South Pacific Ocean Temperature Profiles from Mechanical Bathythermograph

Bathythermograph (MBT) data from the UNANUE cruise in the South Pacific Ocean, processed by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC). The dataset contains temperature-depth profile pairs recorded at uniform 5-meter intervals, capturing the thermal structure of the ocean's upper layers. Observations were collected over a 20-day period from November 20 to December 9, 1970.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the vertical temperature structure of the upper ocean up to 285 meters depth.
• Studying short-term thermal variability in the South Pacific Ocean during late 1970.
• Validating or calibrating models of upper-ocean heat content using historical in-situ measurements.
• Correlating cruise-reported position and time data with temperature-depth value pairs.

Strengths

• Data is processed to a standardized NODC format (C128), ensuring structural consistency.
• Temperature observations are recorded at uniform 5-meter depth intervals, facilitating systematic analysis.
• Each profile includes associated metadata: cruise information, date, position, and time.

Limitations

• The maximum observation depth is approximately 285 meters, limiting analysis to the ocean's upper layers.
• Key metadata such as row count, column names, and license are not provided across platforms.
• There is a significant conflict in last updated dates: 2026-04-01 on Data.gov versus 1970-12-09 on NASA EarthData.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Mechanical Bathythermograph (MBT) instrument measurements processed by NODC to the C128 format.

Time Range

1970-11-20 to 1970-12-09

Freshness

2026-04-01 15:05:27.298660

Geography

South Pacific Ocean