Mississippi River Plume Hydrographic Study Data from 1992

Five distinct oceanographic data sets were collected during the R/V Pelican cruise P921 for the Mississippi River Plume Hydrographic Study. The collection includes CTD profiles, ADCP current measurements, and biological samples like chlorophyll and zooplankton. Principal investigators from the Minerals Management Service and Louisiana State University submitted this interim data to the National Oceanographic Data Center in 1992.

Use Cases

• Analyze the relationship between CTD-measured salinity, temperature, and dissolved oxygen to map water mass structure in the Mississippi River plume.
• Use Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) data to model current velocities and circulation patterns on the Louisiana-Texas shelf.
• Correlate chlorophyll and phaeophytin measurements with zooplankton data to assess primary productivity and trophic dynamics.
• Investigate hypoxia conditions using the dedicated oxygen and hypoxia data set alongside CTD-derived depth and pressure readings.
• Combine Secchi disc measurements with transmissometer turbidity data to study light attenuation and sediment dispersion.

Strengths

• Contains five complementary data types (CTD, ADCP, chlorophyll, zooplankton, hypoxia) from a single coordinated cruise.
• Data covers multiple physical, chemical, and biological parameters relevant for a holistic plume study.
• Collected as part of the defined LATEX (Louisiana-Texas) physical oceanography project.

Limitations

• Documentation notes the originator's files do not fully correlate with submitted data, indicating potential metadata or completeness issues.
• Data is explicitly labeled as 'INTERIM', with a final report expected but not confirmed within this accession.
• Lacks header information and standard NODC formatting, complicating direct use.

Provenance

Source

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI Accession 9200235).

Collection Method

In-situ measurements collected from the R/V Pelican during cruise P921, submitted in delimited ASCII format.

Time Range

1992-04-22 to 1992-05-01

Freshness

null

Geography

Gulf of Mexico, specifically the Mississippi River plume and Louisiana-Texas shelf.