Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Oceanographic Survey Data
Updated 3mo ago
22files
Available on 2 platforms
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Description
Oceanographic data was collected aboard NOAA Ship GORDON GUNTER from August 2-8, 2010, specifically in response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The dataset includes chemical, physical, and profile measurements such as Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH), volatile organic compounds, conductivity, salinity, temperature, and current speed components (U, V). It was gathered by a multi-agency Subsurface Monitoring Unit using instruments like CTDs, ADCPs, fluorometers, and laboratory analysis.
Use Cases
Tracking oil spill dispersion by analyzing Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH) and volatile organic compound concentrations.
Modeling subsurface current movements using east/west (U) and north/south (V) component vectors from ADCP measurements.
Assessing water column health through concurrent measurements of dissolved oxygen, salinity, temperature, and CDOM fluorescence.
Correlating physical oceanographic conditions (density, sound velocity, hydrostatic pressure) with chemical contaminant levels.
Strengths
Data collection was focused on a major environmental event, providing a detailed snapshot from August 2-8, 2010.
Includes both raw, unprocessed instrument data (ADCP) and laboratory-analyzed chemical samples.
CTD data underwent preliminary quality assurance and control procedures at the National Coastal Data Development Center.
Limitations
Key metadata such as row count, file size, and complete column list is unavailable across all sources.
Some datasets, particularly from the ADCP, are noted as incomplete, raw, and unprocessed.
Analytical chemistry data are labeled as provisional, and the license information is unspecified.
Provenance
Source
Subsurface Monitoring Unit (SMU) involving multiple government and corporate agencies, archived by NOAA NCEI.
Collection Method
Collected via shipboard instruments (ADCP, CTD, fluorometer, oxygen meter) and onshore laboratory analysis of water and sediment samples.
Time Range
2010-08-02 to 2010-08-08
Freshness
2026-03-05 22:30:01.554668
Geography
Gulf of Mexico
Data is provisional and includes raw, unprocessed components; specific licensing terms are not provided. The dataset's presence on multiple platforms indicates its importance but also highlights inconsistencies in reported metadata like last updated dates.