Gulf of Mexico Temperature and Salinity Profiles During Deepwater Horizon Event

NOAA Ship Nancy Foster collected near-realtime oceanographic profile data in the Gulf of Mexico from July 1-18, 2010. The dataset contains vertical profiles of temperature and salinity, gathered as part of the Global Temperature and Salinity Profile Programme (GTSPP) in response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Data was transmitted via the Global Telecommunication System and is provided by NOAA NCEI.

Use Cases

• Modeling oil plume dispersion by correlating spill location data with vertical temperature and salinity profiles.
• Analyzing changes in water column stratification using depth-based temperature and salinity measurements.
• Calibrating satellite-derived sea surface temperature data with in-situ profile measurements.
• Studying short-term oceanographic variability in the Gulf of Mexico using time-series profile data.

Strengths

• Data collected during a significant environmental event, providing a focused temporal snapshot.
• Profiles available in multiple formats (CSV, NetCDF, ASCII) for different analysis tools.
• Includes visual inventory with plots for each vertical profile and a KML file for geospatial visualization.

Limitations

• Limited temporal scope, covering only an 18-day period in July 2010.
• Unknown sample size and spatial resolution of the collected profiles.
• Data is over a decade old, limiting analysis of current conditions.

Provenance

Source

NOAA NCEI (National Centers for Environmental Information).

Collection Method

In-situ data collected by CTD and XBT instruments aboard NOAA Ship Nancy Foster, transmitted via GTS as Bathy and Tesac messages.

Time Range

2010-07-01 to 2010-07-18.

Freshness

Last updated 2010-07 -18; static historical dataset.

Geography

Gulf of Mexico.