Great Lakes Upper Layer Temperature Profiles from SISCOWET

285 meters is the approximate maximum depth for the temperature-depth profiles in this dataset. It contains mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) data collected during the SISCOWET project in the Great Lakes between April 1970 and December 1971. The National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) processed the data into its standard C128 format, recording temperature at uniform 5-meter depth intervals.

Use Cases

• Analyzing seasonal thermal stratification in the Great Lakes using paired temperature-depth values.
• Mapping surface layer temperature gradients across the Great Lakes using reported position data.
• Studying historical temperature profiles for climate change impact assessments on freshwater systems.
• Correlating cruise information, date, and time with specific thermal events or conditions.

Strengths

• Data is processed to a known, documented standard (NODC C128 format) ensuring consistent structure.
• Provides a focused temporal snapshot (1970-1971) for a specific research project (SISCOWET).
• Temperature readings are recorded at uniform 5-meter depth intervals, facilitating comparative analysis.

Limitations

• Key metadata such as row count, column names, file size, and license are unavailable from all sources.
• The mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) instrument limits observations to approximately 285 meters, capturing only the upper ocean/lake layers.
• Sources conflict on the 'last updated' date, with one platform listing 2026-04-01 and another listing the final data date of 1971-12-08.

Provenance

Source

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), from the SISCOWET project.

Collection Method

Collected using mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) instruments and processed by NODC.

Time Range

1970-04-29 to 1971-12-08

Freshness

2026-04-01 15:21:31.864374

Geography

Great Lakes