Historical Upper Ocean Temperature Profiles from the PERSEUS Expedition

North Pacific Ocean, Philippine Sea, and South China Sea temperature-depth profiles were collected by the PERSEUS expedition in December 1966. The National Oceanographic Data Center processed the mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) data into the standard C128 format, providing pairs of temperature and depth values. This dataset captures the thermal structure of the ocean's upper layers to a maximum depth of approximately 285 meters.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the thermal structure of the upper ocean layer using temperature-depth value pairs.
• Studying spatial temperature gradients across the North Pacific Ocean, Philippine Sea, and South China Sea.
• Investigating short-term oceanographic conditions during the December 1966 cruise period.
• Validating or supplementing historical ocean model simulations with in-situ profile data.

Strengths

• Data is processed to a standardized format (NODC C128), ensuring consistent structure.
• Profiles provide high vertical resolution with temperature recorded at uniform 5-meter depth intervals.
• Each observation includes associated metadata such as cruise information, date, position, and time.

Limitations

• Instrument maximum depth is ~285m, limiting analysis to the ocean's upper layers only.
• Key metadata like row count, column names, and license information are unavailable across all sources.
• Data freshness is unclear due to a conflict: one source lists a 2026 update, while another lists the original 1966 date.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) instrument measurements processed by the National Oceanographic Data Center.

Time Range

1966-12-01 to 1966-12-29

Freshness

2026-03-06 00:08:03.624074

Geography

North Pacific Ocean, Philippine Sea, and South China Sea