Oceanographic Profiles from Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Response

CTD casts aboard the JACK FITZ captured conductivity, dissolved oxygen, fluorescence, pressure, salinity, sound velocity, temperature, and water density. Data collection occurred from May 22 to 31, 2010, specifically in response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The Subsurface Monitoring Unit, a multi-agency group, gathered this data, which was later quality-controlled by the National Coastal Data Development Center.

Use Cases

• Modeling oil plume dispersion by correlating fluorescence anomalies with salinity and temperature profiles.
• Assessing dissolved oxygen depletion near the spill site using time-series oxygen meter and CTD data.
• Analyzing changes in water density and sound velocity structure to understand spill-induced stratification.
• Calibrating remote sensing models with in-situ conductivity, temperature, and pressure measurements.

Strengths

• Data collected during a critical 10-day period immediately following a major environmental disaster.
• Includes 8 measured parameters: conductivity, dissolved oxygen, fluorescence, pressure, salinity, sound velocity, temperature, and density.
• Underwent quality assurance and control procedures by the National Coastal Data Development Center.

Limitations

• Temporal coverage is limited to a short 10-day window in May 2010, lacking pre-spill baseline or long-term recovery data.
• Spatial coverage is confined to the specific cruise track of the JACK FITZ in the Gulf of Mexico.
• Unknown sample size and vertical resolution of the CTD profile data.

Provenance

Source

Subsurface Monitoring Unit (SMU) and NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI).

Collection Method

Data collected from CTD casts, a fluorometer, and an oxygen meter aboard the research vessel JACK FITZ.

Time Range

2010-05-22 to 2010-05-31.

Freshness

Data is from 2010; it is a historical snapshot with no ongoing updates.

Geography

Gulf of Mexico.