BE-1403 Cruise: CTD and Plankton Abundance in DeSoto Canyon
Updated 3mo ago
13files
Available on 2 platforms
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Description
NOAA_NCEI Accession 0176511 contains conductivity, temperature, depth (CTD) and plankton relative abundance data from the R/V Bellows cruise BE-1403. The dataset covers 27 CTD sample sites and 14 plankton net tows collected off the Florida Panhandle in the DeSoto Canyon from September 14-16, 2013. Plankton counts are categorized into 12 taxonomic groups, with abundances recorded as both raw counts and percentages.
Use Cases
Analyzing phytoplankton community composition based on species relative abundance percentages.
Correlating water column properties (conductivity, temperature, depth, oxygen) with plankton distributions.
Studying spatial patterns of key dinoflagellate (e.g., Ceratium, Dinophysis) and diatom groups (e.g., Chaetoceros) in a canyon system.
Assessing the presence and abundance of cyanobacteria (Trichodesmium spp.) and zooplankton in shelf waters.
Strengths
Provides paired physical (CTD) and biological (plankton) measurements from the same cruise, enabling integrated analysis.
Includes data from 27 distinct CTD sample sites and 14 plankton tows, offering spatial coverage.
Plankton data uses a standardized taxonomic categorization into 12 functional groups.
Limitations
Metadata completeness is low: column names, row counts, and exact file formats are not specified in the provided sources.
Conflicting 'last updated' dates (2013-09 16 vs. 2026-03-06) suggest potential metadata inconsistency across platforms.
The dataset is from a single, short cruise in 2013, limiting temporal scope and generalizability.
Provenance
Source
NOAA_NCEI (National Centers for Environmental Information), collected during R/V Bellows cruise BE-1403.
Collection Method
CTD data collected with Sea-Bird SBE 25 and SBE 43 sensors; plankton collected via vertical tow with a 25-micrometer mesh, 0.5-meter diameter net.
Time Range
2013-09-14 to 2013-09-16
Freshness
Last updated metadata dates conflict: one source lists 2013-09-16, another lists 2026-03-06.
Geography
Offshore shelf sites off the Florida Panhandle at the head of DeSoto Canyon, Gulf of Mexico.
License information is not provided in the available metadata.