Historical Ocean Temperature Profiles from S. HYDROHUT Cruise

A dataset of 139 days of mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) observations from the S. HYDROHUT vessel, covering the South Pacific and Southern Oceans from April to August 1959. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration processed the data into the NODC standard C128 format, which records temperature-depth pairs at uniform 5-meter intervals. This data captures the thermal structure of the ocean's upper layers to a maximum depth of approximately 285 meters.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the vertical temperature structure of the upper ocean (0-285m) for a specific historical period.
• Studying seasonal thermal changes in the South Pacific and Southern Oceans during the 1959 austral autumn and winter.
• Validating or providing historical context for ocean model simulations of the upper ocean mixed layer.
• Correlating cruise-track position and time data with temperature profiles to study spatial gradients.

Strengths

• Provides a continuous 139-day time series of ocean observations from a specific research cruise.
• Data is standardized to the NODC C128 format, ensuring consistent structure with temperature recorded at uniform 5-meter depth intervals.
• Includes precise metadata for each observation: cruise information, date, position, and time.

Limitations

• The exact row count and file size are unknown, limiting assessment of dataset scale.
• Instrument limitations restrict observations to a maximum depth of ~285m, excluding deeper ocean thermal data.
• Conflicting 'last updated' dates exist between platforms (2026 vs. 1959), creating uncertainty about metadata maintenance.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Temperature-depth profiles obtained using a mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) instrument and processed by NODC.

Time Range

1959-04-10 to 1959-08 26

Freshness

2026-03-05 23:46:25.330981

Geography

South Pacific Ocean and Southern Ocean