North Atlantic Ocean Temperature Profiles from USNS Blue Jacket

Temperature-depth profile data was collected by the USNS Blue Jacket in the North Atlantic Ocean from January 9 to February 5, 1967. The dataset, processed by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) into the C128 format, contains pairs of temperature-depth values recorded at uniform 5-meter intervals down to a maximum depth of approximately 285 meters. It provides a focused snapshot of the thermal structure of the ocean's upper layers during a specific winter cruise.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the vertical temperature gradient in the upper 285 meters of the North Atlantic Ocean.
• Studying short-term thermal variability during a specific winter period in 1967.
• Using cruise information, date, position, and time metadata to correlate temperature profiles with specific locations and times.
• Serving as a historical reference point for comparisons with modern ocean temperature datasets.

Strengths

• Data is processed to a standardized NODC format (C128), ensuring consistent structure.
• Provides a focused temporal snapshot over a 28-day period in a specific region.
• Temperature data is recorded at uniform 5-meter depth intervals, enabling systematic analysis.

Limitations

• Key metadata such as row count, column names, and file size are unknown across all sources.
• The mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) instrument limits observations to a maximum depth of approximately 285 meters, restricting analysis to the upper ocean.
• Sources conflict on the 'last updated' date, with one platform listing 2026-03-05 and another listing the original collection end date of 1967-02-05.

Provenance

Source

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI).

Collection Method

Collected via mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) instrument aboard the USNS Blue Jacket and processed by NODC.

Time Range

1967-01-09 to 1967-02-05

Freshness

2026-03-05 23:40:06.304988

Geography

North Atlantic Ocean.