Processed CTD Data from Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Response

2011-06-26 to 2011-07-13 coverage of Conductivity, Temperature, and Depth (CTD) measurements collected aboard NOAA Ship Pisces during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill response. The dataset includes processed and quality-checked casts measuring temperature, conductivity/salinity, depth, dissolved oxygen, and fluorometry. It was produced by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as part of the Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA).

Use Cases

• Analyzing vertical profiles of seawater temperature and salinity to understand water column stratification during the spill event.
• Mapping the spatial distribution of dissolved oxygen and fluorometry to assess potential biological impacts or plume tracking.
• Correlating CTD cast data (depth, conductivity) with other environmental samples collected during the NRDA mission.
• Studying sea water density derived from conductivity, temperature, and depth measurements for oceanographic modeling.

Strengths

• Data has been processed and quality checked, as stated across all platform descriptions.
• Provides specific temporal coverage from a key response period (June 26 to July 13, 2011) following the Deepwater Horizon incident.
• Cross-platform presence on Data.gov and NASA EarthData indicates recognized importance and curation.

Limitations

• Exact row count, file size, and complete column list are unknown across all sources.
• Conflict in last updated metadata: Data.gov lists 2026-03 05 (likely an administrative update or error), while NASA EarthData lists 2011-07-13 (the collection end date).
• License information is not provided, restricting clarity on reuse permissions.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce.

Collection Method

Measurements collected via shipboard CTD casts aboard NOAA Ship Pisces, Cruise 10, Leg 2, and processed into NetCDF files.

Time Range

2011-06-26 to 2011-07-13

Freshness

2026-03-05 23:51:03.320028 (Data.gov), though this may be an administrative timestamp conflicting with the 2011 collection date.

Geography

Gulf of Mexico, specifically the Mississippi Canyon area associated with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.