Historical Gulf of Alaska Temperature Profiles from WESTERN FLYER

Mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) data collected by the vessel WESTERN FLYER in the Gulf of Alaska between June 1962 and March 1963. The dataset consists of temperature-depth profile pairs recorded at uniform 5-meter intervals, processed by the NODC into the standard C128 format. It provides a snapshot of the thermal structure of the upper ocean layers during this period.

Use Cases

• Analyzing historical temperature-depth profiles for the Gulf of Alaska.
• Studying seasonal thermal structure changes in the upper ocean (down to ~285 m).
• Validating or calibrating oceanographic models with in-situ historical data.
• Correlating cruise information, date, position, and time with observed temperature patterns.

Strengths

• Data is processed to a known standard format (NODC C128).
• Provides a focused temporal record from a specific vessel over a 9-month period.
• Temperature data is recorded at a consistent, uniform depth interval (5 m).

Limitations

• Key metadata like row count, column names, and file size are unavailable from all sources.
• The MBT instrument's maximum depth of ~285 m limits analysis to the upper ocean layers.
• Sources disagree on the last update date (2026-04-01 vs. 1963-03-19), creating uncertainty about data currency.

Provenance

Source

NOAA_NCEI

Collection Method

Collected via mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) instrument from the vessel WESTERN FLYER and processed by NODC.

Time Range

1962-06-22 to 1963-03-19

Freshness

2026-04-01 15:13:12.120851

Geography

Gulf of Alaska