Historical Bathythermograph Data from SALUDA Cruise

NODC processed bathythermograph (MBT) data from the SALUDA cruise in the North Pacific Ocean on October 9, 1951. The dataset provides 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. It is published by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the vertical temperature structure of the upper ocean on a specific historical date.
• Studying thermal gradients and layer stability in the North Pacific Ocean using temperature-depth pairs.
• Providing a reference point for historical climate and oceanographic model validation.
• Examining cruise-specific oceanographic observations, including date, position, and time metadata.

Strengths

• Data is processed to a standardized NODC format (C128), ensuring consistent structure.
• Provides specific instrument context, with a known maximum observation depth of approximately 285 meters.
• Temperature values are recorded at uniform 5-meter depth intervals, facilitating systematic analysis.

Limitations

• Key quantitative details are missing, including row count, file size, and specific column names.
• The dataset covers only a single day of observations (1951-10 -09), offering a very limited temporal snapshot.
• Conflicting 'last updated' metadata exists between platforms (2026-03-05 vs. 1951-10-09).

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Processed by NODC from mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) instrument readings.

Time Range

1951-10-09 to 1951-10-09

Freshness

2026-03-05 22:48:34.560474

Geography

North Pacific Ocean, SALUDA cruise