Brooks McCall Cruise: Deepwater Horizon Subsurface Monitoring Data

NODC Accession 0069053 contains provisional chemical and physical oceanographic data collected from July 16-20, 2010 aboard the RV Brooks McCall. The Subsurface Monitoring Unit gathered this data to assess the Deepwater Horizon oil spill's impact, using instruments like CTDs, LISSTs, and fluorometers. The dataset includes laboratory analysis for hydrocarbons and volatile organic compounds, alongside real-time decision support products like maps and charts.

Use Cases

• Tracking hydrocarbon dispersion based on Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH) and Volatile Organic Compound measurements.
• Modeling water column properties using conductivity, temperature, depth (CTD) and dissolved oxygen profiles.
• Assessing particulate matter transport via Laser In-Situ Scattering and Transmissometer (LISST) data on suspended solids.
• Analyzing chemical contamination from specific compounds like 1,2-dichloroethane or benzo(a)pyrene listed in the tags.

Strengths

• Covers a critical 5-day sampling window immediately following a major environmental disaster.
• Includes data from multiple specialized instruments (CTD, LISST, fluorometer) and onshore laboratory analysis.
• Underwent preliminary quality assurance and control procedures at the National Coastal Data Development Center.

Limitations

• Key metadata such as row count, specific column names, and license information is unavailable across all sources.
• The analytical chemistry data are explicitly described as provisional.
• Conflicting 'last updated' dates (2010-07-20 vs. 2026-04-01) suggest potential metadata inconsistency.

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 via shipboard instruments (CTD, LISST, transmissometer, fluorometer, oxygen meter) and physical sampling (bottles), with subsequent onshore laboratory analysis.

Time Range

2010-07-16 to 2010-07-20

Freshness

2026-04-01 15:20:43.923913

Geography

Gulf of Mexico