Gulf of Mexico Benthic Organism Survey Data from 1981-1985

Benthic organisms were collected from the Gulf of Mexico between December 1981 and August 1985. Data include species abundance, distribution, biomass, and associated environmental measurements from sediment sampler casts. Texas A&M University submitted the data with support from the Brine Disposal project.

Use Cases

• Analyze species_abundance and total_weight_of_organisms across different station_positions to model benthic biomass distribution.
• Correlate species distribution data with environmental data like bottom_temperature, salinity, and sediment_characteristics.
• Study temporal changes in benthic communities using cruise start_and_end_dates and sampling_times over the 4-year period.
• Map survey locations using station positions to visualize spatial patterns of organism collection in the Gulf of Mexico.

Strengths

• Data collection spans nearly 4 years from 1981 to 1985.
• Includes multiple data dimensions: species counts, weights, and environmental conditions.
• Cruise metadata includes vessel, investigator, and institution for provenance.

Limitations

• Sample size and total row count are unknown.
• Data is temporally stale, with the last update in 1985.
• Geographic coverage is limited to the Gulf of Mexico.

Provenance

Source

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI Accession 8400043).

Collection Method

Field sampling using sediment sampler casts from the EXCELLENCE and other platforms.

Time Range

1981-12-09 to 1985-08-26

Freshness

Static historical dataset; last updated 1985-08-26.

Geography

Gulf of Mexico.