From a survey across a large-scale oceanographic feature, the Gulf Stream, the spatial and temporal distribution of structure in the verticl temperature gradient to 1000 m, measured to a resolution of centimeters, was indexed by using variance. For each profile we calculated three parameters: the square of the mean gradient, the fine structure variance (0.01--1 cycle/m), and the microstructure variance (1--20 cycles/m). Ratios of these three parameters show a distinct pattern with respect to the TS curves for the section and for data from below 200 m, there being no preference to position across the section. The relatively constant ratio between the microstructure variance and the fine structure variance suggests a link between the presence of microstructure and the existence of what has been called fine structure. To the resolution of the measurements we found no systematic difference in the statistical properties of the data from various parts of the section, suggesting a common mechanism or superposition of mechanisms in generating the structure.