Over 15 chemical and physical oceanographic parameters were collected aboard the OCEAN VERITAS vessel in the Gulf of Mexico from June 19-23, 2010. The Subsurface Monitoring Unit, a multi-agency group, gathered this data in response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill using instruments including CTD, fluorometers, and transmissometers. Provisional laboratory analysis results for water and sediment samples are included.
Use Cases
- Analyze Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH) concentration trends against salinity and temperature measurements to model contaminant dilution.
- Correlate CDOM fluorescence readings with Volatile Organic Compounds data to track dissolved organic matter from the spill.
- Map water density and sound velocity profiles from CTD data to understand the subsurface plume structure.
- Use suspended solids and attenuation/transmission data to assess particulate matter dispersion from the spill event.
- Compare provisional laboratory analysis results for Semivolatile Organic Compounds with in-situ conductivity and dissolved oxygen measurements.
Strengths
- Data covers 15 specific parameters including chemistry, physics, and profile measurements.
- Collection occurred over a focused 5-day period immediately following a major environmental event.
- Instruments used are listed, including CTD, LISST, fluorometer, and oxygen meter.
- Preliminary quality assurance and control procedures were applied to the CTD data.
Limitations
- Analytical chemistry data are labeled as provisional, indicating potential unreviewed or unvalidated results.
- The dataset's temporal coverage is limited to only 5 days, providing a snapshot rather than a long-term trend.
- Specific row counts, sample sizes, and geographic coordinates within the Gulf of Mexico are not provided.
Provenance
- Source
- Subsurface Monitoring Unit (SMU) and NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI).
- Collection Method
- Data collected via ship-based instruments (CTD, LISST, transmissometer, bottle, fluorometer, oxygen meter) and onshore laboratory analysis.
- Time Range
- 2010-06-19 to 2010-06-23.
- Freshness
- null
- Geography
- Gulf of Mexico.