NOAA Ship Oceanographic Measurements During Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

Over 9 days in May-June 2010, the NOAA Ship Gordon Gunter collected oceanographic data in the Gulf of Mexico in direct response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The Subsurface Monitoring Unit, a coalition of government and corporate agencies, gathered measurements including CDOM fluorescence, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, salinity, temperature, and current speed components. Instruments used included ADCP, CTD, bathythermographs, fluorometers, and oxygen meters.

Use Cases

• Map pollutant dispersion by correlating CDOM fluorescence readings with U and V current speed components from the ADCP.
• Analyze changes in dissolved oxygen and salinity levels over the 9-day cruise to assess water quality degradation.
• Model sound velocity and water density profiles from CTD data to understand subsurface oil plume behavior.
• Validate real-time decision support products like charts and maps created during the event using raw ADCP current vectors.

Strengths

• Data collection was focused on a specific, critical event over a defined 9-day period from 2010-05-27 to 2010-06-04.
• Includes multiple physical and chemical parameters (e.g., CDOM fluorescence, dissolved oxygen, salinity, temperature) from several instruments.
• CTD data underwent preliminary quality assurance and control procedures at the National Coastal Data Development Center.

Limitations

• The ADCP data is described as raw and unprocessed, requiring significant user effort for analysis.
• Some datasets associated with the instruments are noted as incomplete and unpublished.
• The temporal coverage is limited to a single, short cruise immediately after the spill, lacking longer-term baseline or follow-up data.

Provenance

Source

NOAA_NCEI (National Centers for Environmental Information)

Collection Method

Data collected aboard NOAA Ship Gordon Gunter using ADCP, CTD, bathythermograph, fluorometer, and oxygen meter instruments.

Time Range

2010-05-27 to 2010-06-04

Freshness

null

Geography

Gulf of Mexico