Historical Ocean Temperature Profiles from the North Atlantic

Mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) data collected by the vessel SEARCHER in the North Atlantic Ocean during August 1964. The dataset contains temperature-depth profile pairs recorded at uniform 5-meter intervals to a maximum depth of approximately 285 meters. Data was processed by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) into the standard C128 format.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the thermal structure of the upper ocean layers using paired temperature-depth values.
• Studying seasonal or historical ocean temperature variations in the North Atlantic region.
• Validating oceanographic models with in-situ temperature profile data from a specific cruise.
• Correlating surface conditions (date, position, time) with subsurface temperature measurements.

Strengths

• Data is processed to a recognized standard format (NODC C128), ensuring consistency.
• Temporal and spatial scope is precisely defined: a single cruise from 1964-08-01 to 1964-08-20 in the North Atlantic.
• Measurement intervals are uniform, with temperature recorded at every 5 meters of depth.

Limitations

• Key quantitative details like row count, file size, and specific column names are unavailable from all sources.
• The instrument's maximum depth of ~285 meters restricts analysis to the upper ocean layers only.
• Data freshness is conflicted: one source lists a 2026 metadata update, while another suggests the underlying data is from 1964.

Provenance

Source

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), originally from NODC.

Collection Method

Collected via mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) instrument during a research cruise.

Time Range

1964-08-01 to 1964-08-20

Freshness

2026-03-05 22:35:40.961576

Geography

North Atlantic Ocean (specific cruise track of SEARCHER vessel)