Deepwater Horizon: Oceanographic Profiles from the Rachel Bordelon

Chemical and physical oceanographic profile data were collected aboard the Rachel Bordelon in the Gulf of Mexico from 2010-09-04 to 2010-09-13 in response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill event. The data include CDOM fluorescence, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, hydrostatic pressure, salinity, sound velocity, temperature, and water density, collected using CTD, fluorometer, and oxygen meter instruments. These data have undergone quality assurance and control procedures by the National Coastal Data Development Center.

Use Cases

• Modeling subsurface oil plume dispersion based on salinity and density profiles.
• Assessing water column health and hypoxia risk using dissolved oxygen measurements.
• Tracking colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) as an oil tracer via fluorescence data.
• Calibrating oceanographic models with in-situ conductivity, temperature, and depth (CTD) data.

Strengths

• Data collection is tied to a specific, significant environmental event (the Deepwater Horizon oil spill starting April 20, 2010).
• Data underwent quality assurance and control procedures at the National Coastal Data Development Center.
• The dataset has a precise temporal scope (September 4-13, 2010) and geographic focus (Gulf of Mexico).

Limitations

• Key metadata such as row count, file size, and specific column definitions are unavailable across all sources.
• There is a conflict in the reported 'last updated' date between platforms (2010-09-13 vs. 2026-03-06), suggesting potential metadata inconsistency.
• The license and detailed authorship information are not provided.

Provenance

Source

Subsurface Monitoring Unit (SMU), consisting of multiple government and corporate agencies, collected for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Collection Method

Data collected from CTD casts aboard the RV Rachel Bordelon using CTD, fluorometer, and oxygen meter instruments.

Time Range

2010-09-04 to 2010-09-13

Freshness

2026-03-06 00:24:50.002427

Geography

Gulf of Mexico