Historical Gulf of Mexico Upper Ocean Temperature Profiles

PLAYBOY cruise data contains mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) temperature-depth profiles from the Gulf of Mexico on July 6, 1966. The dataset is processed to the NODC C128 standard format, recording temperature at uniform 5-meter depth intervals up to approximately 285 meters. It was collected by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and is hosted on multiple government data platforms.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the vertical thermal structure of the upper ocean using paired temperature-depth values.
• Studying historical ocean conditions in the Gulf of Mexico for a specific date and location.
• Validating or calibrating ocean model simulations for the region using precise cruise, date, position, and time metadata.
• Researching seasonal or long-term changes in near-surface ocean heat content when combined with other datasets.

Strengths

• Data is processed to a documented standard format (NODC C128) ensuring consistency.
• Provides precise metadata for each observation, including cruise information, date, position, and time.
• Temperature measurements are recorded at a uniform 5-meter depth interval, facilitating analysis.

Limitations

• Row count, column names, and dataset size are unknown across all sources.
• The temporal coverage is limited to a single day (1966-07 06), restricting longitudinal analysis.
• MBT instrument maximum depth is approximately 285m, limiting study to the upper ocean layers only.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) instrument measurements processed by NODC.

Time Range

1966-07-06 to 1966-07-06

Freshness

2026-03-06 00:30:14.417871

Geography

Gulf of Mexico