Gulf of Mexico CTD Measurements from Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Response

NOAA Ship Pisces collected Conductivity, Temperature, and Depth (CTD) data in the Gulf of Mexico from September 10 to 17, 2010, as part of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill sampling effort. The dataset includes measurements of temperature, conductivity/salinity, depth, dissolved oxygen, and fluorometry. NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) processed and quality-checked the data, delivering it as a series of NetCDF files.

Use Cases

• Model vertical water column structure by analyzing depth profiles of temperature and conductivity/salinity.
• Assess potential oil spill dispersion and impact by correlating fluorometry data with other CTD parameters.
• Calculate water density and stratification using the temperature and salinity columns.
• Evaluate baseline dissolved oxygen levels in the Gulf of Mexico during the spill event.
• Map the spatial distribution of oceanographic conditions from the geospatial cruise track data.

Strengths

• Data is processed and quality-checked, as stated in the source description.
• Covers a specific, critical event (Deepwater Horizon oil spill) during a defined 8-day period.
• Includes multiple synchronized physical parameters: temperature, conductivity, depth, dissolved oxygen, and fluorometry.

Limitations

• Data is from a single 8-day cruise in 2010, offering a limited temporal snapshot.
• Geographic coverage is restricted to the specific cruise track of NOAA Ship Pisces in the Gulf of Mexico.
• The exact number of data rows (CTD casts) and file size are unknown.

Provenance

Source

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI Accession 0130223).

Collection Method

Measurements collected onboard NOAA Ship Pisces (Cruise 05) using CTD instrumentation.

Time Range

2010-09-10 to 2010-09 17.

Freshness

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Geography

Gulf of Mexico, along the cruise track of NOAA Ship Pisces.