Sediment samples from Nu'uuli Pala Lagoon in American Samoa quantify a suite of organic and inorganic chemical contaminants. The dataset covers 13 sampling sites from a one-time effort in July 2017. Data were collected and published by NOAA's National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science and archived by the National Centers for Environmental Information.
Use Cases
- Correlate sediment grain size with concentrations of trace elements like lead or mercury to understand pollutant binding.
- Map spatial distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) across 13 lagoon sites.
- Assess co-occurrence patterns of human-use pharmaceuticals, pesticides, and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in a single lagoon system.
- Use Clostridium perfringens abundance as an indicator of fecal contamination alongside chemical pollutant data.
- Establish a 2017 baseline for carbon content and contaminant levels for future comparative studies in American Samoa.
Strengths
- Measures 9 distinct contaminant groups including PAHs, PCBs, PBDEs, and pharmaceuticals in a single survey.
- Spatial coverage includes 12 random sites and 1 targeted site within the lagoon.
Limitations
- Single sampling event in July 2017 provides no temporal trend data.
- Small spatial scale limited to one lagoon in American Samoa.
- Sample size of 13 sites may limit statistical power for some analyses.
Provenance
- Source
- NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) and National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI).
- Collection Method
- One-time sediment sampling and laboratory quantification of chemical parameters.
- Time Range
- 2017-07-11 to 2017-07-14
- Freshness
- One-time collection; data is from 2017.
- Geography
- Nu'uuli Pala Lagoon, American Samoa.