USNS Maurice Rose Bathythermograph Data from the North Atlantic
Updated 2mo ago
12files
Available on 2 platforms
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Description
Bathythermograph (MBT) data from the USNS Maurice Rose documents temperature-depth profiles in the North Atlantic Ocean. The dataset, processed by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) into the C128 standard format, covers a cruise period from November 29, 1959, to February 4, 1960. It provides paired temperature and depth measurements at uniform 5-meter intervals, useful for studying the thermal structure of the ocean's upper layers.
Use Cases
Analyzing the vertical thermal structure of the upper ocean (up to ~285m) using temperature-depth pairs.
Studying seasonal or spatial variability in North Atlantic surface waters during the late 1950s/early 1960s using cruise date, position, and time data.
Calibrating or validating historical ocean model reanalyses with precisely measured in-situ temperature profiles recorded at 5m intervals.
Researching the methodology and data formats of mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) instruments through the standardized C128 record structure.
Strengths
Data is processed to a known, documented standard (NODC C128 format) ensuring consistency.
Provides specific temporal coverage from 1959-11-29 to 1960-02-04 for a defined research cruise.
Measurements are recorded at uniform 5-meter depth intervals, facilitating systematic analysis of the water column.
The dataset's presence on multiple government platforms (Data.gov, NASA Earthdata) indicates vetting and archival importance.
Limitations
Key metadata such as row count, file size, and specific column names are unavailable from all provided sources.
The mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) instrument has a maximum observation depth of approximately 285 meters, limiting study to the upper ocean only.
Sources conflict on the 'last updated' date (2026-04-01 on Data.gov vs. 1960-02-04 on NASA Earthdata), creating uncertainty about metadata freshness.
Provenance
Source
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), specifically NCEI Accession 5900071.
Collection Method
Data gathered using a mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) instrument during a cruise by the USNS Maurice Rose and subsequently processed by NODC.
Time Range
1959-11-29 to 1960-02-04
Freshness
2026-04-01 15:16:35.489423
Geography
North Atlantic Ocean (specific cruise track coordinates not provided in sources).
License information is not provided in any source. The dataset is specialized for historical upper-ocean thermal studies and does not include full water column measurements.