Gulf of Mexico Sediment Core Radioisotope and Density Data

NOAA's dataset contains short-lived radioisotope measurements, sediment core photographs, and bulk density/porewater data from two R/V Weatherbird II research cruises in the Gulf of Mexico. Data collection occurred from August 15 to September 27, 2013, as part of the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative following the Deepwater Horizon event. The dataset provides detailed physical and geochemical profiles of seafloor sediments.

Use Cases

• Calculating recent sedimentation rates using short-lived radioisotope (SLRad) activity profiles.
• Analyzing sediment compaction and porosity through wet weight and dry weight bulk density measurements.
• Interpreting sediment stratigraphy, color, and depositional events from core photographs with metric scales.
• Assessing porewater content and its relationship to sediment density at 2mm and 5mm sampling intervals.
• Correlating visual sediment properties from photographs with geochemical data from the same core samples.

Strengths

• Provides high-resolution bulk density data with 2mm sampling intervals for surficial sediment units.
• Includes direct visual evidence through professionally photographed sediment cores with metric scales.
• Data is associated with a specific, significant environmental event (Deepwater Horizon oil spill).
• Collection methodology is documented, using an MC-800 multicorer and Nikon D5100 camera.

Limitations

• Exact row counts, file sizes, and column names are not provided by any source platform.
• Conflicting 'last updated' dates exist between sources (2013-09-27 on NASA Earthdata vs. 2026-04-01 on Data.gov).
• License information and specific data authors are not listed.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Sediment cores collected via MC-800 multicorer aboard R/V Weatherbird II, with sub-samples analyzed for bulk density, porewater, and radioisotopes using HPGe detectors; cores were split and photographed.

Time Range

2013-08 15 to 2013-09-27

Freshness

2026-04-01 15:00:36.071292

Geography

Gulf of Mexico, specific sites from cruises WB-0813 and WB-1405