SEAMAP Zooplankton Biomass from the North Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico (1982-2012)

Zooplankton biomass displacement volumes were sampled using nets across the North Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean Sea from 1982-02-24 to 2012-09-28. Data were collected as part of the Southeast Area Monitoring and Assessment Program (SEAMAP), a state-federal fishery-independent data program. The dataset is stored in both long and short formats and includes tools for querying by platform, project, investigator, cruise, and taxa.

Use Cases

• Analyzing seasonal and inter-annual variability in zooplankton distribution based on the 30-year time series.
• Modeling marine food web dynamics using biomass displacement volume as a proxy for zooplankton abundance.
• Correlating plankton community changes with environmental or fishery data by querying data by cruise or investigator.
• Reconstructing historical plankton baselines for the Gulf of Mexico and North Atlantic using the COPEPOD-formatted data.

Strengths

• Covers a multi-decadal time series of 30 years (1982-2012), supporting long-term trend analysis.
• Data originates from the authoritative SEAMAP program, a collaborative state-federal monitoring effort.
• Includes data in both long and short formats, likely increasing usability for different analytical workflows.

Limitations

• Column names and specific data structure are not provided in the available metadata.
• Conflicting last-updated dates exist between platforms (2012-09-28 vs. 2026-03-05), creating uncertainty about data currency.
• The dataset size (rows, file size) is unknown, making it difficult to assess its scale.

Provenance

Source

Southeast Area Monitoring and Assessment Program (SEAMAP), data acquired from the NMFS-COPEPOD database (NCEI Accession 0051914).

Collection Method

Sampled using zooplankton nets on various research platforms.

Time Range

1982-02-24 to 2012-09-28

Freshness

2026-03-05 23:59:51.960735

Geography

North Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea