Historical Bathythermograph Data from ROLF Cruise in 1945

Bathythermograph (MBT) data from the ROLF cruise provides temperature-depth profiles for the upper ocean layers. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration processed this data, covering the North Pacific Ocean, Philippine Sea, South China Sea, and South Pacific Ocean. Observations were recorded from January 27 to May 18, 1945.

Use Cases

• Analyzing historical upper-ocean thermal structure using temperature-depth pairs.
• Studying spatial temperature variation across the North Pacific, Philippine Sea, and South China Sea.
• Investigating seasonal changes in near-surface ocean layers during early 1945.
• Correlating cruise information, date, position, and time with observed temperature profiles.

Strengths

• Data is processed to a standardized format (NODC C128) ensuring consistency.
• Temperature values are recorded at uniform 5-meter depth intervals, facilitating analysis.
• Provides specific temporal coverage from 1945-01-27 to 1945 05-18.

Limitations

• Maximum observation depth is approximately 285 meters, limiting analysis to the upper ocean.
• Key metadata such as row count, column names, and license are unavailable across all sources.
• Platforms disagree on the last updated date: Data.gov reports 2026-03-05, while NASA Earthdata reports 1945-05-18.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

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

Time Range

1945-01-27 to 1945-05-18

Freshness

2026-03-05 23:22:21.168789

Geography

North Pacific Ocean, Philippine Sea, South China Sea, South Pacific Ocean