Gulf of Mexico Oceanographic and Biological Time Series from Moored Instruments

Moored instrument data from the Gulf of Mexico captures time-series measurements of ocean currents, water chemistry, phytoplankton, and zooplankton. The dataset was submitted by Texas A&M University as part of the Brine Disposal project, with collection occurring from 1979-08-30 to 1981-08-01. Data were processed by the National Oceanographic Data Center into standard formats including F005 for current meters and F028 for phytoplankton.

Use Cases

• Analyze current direction and speed time series from moored meters to model coastal circulation patterns.
• Correlate phytoplankton species counts and chlorophyll concentrations with nitrate and phosphate levels to study nutrient dynamics.
• Investigate relationships between zooplankton abundance, distribution, and concurrent environmental parameters like water temperature and salinity.
• Model wind wave spectra, including dominant wave direction and period, alongside wind direction and speed data.
• Study apparent oxygen utilization and percent oxygen saturation in relation to biological data from the F069 marine chemistry format.

Strengths

• Multi-year temporal coverage from 1979 to 1981.
• Multi-disciplinary data spanning physics, chemistry, and biology from a single project.
• Standardized processing into established NODC formats (F005, F028, F069, F124, F191).

Limitations

• Temporal coverage is limited to a specific 2-year period in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
• Specific sample sizes, row counts, and spatial resolution of stations are unknown.
• Data may exhibit geographic bias, being confined to the Gulf of Mexico study area for the Brine Disposal project.

Provenance

Source

Texas A&M University, processed by NOAA National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC).

Collection Method

Data collected using moored current meter casts and other oceanographic instruments.

Time Range

1979-08-30 to 1981-08-01 (project data from 1977-09-24 to 1981-08-31).

Freshness

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Geography

Gulf of Mexico.