Salinity, temperature, oxygen, sediment characterization, hydrocarbon characterization, he

This dataset contains time-series measurements assessing the fate and effects of synthetic-based drilling mud cuttings discharged from offshore platforms on the benthic environment of the Gulf of Mexico continental shelf and slope. Collected between July 29, 2000 and May 20, 2002, the data include salinity, temperature, oxygen, sediment characterization, hydrocarbon characterization, heavy metal contaminant concentration, total organic carbon, porewater chemistry, and infaunal taxonomic identifications and counts. The objective was to evaluate the environmental impact of synthetic-based drilling fluids.

Use Cases

• Assessing long-term benthic recovery from drilling discharges
• monitoring synthetic mud biodegradation and persistence
• evaluating heavy metal and hydrocarbon accumulation in sediments
• Modeling contaminant transport in porewaters
• Comparing infaunal community shifts pre- and post-drilling

Strengths

• Comprehensive time-series covering multiple years
• Multidisciplinary parameters (physical, chemical, biological) measured simultaneously
• detailed sediment and porewater chemistry profiles
• Focused on synthetic-based muds, a specific drilling fluid type

Limitations

• Limited geographic scope to Gulf of Mexico continental shelf/slope
• Data collection ended in 2002, may not reflect current practices
• Sparse metadata on exact platform locations and discharge volumes
• potential gaps in infaunal data for some stations

Provenance

Source

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)

Collection Method

Field sampling and laboratory analysis

Time Range

July 29, 2000 to May 20, 2002

Geography

Gulf of Mexico continental shelf and slope regions near offshore drilling platforms