North Atlantic Upper Ocean Temperature Profiles from 1964

Mechanical bathythermograph data records temperature-depth profiles from the R/V OUTPOST cruise in the North Atlantic Ocean. The dataset contains observations from September 16 to October 4, 1964, processed into the NODC standard C128 format. It was collected and standardized by the National Oceanographic Data Center under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the vertical thermal structure of the upper ocean using temperature-depth value pairs.
• Studying spatial and temporal patterns of near-surface ocean heat content from cruise position and date data.
• Providing historical baseline data for climate model validation of upper ocean layers up to approximately 285 meters.
• Investigating diurnal or short-term thermal variability using observation time stamps alongside temperature readings.

Strengths

• Data is processed to a standardized format (NODC C128), ensuring consistency for analysis.
• Temperature measurements are recorded at uniform 5-meter depth intervals, facilitating direct comparison.
• Each observation includes associated metadata: cruise information, date, position, and time.

Limitations

• The mechanical bathythermograph instrument limits observations to a maximum depth of approximately 285 meters, restricting analysis to the upper ocean.
• Key quantitative details like total row count, file size, and specific column names are unavailable across all sources.
• Sources conflict on the dataset's 'last updated' date, with one platform listing 2026-03 -05 and another listing the original collection end date of 1964-10-04.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce (via National Oceanographic Data Center).

Collection Method

Collected using a mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) instrument during a research cruise and processed to the NODC C128 standard format.

Time Range

1964-09-16 to 1964-10-04

Freshness

2026-03-05 22:53:07.371135

Geography

North Atlantic Ocean (specific cruise track of R/V OUTPOST).