PERSEUS Expedition Upper Ocean Temperature Profiles from 1964

285 meters is the maximum depth of observations in this dataset of mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) profiles. It contains temperature-depth pairs recorded at uniform 5-meter intervals from the PERSEUS expedition across the Bering Sea, East China Sea, Japan Sea, and North Pacific Ocean. The data was processed by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) into its standard C128 format.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the vertical temperature structure of the upper ocean to a depth of 285 meters.
• Studying spatial thermal gradients across the Bering Sea, East China Sea, and Japan Sea in late 1964.
• Validating or providing historical context for regional ocean circulation and mixed-layer models.
• Investigating short-term oceanic temperature variability during a specific research cruise period.

Strengths

• Data is structured to a recognized standard (NODC C128 format) ensuring consistent interpretation.
• Each observation includes associated cruise metadata: date, geographic position, and time.
• Temperature values are recorded at a consistent, high-resolution vertical interval of 5 meters.
• Cross-platform presence (Data.gov, NASA Earthdata) indicates recognized scientific importance.

Limitations

• Key structural metadata is missing: the total number of rows, columns, and file size are unknown.
• The dataset's license and specific author are not documented in the provided sources.
• The instrument's maximum depth of ~285m limits analysis to the upper ocean, excluding deeper processes.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Collected via mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) instrument during the PERSEUS expedition and processed by NODC.

Time Range

1964-11-24 to 1964-12-27

Freshness

2026-04-01 15:17:02.749306

Geography

Bering Sea, East China Sea, Japan Sea, North Pacific Ocean