Abstract:

The Deepwater Horizon database contains oceanographic and hydrocarbon measurements collected from water, air, and sediment during and after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. It is 2.4 GB in size and contains 8 million georeferenced data points (in situ and laboratory measurements) from government, academic, citizen science, and industry sources. The database integrates 38 data sets covering 640,000 square km from 4673 m altitude and 2850 m depth from 2010 to 2012. More details can be found in the publication: Thessen, A.E., McGinnis, S., and E.W. North. 2016. Lessons learned while building the Deepwater Horizon Database: Toward improved data sharing in coastal science. Comput. Geosci. 87: 84-90. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cageo.2015.12.001

Suggested Citation:

Anne Thessen. 2016. Database of Oceanographic and Hydrocarbon Data Collected in the Gulf of Mexico after the Deepwater Horizon Spill. Distributed by: Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative Information and Data Cooperative (GRIIDC), Harte Research Institute, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi. doi:10.7266/N7GX48MZ

Publications:

Thessen, A. E., McGinnis, S., & North, E. W. (2016). Lessons learned while building the Deepwater Horizon Database: Toward improved data sharing in coastal science. Computers & Geosciences, 87, 84–90. doi:10.1016/j.cageo.2015.12.001

North, E. W., Adams, E. E., Thessen, A. E., Schlag, Z., He, R., Socolofsky, S. A., … Peckham, S. D. (2015). The influence of droplet size and biodegradation on the transport of subsurface oil droplets during the Deepwater Horizon spill: a model sensitivity study . Environmental Research Letters, 10(2), 024016. doi:10.1088/1748-9326/10/2/024016

Thessen, A. E., & North, E. W. (2017). Calculating in situ degradation rates of hydrocarbon compounds in deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 122(1-2), 77–84. doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.06.004

Purpose:

The database was populated for the purpose of model validation and estimation of hydrocarbon degradation rates.

Data Parameters and Units:

This database integrates 38 data sets using 2,212 different measurement types and 122 different units. After measurement and unit reconciliation the database contains 1,442 normalized measurements and 88 normalized units. For more information on how this was done see http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cageo.2015.12.001 This dataset contains the contents of the online database at http://gisr.hpl.umces.edu 1) DatabaseDocumentationv1.pdf - User’s Guide to the Database at http://gisr.hpl.umces.edu 2) Reconciliation Table Appendix A.csv - Downloaded from the above URL. 3) DataData/GISR_Full_Data.csv - Table dump of the database - about 2GB 4) Metadata/* - The attributions for each dataset integrated into GISR_Full_Data in FDGC compliant form.

Methods:

Data sets were either accessed online or obtained directly from the provider in a variety of formats. Integration was achieved in an ad hoc manner depending on its original state. For more information see http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cageo.2015.12.001

Instruments:

When available, the methods, instrumentation, and sampling equipment were recorded for each data point. For more information see http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cageo.2015.12.001

Error Analysis:

When precision, accuracy, or standard deviation were provided, they were included, as were limits of detection and limits of quantitation.

Provenance and Historical References:

References for the data sets can be found in Table 1 of http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cageo.2015.12.001 The user's guide can be downloaded in pdf format from http://gisr.hpl.umces.edu/. This includes descriptions of all columns, units, and quality flags.

Individual Files: