Great Lakes Upper Layer Temperature Profiles from 1972

Temperature-depth profiles collected in the Great Lakes using Mechanical Bathythermograph (MBT) instruments during the SISCOWET project from May to November 1972. Data was processed by the National Oceanographic Data Center into the standard C128 format, recording temperature at uniform 5-meter depth intervals. The dataset is hosted by NOAA NCEI and also appears on NASA EarthData, indicating its use in cross-agency research.

Use Cases

• Analyzing seasonal changes in the thermal structure of the Great Lakes upper layers using paired temperature-depth values.
• Studying the spatial distribution of water temperature during the 1972 survey period using reported position and time data.
• Calibrating or validating lake models with historical in-situ temperature profiles recorded at 5-meter intervals.
• Investigating the performance and data characteristics of the Mechanical Bathythermograph (MBT) instrument in freshwater environments.

Strengths

• Data is structured in a standardized NODC format (C128), ensuring consistent pairing of temperature-depth values.
• Provides a focused temporal snapshot of the Great Lakes' thermal state over a nearly six-month period in 1972.
• Cross-platform presence on NOAA NCEI and NASA EarthData signals its importance and use in interdisciplinary science.

Limitations

• Critical metadata such as row count, column names, and file size are unavailable from all sources.
• The MBT instrument's maximum depth of approximately 285 meters limits analysis to the upper ocean or lake layers only.
• Conflicting 'last updated' dates exist between platforms (2026-04-01 on Data.gov vs. 1972-11 17 on NASA EarthData).

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

In-situ measurements collected using Mechanical Bathythermograph (MBT) instruments and processed to NODC standard C128 format.

Time Range

1972-05-30 to 1972-11-17

Freshness

2026-04-01 15:01:29.960148

Geography

Great Lakes