Historical Ocean Temperature Profiles from USS John R. Pierce

Bathythermograph data records temperature-depth profiles from the USS John R. Pierce across the Mediterranean Sea, North Atlantic, and North Pacific Oceans. The dataset contains observations processed to the NODC C128 standard format, spanning from June 1949 to February 1962. It was collected and processed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Oceanographic Data Center.

Use Cases

• Analyzing thermal structure of the upper ocean (up to ~285m) using temperature-depth value pairs.
• Studying spatial and temporal variability of sea surface temperatures across three major ocean basins.
• Correlating cruise information, date, position, and time with observed temperature profiles.
• Investigating historical ocean conditions during the 1949-1962 period for climate baseline studies.

Strengths

• Data is standardized to the NODC C128 format, ensuring consistent structure.
• Covers a 13-year time range (1949-1962) across three major ocean regions.
• Temperature data is recorded at uniform 5-meter depth intervals for comparability.

Limitations

• Key metadata such as row count, file size, and specific column names are unavailable.
• Instrument limitation: MBT maximum depth is ~285m, restricting analysis to the upper ocean only.
• Conflicting 'last updated' dates between platforms (2026-03-05 on Data.gov vs. 1962-02-24 on NASA Earthdata).

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Collected via mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) instrument aboard the USS John R. Pierce and processed by NODC.

Time Range

1949-06-21 to 1962 02-24

Freshness

2026-03 05 23:17:14.771638

Geography

Mediterranean Sea, North Atlantic Ocean, North Pacific Ocean