Oceanographic Measurements from Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Monitoring

Over 30 days of chemical, physical, and sediment data were collected aboard the OCEAN VERITAS in the Gulf of Mexico from September to October 2010. The Subsurface Monitoring Unit, a multi-agency group, gathered this data in response to the Deepwater Horizon spill. It includes measurements like CDOM fluorescence, Total Organic Carbon, metals, and volatile organic compounds.

Use Cases

• Analyze Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH) and Volatile Organic Compounds concentrations to map pollutant plumes.
• Correlate salinity, temperature, and dissolved oxygen readings with sediment core analysis data to assess environmental stress.
• Model water density and sound velocity profiles from CTD instrument data for oceanographic condition reconstruction.
• Use CDOM fluorescence and conductivity measurements as indicators of organic matter dispersion from the spill.

Strengths

• Data collection spanned a focused 33-day period during a major environmental event.
• Includes multiple data types: chemical analysis, physical profiles, imagery, and sediment properties.
• CTD data underwent preliminary quality assurance and control procedures at the National Coastal Data Development Center.

Limitations

• Analytical chemistry data are provisional from onshore laboratory analysis.
• Specific row counts, column details, and sample sizes are unknown.
• Data is temporally limited to a single cruise event over one month.

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

Collected via CTD, bottle, fluorometer, oxygen meter, sediment corer, and other physical sampling devices aboard the OCEAN VERITAS.

Time Range

2010-09-22 to 2010-10-24.

Freshness

Data is from 2010 and represents a historical snapshot.

Geography

Gulf of Mexico.