Chukchi Sea Benthic Organism Survey from NOAA Ship OCEANOGRAPHER

Benthic organism data were collected via sediment sampler casts during a NOAA research cruise in the Chukchi Sea from September 1986 to October 1987. The dataset, processed by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC) into standard F132 format, records species abundance, biomass, and associated environmental conditions. It was submitted by the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Institute of Marine Science.

Use Cases

• Analyzing species abundance and biomass for specific benthic organisms across sampling stations.
• Correlating organism counts with recorded environmental data like bottom temperature, salinity, and sediment characteristics.
• Mapping the spatial distribution of benthic communities in the Chukchi Sea using station position data.
• Studying cruise-based survey methodology and equipment used for benthic sampling in the late 1980s.

Strengths

• Data adheres to a standardized national format (NODC F132), ensuring consistent structure for cruise, station, species, and environmental records.
• Collection includes concurrent environmental measurements (e.g., temperature, salinity, sediment data) at sampling sites, providing ecological context.
• Temporal coverage is precisely documented for a full year-long cruise from September 1986 to October 1987.

Limitations

• Critical metadata is missing: exact row count, column names, file size, and specific license are unknown across all platforms.
• There is a conflict in the 'last updated' date: datagov reports 2026-03-05, while nasa_earthdata reports 1987-10 05, creating uncertainty about recent maintenance.

Provenance

Source

University of Alaska - Fairbanks, Institute of Marine Science; processed by NODC/NOAA.

Collection Method

Field sampling using sediment sampler casts from NOAA Ship OCEANOGRAPHER.

Time Range

1986-09-06 to 1987-10-05

Freshness

2026-03 05 22:25:44.909137

Geography

Chukchi Sea