Historical Ocean Temperature Profiles from the North Atlantic

Mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) data captured during a 1956 cruise of the SOMERSWORTH in the North Atlantic Ocean. The dataset contains temperature-depth profile pairs recorded at uniform 5-meter intervals, processed into the NODC standard C128 format. It provides a snapshot of upper ocean thermal structure from April 24 to May 10, 1956.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the vertical temperature structure of the upper ocean (up to ~285m) for a specific time and location.
• Studying short-term thermal variability in the North Atlantic during spring 1956 using time-series data.
• Validating or calibrating ocean model simulations of historical surface and subsurface temperatures.
• Investigating the methodology and data characteristics of early mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) instruments.

Strengths

• Data is processed to a known standard format (NODC C128), ensuring a consistent structure.
• Provides precise temporal (1956-04-24 to 1956-05-10) and spatial (North Atlantic Ocean) context for each observation.
• Temperature measurements are recorded at uniform 5-meter depth intervals, facilitating systematic analysis.

Limitations

• Critical metadata conflicts exist: the 'last updated' date differs significantly between Data.gov (2026) and NASA Earthdata (1956).
• Core dataset metrics like row count, file size, and specific column names are unavailable from all sources.
• The MBT instrument's maximum depth of ~285 meters limits analysis to the ocean's upper layers only.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) instrument measurements, processed by NODC.

Time Range

1956-04-24 to 1956-05-10

Freshness

2026-03-05 23:54:33.412758

Geography

North Atlantic Ocean, cruise of the SOMERSWORTH