Oceanographic Measurements from Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Response Cruise

Data collected aboard the Brooks McCall research vessel in the Gulf of Mexico from May 18 to May 22, 2010, in response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The Subsurface Monitoring Unit, a consortium of government and corporate agencies, gathered chemical, physical, and profile data using instruments like CTD, LISST, fluorometers, and oxygen meters.

Use Cases

• Analyze Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH) and Volatile Organic Compounds concentrations to map pollutant dispersion.
• Correlate turbidity and suspended solids measurements with fluorescence and CDOM fluorescence data to assess water clarity and organic matter.
• Model water density and sound velocity using conductivity, salinity, temperature, and hydrostatic pressure readings from the CTD.
• Use dissolved oxygen and attenuation/transmission data to evaluate impacts on marine ecosystem health.

Strengths

• Data collected over a focused 5-day period during a major environmental event.
• Includes multiple instrument types (CTD, LISST, transmissometer, fluorometer, oxygen meter) providing diverse measurements.
• CTD data underwent preliminary quality assurance and control procedures at the National Coastal Data Development Center.

Limitations

• Analytical chemistry data are provisional, indicating potential unverified laboratory results.
• Temporal coverage is limited to a single, short cruise following the spill.
• Specific row counts, column details, and sample sizes are unknown.

Provenance

Source

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), via NASA Earthdata.

Collection Method

In-situ measurements collected aboard the Brooks McCall research vessel using oceanographic instruments and physical sampling devices.

Time Range

2010-05-18 to 2010-05-22

Freshness

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Geography

Gulf of Mexico