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

NOAA NRDA-processed CTD data from NOAA Ship Pisces Cruise 8 provides physical oceanographic measurements from the Gulf of Mexico. The dataset contains quality-checked temperature, conductivity/salinity, depth, and dissolved oxygen profiles collected to guide sampling after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Data is stored as a series of NetCDF files covering casts from December 2 to December 19, 2010.

Use Cases

• Analyzing vertical profiles of temperature and salinity to understand water column stratification in the Mississippi Canyon region.
• Mapping dissolved oxygen levels to assess potential hypoxic conditions following the oil spill event.
• Correlating sea water pressure (depth) and conductivity measurements for calculating derived parameters like density.
• Using latitude and longitude coordinates to geospatially reference oceanographic conditions during the spill response.

Strengths

• Data has been processed and quality checked, as stated in all source descriptions.
• Provides a specific temporal focus on the immediate post-spill period from 2010-12-02 to 2010-12-19.
• Cross-platform presence on NASA EarthData and Data.gov signals its importance and curation.

Limitations

• Exact row count, file size, and complete column list are unknown across all sources.
• Conflicting last updated dates: one source shows 2010-12-19, another shows 2026-04-01, suggesting possible metadata refresh versus data collection date.

Provenance

Source

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), collected aboard NOAA Ship Pisces.

Collection Method

Conductivity Temperature and Depth (CTD) casts collected to determine physical oceanographic parameters and guide sample collection.

Time Range

2010-12-02 to 2010-12-19

Freshness

2026-04-01 15:23:30.360239

Geography

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