Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico Hydrocarbon and Tar Beach Pollution Data

A 10-year dataset from 1979 to 1989 contains measurements of marine hydrocarbon pollution in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea. It was compiled by the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML) from contributions by multiple U.S., Caribbean, and Latin American research institutes. The submission includes three distinct data files covering beach tar, dissolved/dispersed petroleum hydrocarbons, and floating tar.

Use Cases

• Analyze temporal trends in floating tar concentration from December 1979 to November 1987.
• Correlate beach tar amounts with geographic locations and collection dates from February 1979 to February 1989.
• Model the distribution of dissolved and dispersed petroleum hydrocarbon levels from November 1979 to February 1989.

Strengths

• Data spans a 10-year period from 1979-02-05 to 1989-02-23.
• Compiles measurements from multiple international research institutes.
• Contains three distinct data files covering related but separate pollution metrics.

Limitations

• Specific column names, row counts, and file sizes are unknown.
• Data collection ended in February 1989, making the dataset over 35 years old.
• The raw description does not specify measurement units or spatial resolution.

Provenance

Source

Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML), submitted by Dr. Donald K. Atwood.

Collection Method

Field measurements collected by various U.S., Caribbean, Central and South American institutes.

Time Range

1979-02-05 to 1989-02-23

Freshness

Data is static; last updated 1989-02-23.

Geography

Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea