HOS Davis CTD Profiles: Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Impact

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data contains chemical and physical oceanographic profiles collected aboard the HOS Davis in the Gulf of Mexico from August 13-22, 2010. The dataset was gathered by a multi-agency Subsurface Monitoring Unit in direct response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. It includes measurements of CDOM fluorescence, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, salinity, temperature, and water density from CTD, fluorometer, and oxygen meter instruments, with quality assurance performed by the National Coastal Data Development Center.

Use Cases

• Modeling subsurface oil plume dispersion based on salinity, temperature, and density profiles.
• Assessing water quality and potential ecological impact using dissolved oxygen and fluorescence measurements.
• Calibrating remote sensing data with in-situ conductivity and CDOM fluorescence readings.
• Analyzing temporal changes in oceanographic conditions during the spill response period.

Strengths

• Data underwent quality assurance and control procedures at the National Coastal Data Development Center.
• Covers a specific, critical 10-day period (2010-08-13 to 2010-08-22) immediately following a major environmental event.
• Collected using standardized oceanographic instruments (CTD, fluorometer, oxygen meter).

Limitations

• Column names and exact data structure are not provided in the available metadata.
• Conflicting 'last updated' dates exist between platforms (2010-08-22 vs. 2026-03-05), suggesting potential metadata inconsistency.
• Precise row count and file size are unknown, limiting assessment of dataset scale.

Provenance

Source

Subsurface Monitoring Unit (SMU), consisting of multiple government and corporate agencies, collected aboard the HOS Davis.

Collection Method

In-situ measurements from CTD casts, fluorometer, and oxygen meter.

Time Range

2010-08-13 to 2010-08-22

Freshness

2026-03-05 22:27:48.788341

Geography

Gulf of Mexico, specifically the Mississippi Canyon area related to the Deepwater Horizon event.