Deepwater Horizon CTD Data: Water Column Profiles from R/V Brooks McCall
Updated 2mo ago
19files
Available on 2 platforms
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Description
NRDA-processed CTD data from the R/V Brooks McCall, Cruise 9 Leg 1, provides a detailed physical and chemical snapshot of the Gulf of Mexico water column during the immediate response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The dataset contains quality-checked profiles of temperature, conductivity/salinity, depth, dissolved oxygen, and fluorometry, stored as a series of NetCDF files. These measurements were used to guide sample collection and assess oceanographic conditions following the environmental disaster.
Use Cases
Modeling oil plume dispersion based on water column density and current profiles derived from conductivity, temperature, and depth (CTD) data.
Assessing potential impacts on marine biota by correlating fluorometry (a proxy for chlorophyll) with chemical parameters from the spill event.
Calibrating remote sensing data with in-situ measurements of sea water electrical conductivity and temperature.
Reconstructing the three-dimensional oceanographic environment in the Mississippi Canyon area during late June 2010.
Strengths
Data is processed and quality-checked, as stated in the descriptions.
Contains multiple directly measured oceanographic parameters including dissolved oxygen and fluorometry.
Covers a specific, critical time period (2010-06-23 to 2010-06-25) during the active Deepwater Horizon response.
Limitations
Column names and precise row/size counts are unknown, limiting immediate usability.
Conflicting 'last updated' dates (2010 vs. 2026) between platforms create uncertainty about data currency and potential reprocessing.
Metadata for license and author is incomplete across all sources.
Provenance
Source
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce
Collection Method
Collected via Conductivity Temperature and Depth (CTD) casts from the R/V Brooks McCall, Cruise 09.
Time Range
2010-06-23 to 2010-06-25
Freshness
2026-04-01 15:02:12.826214 (from datagov, though this conflicts with the 2010 date from nasa_earthdata)
Geography
Gulf of Mexico, specifically the Mississippi Canyon area associated with the Deepwater Horizon site.
Data is associated with the Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The conflicting 'last updated' timestamps should be investigated before use.