Japan Sea Upper Ocean Temperature Profiles from 1970

Four days of mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) data from the vessel PONCHATOULA in the Japan Sea, from April 17-20, 1970. The dataset contains processed temperature-depth profile pairs recorded at uniform 5-meter intervals, useful for studying the thermal structure of the ocean's upper layers to a maximum depth of approximately 285 meters. Data was processed by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) to its standard C128 format.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the vertical temperature gradient in the upper 285 meters of the Japan Sea for a specific cruise.
• Studying short-term thermal variability over a four-day period in April 1970.
• Validating or providing historical context for regional oceanographic or climate models.
• Examining the data collection and formatting standards of the NODC C128 format for MBT instruments.

Strengths

• Data is processed to a known, documented standard (NODC C128 format).
• Temporal coverage is precisely defined for a short, intensive observation period (1970-04-17 to 1970-04 20).
• Measurement methodology and depth resolution (5-meter intervals) are clearly specified.
• Cross-platform presence on government data portals indicates curated archival importance.

Limitations

• Key structural metadata is missing, including the specific column names and the total number of observations (rows).
• The dataset is limited to the upper ocean (max ~285m depth) and a single, brief cruise.
• There is a conflict in last updated dates: one source reports 2026-03-06 (likely a metadata refresh), while another reports the original data date of 1970-04-20.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce, via the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC).

Collection Method

Collected using a mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) instrument from the vessel PONCHATOULA and processed to NODC standard format C128.

Time Range

1970-04-17 to 1970-04-20

Freshness

2026-03-06 00:03:14.204970

Geography

Japan Sea (specific coordinates not provided, but associated with the PONCHATOULA cruise).