March to July 1980 data on bottom-dwelling marine organisms collected via sediment sampler from the vessel EXCELLENCE in the Gulf of Mexico. The dataset provides species abundance, distribution, and biomass information, submitted by Texas A&M University for the Brine Disposal project. It includes cruise details, station positions, environmental conditions, and organism counts and weights.
Use Cases
- Model species distribution using station positions, bottom temperature, and sediment characteristics.
- Analyze biomass trends across sampling sites using total weight of organisms per species.
- Study community composition and abundance from the number of individual organisms reported for each species.
- Correlate benthic data with environmental conditions like surface and bottom salinity and dissolved oxygen.
- Reconstruct cruise survey methodology and logistics from reported vessel, equipment, and investigator information.
Strengths
- Data spans a defined 3-month cruise from March 31 to July 2, 1980.
- Includes multiple data dimensions: species counts, weights, environmental conditions, and full cruise metadata.
Limitations
- Sample size is unknown, potentially limited to a single cruise's stations.
- Data is from 1980 and may not reflect current ecological conditions.
- Specific geographic coordinates within the Gulf of Mexico are not detailed in the provided description.
Provenance
- Source
- NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), submitted by Texas A&M University.
- Collection Method
- Field sampling using sediment sampler casts, following the F132 format for bottom organism surveys.
- Time Range
- 1980-03-31 to 1980-07-02
- Freshness
- null
- Geography
- Gulf of Mexico