Historical Ocean Temperature Profiles from the OWEN Expedition

7600017 records temperature-depth pairs from mechanical bathythermograph casts conducted by the OWEN vessel. Data spans 13 years from 1952 to 1965, covering multiple seas and oceans, and was processed by the National Oceanographic Data Center into its standard C128 format. This dataset provides a systematic record of the thermal structure of the upper ocean layers during the mid-20th century.

Use Cases

• Analyzing decadal temperature trends in the upper 285 meters of specific basins like the Mediterranean or Red Sea using temperature-depth pairs.
• Correlating surface thermal conditions with cruise metadata such as date, position, and time for synoptic studies.
• Calibrating or validating ocean model simulations of the upper ocean mixed layer for the 1950s and 1960s period.
• Mapping the spatial distribution of near-surface ocean temperatures across the Atlantic and Indian Oceans during the expedition.

Strengths

• Data provides uniform 5-meter depth interval measurements, enabling consistent vertical profile analysis.
• Coverage spans a 13-year time range (1952-1965) across 13 distinct oceanographic regions.
• Processing to the NODC C128 standard format ensures a defined structure for temperature-depth value pairs.

Limitations

• The maximum observation depth is approximately 285 meters, limiting analysis to the upper ocean only.
• Specific row counts, column names, and dataset size are not provided by any source.
• A conflict exists on the 'last updated' date: one source states 2026-04-01, while another states 1965-07-03.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) instrument casts processed by NODC to C128 format.

Time Range

1952-04 09 to 1965-07-03

Freshness

2026-04-01 15:15:37.491271

Geography

Alboran Sea, Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, Gulf of Guinea, Gulf of Oman, Gulf of Suez, Indian Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, North Atlantic Ocean, Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, Red Sea, South Atlantic Ocean