Gulf of Mexico Oceanographic and Benthic Data from 1977-1978

Moored current meter casts collected data on current direction, benthic organisms, temperature, and wind direction in the Gulf of Mexico. The dataset covers the period from September 22, 1977, to November 30, 1978, and was submitted by Texas A&M University for the Brine Disposal project. Data were processed by the National Oceanographic Data Center into standard formats F005, F132, and F191.

Use Cases

• Modeling current direction and speed time-series at specified 10-15 minute intervals to analyze tidal or seasonal patterns.
• Correlating benthic organism abundance and biomass data with environmental parameters like bottom temperature and salinity.
• Analyzing relationships between wind direction/speed data and surface wave spectra or ocean current measurements.
• Studying the spatial distribution of species from benthic survey data linked to station positions and sediment characteristics.

Strengths

• Data collection spans over a year, from September 1977 to November 1978, providing seasonal coverage.
• Data are structured into three established NODC standard formats (F005, F132, F191) with documented schemas.

Limitations

• The exact row count, sample size, and spatial resolution of sampling stations are unknown.
• Data is temporally stale, with the last update in 1978, limiting analysis of contemporary conditions.

Provenance

Source

Texas A&M University, submitted as part of the Brine Disposal project and processed by NOAA's National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC).

Collection Method

Data collected via moored current meter casts and field sampling/surveys of bottom-dwelling organisms.

Time Range

1977-09-22 to 1978-11-30

Freshness

1978-11-30

Geography

Gulf of Mexico