Benthic Ecology Measurements from Florida Coastal Waters

NASA collected this dataset of benthic ecology measurements from coastal waters near Panama City and the Florida Keys. The data was gathered during field campaigns in 2005 and 2006. It captures physical and chemical oceanographic conditions in these specific subtropical marine environments.

Use Cases

• Analyzing relationships between ocean temperature and benthic community health in coastal zones.
• Studying salinity gradients and their impact on near-shore ocean chemistry.
• Investigating seasonal or spatial variations in ocean optics, such as light penetration, in Florida coastal waters.
• Modeling the physical oceanographic environment of the Florida Keys and Panama City areas for ecological studies.

Strengths

• Data originates from NASA, indicating a high standard of collection and curation.
• Provides temporally specific measurements from two distinct years (2005 and 2006).
• Focuses on two geographically distinct but ecologically important coastal regions in Florida.

Limitations

• The exact column names, row counts, and file sizes are not provided by any source, limiting detailed assessment.
• Sources conflict on license details: one specifies 'other-license-specified', while another lists no license.
• The dataset's freshness is unclear; a 2026 update date is likely a metadata artifact, not a data refresh.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Field measurements collected in situ.

Time Range

2005 to 2006

Freshness

2026-03-13 06:42:23.569562 (Note: This date is likely a system update, not a data refresh from 2005/2006).

Geography

Coastal waters near Panama City, Florida, and the Florida Keys.