Atlantic Ocean XBT Temperature Profiles from 1988-1995

Atlantic Ocean water temperature and pressure profiles collected from 1988 to 1995 via the BSH Ship-of-Opportunity Programme. The dataset contributes to the World Ocean Circulation Experiment, with principal investigation led by Dr. Alexander Sy of the Bundesamt für Seeschiffahrt und Hydrographie. It represents a multi-year collection of expendable bathythermograph (XBT) data.

Use Cases

• Analyzing decadal changes in Atlantic Ocean thermal structure using temperature-depth profiles.
• Validating and calibrating ocean circulation models with historical in-situ temperature data.
• Studying the spatial and temporal distribution of ocean heat content in the Atlantic basin.
• Supporting research on the Ship-of-Opportunity Programme's contribution to global ocean observation.

Strengths

• Provides a focused 7.5-year temporal coverage from May 1988 to November 1995.
• Data collected under a formal scientific program (BSH SOOP) with documented principal investigators.
• Contributes to a major international oceanographic experiment (World Ocean Circulation Experiment).

Limitations

• Specific column names, row counts, and file sizes are not documented on any platform.
• License information and detailed data collection methodology are not provided.
• A conflict exists in last update metadata: one source reports 2026-03 05, while another indicates the data collection ended in 1995-11-11.

Provenance

Source

Bundesamt für Seeschiffahrt und Hydrographie (BSH), Hamburg, Germany.

Collection Method

Collected via the BSH Ship-of-Opportunity Programme using expendable bathythermographs (XBTs).

Time Range

1988-05-20 to 1995-11-11

Freshness

2026-03-05 23:35:37.560710

Geography

Atlantic Ocean