Ocean Currents and Marine Ecology Data from Gulf of Mexico Brine Disposal Project

NOAA_NCEI Accession 8000368 contains oceanographic and ecological data collected from the Gulf of Mexico between March 1977 and February 1980. Texas A&M University submitted the data as part of the Brine Disposal project, using moored current meters and other instruments on vessels like CAPT JACK and EXCELLENCE. The dataset is processed into standard NODC formats F005 (current meter data), F123 (fish/shellfish resources), and F191 (wind wave spectra).

Use Cases

• Analyze current direction and speed time-series at 10-15 minute intervals to model coastal circulation patterns.
• Correlate water temperature and salinity measurements with fish catch statistics from F123 format to study habitat preferences.
• Model wind wave spectra data, including dominant wave direction and period, for coastal engineering and hazard assessment.
• Use meteorological parameters like wind direction and speed alongside ocean current data to study air-sea interaction.
• Examine predator/prey information from stomach contents analysis in F123 data for marine food web studies.

Strengths

• Data spans a multi-year period from March 1977 to February 1980, providing temporal continuity.
• Includes multiple data types: current meter measurements, fish/shellfish resource surveys, and wind wave spectra.
• Data is processed to standardized NODC formats (F005, F123, F191), ensuring a defined structure.

Limitations

• Specific row counts, column names, and dataset size are unknown.
• Data is temporally stale, with collection ending over 40 years ago in 1980.
• Geographic coverage is limited to the Gulf of Mexico, specifically the Brine Disposal project area.

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

Moored current meter casts and other instruments deployed from vessels CAPT JACK and EXCELLENCE.

Time Range

1977-03-25 to 1980-02-01

Geography

Gulf of Mexico