Gulf of Mexico Marine Ecosystem Measurements from 1980-1981

1980-1981 data from the Gulf of Mexico includes measurements of ocean currents, water chemistry, phytoplankton, and zooplankton. The data were collected using moored current meters and other instruments by Texas A&M University for the Brine Disposal project and processed by the National Oceanographic Data Center.

Use Cases

• Analyze relationships between water temperature, salinity, and phytoplankton species counts to model bloom conditions.
• Correlate current direction and speed measurements with zooplankton distribution data to study transport patterns.
• Use time-series measurements of oxygen concentration and nitrate levels to assess water quality trends over the 17-month period.
• Model fish and shellfish resource density using data from bottom tow catches combined with environmental conditions like wind speed.

Strengths

• Data spans a 17-month period from January 1980 to June 1981.
• Includes multiple standardized data formats covering physics, chemistry, currents, and biological populations.
• Contains time-series current measurements reported at 10-15 minute intervals.

Limitations

• Data is historical, collected over 40 years ago, limiting relevance to current conditions.
• Specific row counts, column names, and sample sizes are unknown.
• Geographic coverage is limited to the Gulf of Mexico study area for the Brine Disposal project.

Provenance

Source

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), submitted by Texas A&M University.

Collection Method

Data collected from moored current meter casts and other instruments deployed in the Gulf of Mexico.

Time Range

1980-01-24 to 1981-06-22

Freshness

null

Geography

Gulf of Mexico