Benthic Organism Surveys in the New York Blight from 1957-1978

Over 21 years of benthic organism surveys were conducted in the New York Blight using sediment samplers and net casts. The Virginia Institute of Marine Science submitted the data, which NOAA processed into the standard F132 format. Data collection occurred from June 1957 to July 1978.

Use Cases

• Analyze species_abundance and total_weight_of_organisms to model biomass trends over the 21-year period.
• Correlate species_distribution data with reported environmental variables like bottom_temperature and sediment_characteristics.
• Use cruise_information, station_positions, and sampling_times to map historical survey efforts and species occurrence.
• Study changes in benthic communities by linking number_of_individual_organisms per species with sea_surface_conditions and salinity data over time.

Strengths

• Data spans a 21-year temporal range from 1957 to 1978.
• Includes multiple data dimensions: species counts, weights, environmental conditions, and precise station metadata.

Limitations

• Sample size and total row count are unknown, limiting statistical assessment.
• Data is temporally stale, with the last update over 45 years ago.
• Potential geographic bias as data is confined to the New York Blight region.

Provenance

Source

Virginia Institute of Marine Science, submitted via the MESA - New York Blight project.

Collection Method

Field sampling using sediment samplers (grab/core) and net casts (dredge/trawl).

Time Range

1957-06-19 to 1978-07-20

Freshness

null

Geography

New York Blight