Plankton Abundance and Phytoplankton Profiles from Gulf of Mexico Cruise, 2013

NOAA_NCEI Accession 0176344 reports plankton species abundance from 14 sites and quantitative phytoplankton profiles from 5 sites in the Gulf of Mexico's DeSoto Canyon. Data was collected aboard the R/V Bellows cruise BE 1317 from April 6 to 8, 2013, using net tows and Niskin bottle sampling with subsequent scanning electron microscope analysis. The dataset includes species counts, percentages, cell abundances per liter, and associated micrographs.

Use Cases

• Modeling plankton community composition based on species abundance percentages and counts from net tows.
• Analyzing vertical phytoplankton profiles based on cell abundance data from different depths at five specific sites.
• Studying taxonomic distribution of diatoms, dinoflagellates, and cyanobacteria based on the identified species categories.
• Validating satellite-derived chlorophyll estimates with in-situ phytoplankton abundance data from a specific time and location.

Strengths

• Includes data from 14 distinct sampling sites, providing spatial coverage.
• Provides quantitative cell counts from up to 700 fields-of-view per sample for detailed phytoplankton profiles.
• Contains both net-tow abundance data and high-resolution scanning electron microscope imagery (micrographs).

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Last updated 2013-04-08 00:00:00; freshness should be verified.

Provenance

Source

NOAA_NCEI

Collection Method

Plankton collected via 25-micrometer mesh net tows and one-liter Niskin bottle samples; analysis via JEOL JSM-6480 LV scanning electron microscope.

Time Range

2013-04-06 to 2013-04-08

Freshness

Single-time collection from 2013-04-06 to 2013-04-08.

Geography

Gulf of Mexico, off the Florida Panhandle Bight at the head of DeSoto Canyon.