YAQUINA Bathythermograph Upper Ocean Temperature Profiles

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data contains mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) measurements from the YAQUINA cruise in the North Pacific Ocean. The dataset provides temperature-depth profile pairs recorded at uniform 5-meter intervals to a maximum depth of approximately 285 meters. Observations were collected over a five-day period from March 9 to March 13, 1971.

Use Cases

• Analyzing the vertical temperature gradient in the upper 285 meters of the ocean using paired temperature-depth values.
• Studying short-term thermal variability in the North Pacific Ocean across the five-day observation period.
• Correlating cruise position and time metadata with temperature profiles to map surface layer conditions.
• Using the standardized C128 format data for historical comparisons of upper ocean heat content.

Strengths

• Data is processed to a standardized NODC C128 format, ensuring consistent structure.
• Temperature observations are recorded at uniform 5-meter depth intervals, facilitating analysis.
• Each profile includes associated cruise, date, position, and time metadata.
• The dataset has a cross-platform presence on Data.gov and NASA Earthdata, indicating recognized importance.

Limitations

• The exact row count, column names, and dataset size are unknown across all sources.
• Data is limited to the upper ocean (max ~285m depth), excluding deeper thermal structure.
• Sources conflict on the 'last updated' date, with one showing 2026-04-01 and another showing the original 1971-03-13 date.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) instrument measurements processed by NODC.

Time Range

1971-03-09 to 1971-03-13

Freshness

2026-04-01 15:22:34.657415

Geography

North Pacific Ocean (YAQUINA cruise)