U.S. Coastal Sediment and Fish Tissue Chemical Contaminants 1984-1992

NOAA's National Status and Trends program collected this dataset on chemical contaminants in marine sediment and benthic fish tissue from all U.S. coastal regions. It reports trace concentrations of elements, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), pesticides, and butyltins. Data collection concluded in 1992.

Use Cases

• Analyze temporal trends of specific contaminants like PCBs or PAHs in sediment across U.S. coastal regions from 1984 to 1992.
• Compare contaminant concentrations, such as butyltins or pesticides, between marine sediment and benthic fish tissue samples.
• Model spatial distribution of trace elements and organic chemical constituents in coastal ecosystems.
• Assess baseline pollution levels for major and trace elements prior to modern regulatory frameworks.

Strengths

• Covers all U.S. coastal regions, providing national-scale data.
• Includes a suite of chemical contaminants (elements, PAHs, PCBs, pesticides, butyltins) in two sample matrices.
• Time-series data spans 9 years from 1984 to 1992.

Limitations

• Data is temporally stale, with the last collection year being 1992.
• Specific sample size (row count), column details, and geographic granularity are unknown.
• Unknown if data includes metadata on detection limits or analytical methods.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science.

Collection Method

Chemical analysis of marine sediment and benthic fish tissue samples collected from U.S. coastal regions.

Time Range

1984 to 1992

Freshness

Data collection ended in 1992; no updates are expected.

Geography

All U.S. coastal regions.