Gulf of Mexico Sediment Core Radioisotope and Composition Data

August 2010 to September 2011 data from multiple R/V Weatherbird II cruises in the Gulf of Mexico contains short-lived radioisotope measurements, sediment core photographs, and sediment texture and composition analysis. The dataset was collected and organized by NOAA NCEI and the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GOMRI). It provides high-resolution sampling of sediment cores at 2mm intervals for surficial units and 5mm intervals to the core base.

Use Cases

• Analyzing sediment accumulation rates using short-lived radioisotope (SLRad) data from core sub-samples.
• Classifying sediment texture by calculating percentages of gravel, sand, silt, and clay components.
• Assessing sediment composition by evaluating percent total organic matter (TOM) from loss on ignition (LOI) and percent carbonate from acid leaching.
• Visually interpreting sediment stratigraphy, color, and layering from core photographs taken with a Nikon D5100 camera.
• Investigating terrigenous sediment sources by examining the percent insoluble residue (IR) in samples.

Strengths

• Provides high-resolution geochemical and textural data with sampling at 2mm and 5mm intervals.
• Includes direct visual evidence through professionally photographed sediment core images with metric scales.
• Covers a specific, relevant time period (2010-2011) following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
• Dataset presence on multiple platforms (NASA EarthData, Data.gov) indicates recognized importance and curation.

Limitations

• Key technical details are missing, including row count, file size, specific column names, and exact license.
• Conflicting 'last updated' dates exist between sources (2011-09-27 vs. 2026-03-05), creating uncertainty about maintenance.

Provenance

Source

NOAA NCEI, collected aboard R/V Weatherbird II cruises for the Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GOMRI).

Collection Method

Field collection via multiple sediment corers (e.g., Ocean Instrument MC-800 Multicore), with lab analysis including loss on ignition (LOI), acid leaching, and SLRad measurement with HPGe detectors.

Time Range

2010-08-11 to 2011-09-27

Freshness

2026-03-05 23:55:26.335541

Geography

Northern Gulf of Mexico