Historical Bathythermograph Temperature Profiles from the Bering Sea and North Pacific

Bering Sea and North Pacific Ocean temperature-depth profiles collected by the PARAGON vessel using mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) instruments. The dataset contains observations from 1955 to 1966, processed into the NODC standard C128 format by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Each profile provides paired temperature and depth measurements at 5-meter intervals down to approximately 285 meters.

Use Cases

• Analyzing decadal changes in upper ocean heat content using temperature-depth pairs.
• Mapping historical thermal stratification in the Bering Sea using cruise, date, and position data.
• Calibrating or validating ocean model simulations for the 1950s-1960s period with instrument-specific profile data.
• Studying seasonal and interannual temperature variability in the North Pacific upper 285 meters.

Strengths

• Provides a consistent 11-year time series from 1955-08-13 to 1966-06-21 for climate trend analysis.
• Data is standardized to the NODC C128 format, ensuring uniform 5-meter depth intervals for comparability.
• Includes essential metadata for each observation: cruise information, date, position, and time.

Limitations

• Maximum observation depth is approximately 285 meters, limiting analysis to the ocean's upper layers.
• Conflicting last updated dates exist between platforms (2026-03-05 on datagov vs. 1966-06 21 on nasa_earthdata), creating provenance uncertainty.
• Key technical details like row count, file size, and specific column names are unavailable from all sources.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

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

Time Range

1955-08-13 to 1966-06-21

Freshness

2026-03-05 23:55:19.452634

Geography

Bering Sea and North Pacific Ocean