Upper Ocean Temperature Profiles from YOLANDA Cruise

1966-10-15 to 1967 04-18 data comprises temperature-depth profiles from the mechanical bathythermograph (MBT) instrument aboard the YOLANDA in the North Pacific Ocean. The National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) processed the data into its standard C128 format, reporting cruise information, date, position, and time for each observation. Each profile contains pairs of temperature values recorded at uniform 5-meter depth intervals down to a maximum of approximately 285 meters.

Use Cases

• Analyzing seasonal thermal structure changes in the upper 285 meters of the North Pacific Ocean using temperature-depth pairs.
• Calibrating or validating ocean mixed-layer models with historical in-situ temperature profiles.
• Studying the spatial distribution of near-surface ocean temperatures along the YOLANDA cruise track using reported position data.
• Investigating diurnal or short-term temperature variations using observations linked to specific dates and times.

Strengths

• Data is processed to a consistent standard format (NODC C128), ensuring structural uniformity.
• Provides a focused temporal snapshot from a single cruise over a 6-month period (Oct 1966 to Apr 1967).
• Temperature measurements are recorded at uniform 5-meter depth intervals, facilitating systematic analysis.

Limitations

• Key metadata such as row count, file size, and specific column names are unavailable across all sources.
• Instrument limitation restricts observations to a maximum depth of ~285m, capturing only the upper ocean thermal structure.
• Conflicting 'last updated' dates exist between platforms (2026-03-05 on Data.gov vs. 1967-04 18 on NASA Earthdata).

Provenance

Source

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), originating from NODC.

Collection Method

In-situ measurements collected via Mechanical Bathythermograph (MBT) instrument during a research cruise.

Time Range

1966-10-15 to 1967-04-18

Freshness

2026-03-05 22:44:41.787069

Geography

North Pacific Ocean along the track of the YOLANDA cruise.