Gulf of Mexico Benthic and Pollution Survey Data from the IXTOC Project

This dataset contains benthic organism counts and marine pollutant concentrations collected in the Gulf of Mexico from July 1979 to December 1980, primarily from the NOAA Ship RESEARCHER. Data were submitted by Energy Resources Co., Inc. for the IXTOC project and processed by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) into standard F132 (Benthic Organisms) and F144 (Marine Toxic Substances) formats. It provides paired biological and chemical measurements from the same sampling events.

Use Cases

• Analyzing species abundance and biomass of bottom-dwelling organisms using reported counts and total weight per species.
• Investigating correlations between benthic community health and ambient pollutant concentrations from paired water, sediment, and organism samples.
• Mapping the distribution of toxic substances and tar deposits across the Gulf of Mexico using station position data.
• Assessing environmental conditions at sampling sites using reported surface and bottom temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, and sediment characteristics.

Strengths

• Data covers a specific 17-month period (July 1979 to December 1980) relevant to the IXTOC I oil spill impact studies.
• Includes paired biological (species counts/weight) and chemical (pollutant concentration) data from the same sampling events.
• Processed to established NODC standard formats (F132, F144), ensuring a consistent structure.

Limitations

• Key quantitative details like total row count, file size, and specific column names are unavailable from all sources.
• Conflicting 'last updated' dates exist between platforms (1980-12-13 vs. 2026-04-01), obscuring the provenance of the most recent version.

Provenance

Source

Energy Resources Co., Inc. (data submitter); NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI, formerly NODC) (data processor).

Collection Method

Field sampling using nets, sediment samplers, and other instruments from the NOAA Ship RESEARCHER and other platforms, with subsequent laboratory analysis.

Time Range

1979-07-23 to 1980-12-13

Freshness

2026-04-01 14:59:22.356962

Geography

Gulf of Mexico