Oceanographic CTD Profiles from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Response

Chemical and physical oceanographic profile data were collected from CTD casts aboard the NOAA Ship NANCY FOSTER in the Gulf of Mexico from August 13 to 21, 2010. The data, gathered in response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, include measurements of CDOM fluorescence, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, hydrostatic pressure, salinity, sound velocity, temperature, and water density. The Subsurface Monitoring Unit collected the data, which underwent quality assurance by the National Coastal Data Development Center.

Use Cases

• Analyze the vertical structure of water density and salinity from hydrostatic pressure and conductivity data to model oil plume dispersion.
• Correlate CDOM fluorescence measurements with other chemical parameters to trace dissolved organic matter from the spill.
• Model sound velocity profiles using temperature, salinity, and pressure data for underwater acoustic applications.
• Assess dissolved oxygen levels across depth profiles to evaluate potential hypoxic conditions following the spill event.
• Investigate temperature and salinity anomalies from the CTD casts to understand the spill's impact on local water column stratification.

Strengths

• Data collected over a focused 9-day period during a major environmental event.
• Includes 8 distinct measured parameters (e.g., CDOM, dissolved oxygen, temperature).
• Underwent documented quality assurance and control procedures by a national data center.

Limitations

• Dataset size, row count, and specific geographic coordinates are unknown.
• Temporal coverage is limited to a single, short cruise in August 2010.
• Lacks metadata on sampling resolution (depth intervals) and instrument detection limits.

Provenance

Source

Subsurface Monitoring Unit (SMU), archived by NOAA NCEI (NODC Accession 0069614).

Collection Method

Collected via CTD, fluorometer, and oxygen meter casts from NOAA Ship NANCY FOSTER.

Time Range

2010-08-13 to 2010-08-21

Freshness

Data is from 2010; no update frequency indicated.

Geography

Gulf of Mexico