Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Oceanographic CTD Profiles from 2010

CTD cast data from the SEWARD JOHNSON captures ocean conditions in the Gulf of Mexico during the immediate aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon disaster. The Subsurface Monitoring Unit collected profiles of salinity, temperature, dissolved oxygen, and fluorescence from July 16-22, 2010. NOAA's National Coastal Data Development Center performed quality assurance on these measurements.

Use Cases

• Modeling water density and sound velocity profiles from conductivity, temperature, and pressure data to understand oil plume transport.
• Analyzing correlations between CDOM fluorescence and dissolved oxygen measurements to assess microbial degradation of hydrocarbons.
• Calibrating regional ocean models using verified salinity and temperature profiles from a specific post-spill time window.
• Investigating stratification changes using vertical profile data of temperature and density collected over a one-week cruise.

Strengths

• Data collected during a critical 7-day period immediately following a major environmental event.
• Includes 9 key oceanographic variables: CDOM fluorescence, 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

• Limited temporal coverage to a single week in July 2010, providing only a snapshot of conditions.
• Spatial coverage is restricted to the cruise track of one vessel, the SEWARD JOHNSON, in the Gulf of Mexico.
• Unknown sample size and data granularity (row count, vertical resolution of profiles).

Provenance

Source

Subsurface Monitoring Unit (SMU), collected for NOAA NCEI (Accession 0068595).

Collection Method

In-situ measurements from CTD casts, fluorometer, and oxygen meter aboard the research vessel SEWARD JOHNSON.

Time Range

2010-07-16 to 2010-07-22.

Freshness

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Geography

Gulf of Mexico, specific cruise track of the SEWARD JOHNSON.