North Sea Temperature Profiles from L/S TEXEL 1961-1962

NOAA_NCEI provides bathythermograph (MBT) data from the research vessel L/S TEXEL in the North Sea. The dataset contains temperature-depth profile pairs recorded at uniform 5-meter intervals, covering observations from May 25, 1961, to June 22, 1962. Data is formatted to the NODC standard C128 format for mechanical bathythermograph readings.

Use Cases

• Analyzing seasonal temperature changes in the North Sea's upper 285 meters using paired temperature-depth values.
• Mapping historical thermal structure for climate model validation based on cruise date, position, and time.
• Studying oceanographic conditions from a specific vessel (L/S TEXEL) during the early 1960s.

Strengths

• Data is processed to a recognized standard format (NODC C128) ensuring consistency.
• Temporal coverage is precisely documented over a 13-month period from 1961-05-25 to 1962-06-22.
• Depth sampling is systematic, with temperature recorded at uniform 5-meter intervals.

Limitations

• Key metadata such as row count, file size, and specific column names are unavailable from all sources.
• Data is limited to the upper ocean, with a maximum observation depth of approximately 285 meters.
• Sources conflict on the 'last updated' date (2026-03-05 vs. 1962-06-22), indicating potential metadata issues.

Provenance

Source

NOAA_NCEI (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Centers for Environmental Information).

Collection Method

Mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) instrument measurements processed by NODC.

Time Range

1961-05-25 to 1962-06-22

Freshness

2026-03-05 23:48:23.194994

Geography

North Sea, from the L/S TEXEL vessel.