USS Maury Bathythermograph Profiles from the South China Sea

February to March 1962 temperature-depth profiles collected by the USS Maury using a mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) instrument. The dataset contains processed observations for the upper ocean layers, with data formatted to the NODC standard C128 format. It provides a snapshot of the thermal structure in the South China Sea during a specific cruise.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the vertical thermal structure of the upper ocean up to approximately 285 meters depth.
• Studying temperature variations at uniform 5-meter depth intervals for a specific geographical region.
• Investigating historical oceanographic conditions during a late February to early March 1962 cruise.
• Using cruise information, date, position, and time metadata to contextualize individual profile observations.

Strengths

• Data is processed to a recognized standard (NODC C128 format) ensuring consistency.
• Provides specific temporal coverage from 1962-02-26 to 1962-03-01 for a defined historical period.
• Contains detailed metadata including cruise information, date, position, and time for each observation.

Limitations

• Key technical details are missing, including row count, column names, and exact data size.
• Conflicting or absent metadata: license, author, and organization are inconsistently reported or unknown across platforms.
• Instrument limitation: MBT data is only useful for studying the upper ocean layers, with a maximum depth of approximately 285 meters.

Provenance

Source

NOAA_NCEI

Collection Method

Collected via mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) instrument from the USS Maury and processed by NODC.

Time Range

1962-02-26 to 1962-03-01

Freshness

2026-04-01 15:21:05.659356

Geography

South China Sea