervals down to a maximum depth of approximately 285 meters. Observations cover a specific cruise period in April and May 1950.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the vertical temperature structure of the upper ocean using paired temperature-depth values.
• Studying spatial and temporal variability of near-surface ocean heat content during the specified cruise period.
• Validating or calibrating historical ocean model reanalyses with in-situ temperature profile observations.
• Investigating seasonal thermal layer development in the North Pacific using standardized C128 format data.

Strengths

• Data is processed to a standardized NODC format (C128), ensuring consistent structure.
• Profile data is recorded at uniform 5-meter depth intervals, facilitating systematic analysis.
• Each observation includes associated metadata such as cruise information, date, position, and time.

Limitations

• The dataset is limited to the upper ocean, with a maximum observation depth of approximately 285 meters.
• Sources conflict on the last updated date, with one platform listing 2026-04-01 and another listing the original data date of 1950-05-14.
• Key metadata such as row count, column names, and license information is unavailable across all platforms.

Provenance

Source

NOAA_NCEI (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Centers for Environmental Information).

Collection Method

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

Time Range

1950-04-20 to 1950-05-14

Freshness

2026-04-01 15:08:01.102008

Geography

North Pacific Ocean, from the vessel ONTARIO.