Processed CTD Data from Gulf of Mexico Cruise During Deepwater Horizon Spill

CTD measurements from the R/V Jack Fitz Cruise 03 capture physical oceanographic parameters of the water column in the Gulf of Mexico. The dataset was collected from June 12 to June 20, 2010, to guide sampling efforts for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Processed and quality-checked data are provided as a series of NetCDF files by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Use Cases

• Analyzing vertical profiles of temperature, conductivity/salinity, and depth to understand oceanographic conditions.
• Correlating dissolved oxygen and fluorometry measurements with biological activity or pollution dispersion.
• Using latitude and longitude coordinates to map the spatial distribution of water column properties during the spill response.
• Investigating sea water density and pressure gradients for physical oceanography modeling.

Strengths

• Data has been processed and undergone quality checking, as stated across all sources.
• Provides specific temporal coverage from 2010-06-12 to 2010-06 20 during a critical environmental event.
• Cross-platform presence on Data.gov and NASA EarthData indicates recognized importance and curation.

Limitations

• Key quantitative details like row count, file size, and specific column names are unavailable from all sources.
• There is a conflict in the 'last updated' metadata, with one source reporting 2026-04-01 and another reporting 2010-06-20.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Measurements collected aboard the R/V Jack Fitz, Cruise 03, using CTD instrumentation.

Time Range

2010-06-12 to 2010-06-20

Freshness

2026-04-01 15:05:05.185670

Geography

Gulf of Mexico (specific mentions include Gulf Coast and Mississippi Canyon)