North Atlantic Ocean Temperature Profiles from USNS Geiger, 1966

1966-03-13 to 1966-05-23 temperature-depth profiles collected by the USNS Geiger in the North Atlantic Ocean using a Mechanical Bathythermograph (MBT). The dataset, processed by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) into standard C128 format, consists of paired temperature-depth values recorded at uniform 5-meter intervals down to approximately 285 meters. It is published by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the thermal structure of the upper ocean (0-285m) using temperature-depth pairs.
• Studying seasonal oceanographic changes in the North Atlantic during spring 1966 using cruise date and position data.
• Calibrating or validating ocean model simulations for historical periods with precise instrument-based profiles.
• Investigating spatial temperature gradients using the reported latitude and longitude for each observation.

Strengths

• Data is processed to a known, documented standard (NODC C128 format) ensuring structural consistency.
• Provides precise temporal coverage for a specific research cruise over a 71-day period in 1966.
• Temperature measurements are recorded at uniform 5-meter depth intervals, facilitating systematic analysis.

Limitations

• Key metadata such as exact row count, file size, column names, and license are unavailable from all sources.
• Instrument limitation restricts observations to a maximum depth of ~285m, capturing only the upper ocean layer.
• Sources conflict on the 'last updated' date (2026-03-05 vs. 1966-05-23), creating uncertainty about recent modifications.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Collected via Mechanical Bathythermograph (MBT) instrument from the USNS Geiger and processed by NODC.

Time Range

1966-03-13 to 1966-05-23

Freshness

2026-03-05 22:40:08.893425

Geography

North Atlantic Ocean