Fisheries Oceanography of Coastal Alabama (FOCAL) (2004-2010)

Metadata:

Identification_Information:
Citation:
Citation_Information:
Originator:
Dauphin Island Sea Lab's FOCAL Laboratory
Publication_Date:
Unpublished material
Title:
Fisheries Oceanography of Coastal Alabama (FOCAL) (2004-2010)
Description:
Abstract:
The FOCAL (Fisheries Oceanography of Coastal Alabama) program aims to examine the close connection between the biological and physical environments of coastal Alabama and how this interaction affects larvae and eggs dynamics across the shelf. The shallow coastal northern U.S. Gulf of Mexico represents one of the most biologically and physically dynamic systems in North America. The overarching scientific goal of the FOCAL program is to understand the key ecological and environmental drivers of egg and larval fish variability, and how this variability influences later adult stages entering the fishery. The core element of FOCAL is a cross-shelf survey initiated in fall 2004. These data are currently being employed in several long-term studies aimed at understanding recruitment variability of several key fish species. Additionally, FOCAL continues to provide support to state and federal agencies in the areas of taxonomic expertise and training in ichthyoplankton and other plankton groups.
Purpose:
The overarching scientific goal of the FOCAL program is to understand the key ecological and environmental drivers of egg and larval fish variability, and how this variability influences later adult stages entering the fishery.
Time_Period_of_Content:
Time_Period_Information:
Range_of_Dates/Times:
Beginning_Date:
20040501
Ending_Date:
20100708
Currentness_Reference:
ground condition
Status:
Progress:
In work
Maintenance_and_Update_Frequency:
As needed
Spatial_Domain:
Bounding_Coordinates:
West_Bounding_Coordinate:
-88.375
East_Bounding_Coordinate:
-87.25
North_Bounding_Coordinate:
31.0
South_Bounding_Coordinate:
29.75
Keywords:
Theme:
Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus:
None
Theme_Keyword:
zooplankton
Theme_Keyword:
phytoplankton
Theme_Keyword:
ichthyoplankton
Theme_Keyword:
oceanography
Theme_Keyword:
larvae
Theme_Keyword:
eggs
Theme_Keyword:
fishery
Theme_Keyword:
continental shelf
Theme_Keyword:
dynamics
Theme_Keyword:
variability
Theme:
Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus:
ISO 19115 Topic Categories
Theme_Keyword:
biota
Theme_Keyword:
environment
Theme_Keyword:
oceans
Place:
Place_Keyword_Thesaurus:
None
Place_Keyword:
Alabama
Place_Keyword:
Gulf of Mexico
Place_Keyword:
Mobile Bay
Place_Keyword:
USA
Place_Keyword:
Dauphin Island Sea Lab
Place_Keyword:
DISL
Access_Constraints:
Permission to access these data must be given by Dr. Frank Hernandez of the University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast Research Laboratory.
Use_Constraints:
Acknowledgment of the Dauphin Island Sea Lab FOCAL Lab and the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Marine Resources Division is required in products developed from these data, and such acknowledgment as is standard for citation and legal practices for data source is expected by users of these data. Users should be aware that comparison with other data sets for the same area from other time periods may be inaccurate due to inconsistencies resulting from changes in mapping conventions, data collection, and computer processes over time. The distributor shall not be liable for improper or incorrect use of these data, based on the description of appropriate/inappropriate uses described in the metadata document. These data are not legal documents and are not to be used as such.
Point_of_Contact:
Contact_Information:
Contact_Person_Primary:
Contact_Person:
Dr. Frank Hernandez
Contact_Organization:
University of Southern Mississippi: Gulf Coast Research Laboratory
Contact_Position:
Principal Investigator
Contact_Address:
Address_Type:
mailing and physical
Address:
703 East Beach Drive
City:
Ocean Springs
State_or_Province:
MS
Postal_Code:
39564
Country:
USA
Contact_Voice_Telephone:
(228) 818-8800
Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address:
frank.hernandez@usm.edu
Contact_Instructions:
Please email Frank Hernandez for further information.
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Data_Quality_Information:
Logical_Consistency_Report:
Not applicable.
Completeness_Report:
Data has been gathered from 20040501 until present with no major lapses between collections.
Lineage:
Process_Step:
Process_Description:
All plankton tows utilized a multiple opening and closing net system. For this project, we used a version of the BIONESS (Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Net Environmental Sampling System) system called a “Mininess.” These systems are real-time controlled and are comprised of a series of 9 serially opening-closing nets. Tows can be performed obliquely (diagonally) through the water or horizontally at selected depths with the nets closed at different depths to provide a series of stratified samples over the entire water column. A Conductivity-Temperature-Depth (CTD) unit attached to the frame of the Mininess allows real-time display of conductivity and temperature over depth of the water. These data were collected in conjunction with zooplankton collection to determine water column physical structure. The zooplankton nets are constructed of 202-micrometer (µm) Nitex plankton gauze with a nominal mouth opening of 0.25 m2 and a total filtration area of 5:1. Real-time displays from two flow meters (one inside and one outside the net mouth) allow assessment of filtration efficiency and clogging in real-time. Zooplankton samples were collected on a monthly basis (25 events) utilizing a stratified Mininess tow. A total of 8 zooplankton stations (replicates) were selected randomly each month, though they are stratified by quadrant (2 random plats per four quadrants). At each station, vertically stratified zooplankton was sampled at depth intervals of approximately 3 m (i.e., six stratified layers plus two oblique integrated samples) using 202 µm mesh nets for the first oblique and stratified layers and a 333 µm mesh net for the subsequent oblique net. The 202 µm mesh was used to minimize extrusion of smaller fish eggs commonly lost in traditional SEAMAP sampling that uses 333 µm mesh nets, and the 333 µm mesh is use as a comparison of SEAMAP sampling. Diel variations of zooplankton were measured on a quarterly basis (8 events). The ship surveys of physical data in the Alabama coastal waters began in mid-2004 and are on-going. The survey data was collected using SeaBird Sealogger CTD (SBE 25). Station CP is the location of a mooring station from which time series of water column temperature, salinity, and current velocity was collected. The mooring line is instrumented with two SeaBird MicroCats (SBE 37-SMP) at the surface (4.3 m) and bottom (20 m) and 10 SeaBird thermistors (SBE 39) at ∆z = 1–1.5 m intervals. All instruments are programmed to record 20-min averages. The resulting data set includes time series of surface and bottom salinity from which density can be derived and time series of vertical profiles of temperature. In addition, the mooring site is instrumented with an upward-looking Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP), from which current velocities are derived. Data from the ADCP are collected at 0.5 m bins between 2 and 19 meters above the bottom (mab), of which 2-17 mab are consistently reliable.
Process_Date:
Unknown
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Entity_and_Attribute_Information:
Overview_Description:
Entity_and_Attribute_Overview:
Tables are housed on a SQL Server contain data in the following categories: Zooplankton <=5mm, Zooplankton >5mm, Ichthyoplankton <=5mm, Ichthyoplankton >5mm, Mininess, Neuston Ring, Polish Aliquot, Bioness, Nutrient and Physical.
Entity_and_Attribute_Detail_Citation:
Zooplankton <=5mm data contains the following attributes: record ID, sample ID, station, net, date collected, gear, sample split, settled volume, count volume, aliquot, date counted, counted by, filtered volume A, dry weight A, filtered volume B, dry weight B, taxa, count, type, comment, data entry, record date, review, review person, review date.
Entity_and_Attribute_Detail_Citation:
Zooplankton >5mm data contains the following attributes: record ID, sample ID, station, net, date collected, gear, date counted, counted by, taxa, count, type, comment, data entry, record date, review, review person, review date.
Entity_and_Attribute_Detail_Citation:
Ichthyoplankton <=5mm data contains the following attributes: record ID, taxon, box, file, length 1- length 22, measured, not measured, total, cruise, mininess, samples, station, net, sample date, bin, volume, identified by, entered by, aliquot, record date, taxon list, update date, update person, taxon original.
Entity_and_Attribute_Detail_Citation:
Ichthyoplankton >5mm data contains the following attributes: record ID, order field, family, taxon, measured, L, length, not measured, total cruise, mininess, sample ID, station, net, sample date, bin, identified by, entered by, comment, record date, reviewed, reviewed by, reviewed date.
Entity_and_Attribute_Detail_Citation:
Mininess data contains the following attributes: record ID, cruise, date, station, mininess ID, latitude start degree, latitude start minute, longitude start degree, longitude start minute, latitude end degree, latitude end minute, longitude end degree, longitude end minute, time start, time end, stadepth???????, wind speed, wind direction, sea state, weather, mininess ID, net, mesh, depth bin, preserve, nojars????, sample ID, error type 1, error type 2, comment, data entry, record date, review, review date, review person.
Entity_and_Attribute_Detail_Citation:
Neuston Ring data contains the following attributes: record ID, cruise, gear, station, date, sea state, wind speed, wind direction, weather, stadepth??????, latitude start degree, latitude start minute, longitude start degree, longitude start minute, latitude end degree, latitude end minute, longitude end degree, longitude end minute, time start, time end, flow start, flow end, sample ID, preserve, mesh, nojars??????, error type 1, error type 2, comment, data entry, record date, review, review date, review person.
Entity_and_Attribute_Detail_Citation:
Polish Aliquot data contains the following attributes: ID, Polish sample ID, eggs, eggs aliquot, larvae, larvae aliquot, cephalopods, displacement volume, remarks.
Entity_and_Attribute_Detail_Citation:
Bioness data contains the following attributes: record ID, station number, net number, system used, atmospheric pressure, run start date, run start time, run time zone, run scan rate, opening time, opening depth, opening temp (C), opening salinity, opening efficiency, closing time, closing depth, closing temp (C), closing salinity, closing efficiency, total swept volume, total distance, total time open, total bad scans, header no??????, sample ID, conductivity ratio, salinity, temperature, pressure, depth, outside flow, inside flow, pitch, battery, CTD spare sensor 1.
Entity_and_Attribute_Detail_Citation:
Nutrient data contains the following attributes: date, time, depth, lab ID, latitude, longitude, salinity, temperature, NO3, pH, NO2, NO3NO2, NH4, PO4, DIC, SiO3, DOC, DON, DOP, PC, PC se, PN, PN se, PP, Chl, PP se, Chl se, Chloro, Cyano, Eugleno, Prasino, Chryso, Bacillario, Crypto, Coscinodisco, Fragilario, Diato, Dictyo, Dino, Raphido, ID, Unid.
Entity_and_Attribute_Detail_Citation:
Physical data contains the following attributes: depth (m), salinity (psu), temperature (C), density (sigma-t), dissolved oxygen DO(mg/l) and DOS(mg/l), latitude, longitude, and current velocity (cm/s).
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Distribution_Information:
Distributor:
Contact_Information:
Contact_Person_Primary:
Contact_Person:
Dr. Frank Hernandez
Contact_Organization:
University of Southern Mississippi: Gulf Coast Research Laboratory
Contact_Position:
Principal Investigator
Contact_Address:
Address_Type:
mailing and physical
Address:
703 East Beach Drive
City:
Ocean Springs
State_or_Province:
MS
Postal_Code:
39564
Country:
USA
Contact_Voice_Telephone:
(228) 818-8800
Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address:
frank.hernandez@usm.edu
Contact_Instructions:
Please email Frank Hernandez for further information.
Distribution_Liability:
The Dauphin Island Sea Lab (DISL) makes no warranty regarding these data, expressed or implied, nor does the fact of distribution constitute such a warranty. DISL cannot assume liability for any damages caused by any errors or omissions in these data, nor as a result of the failure of these data to function on a particular system.
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Metadata_Reference_Information:
Metadata_Date:
20090104
Metadata_Contact:
Contact_Information:
Contact_Organization_Primary:
Contact_Organization:
Dauphin Island Sea Lab
Contact_Position:
Data Management Specialist
Contact_Address:
Address_Type:
mailing and physical
Address:
101 Bienville Blvd.
City:
Dauphin Island
State_or_Province:
Al
Postal_Code:
36528
Country:
USA
Contact_Voice_Telephone:
251-861-2141
Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address:
metadata@disl.org
Hours_of_Service:
8-5:00 CST
Contact_Instructions:
Please email the metadata specialist for further information.
Metadata_Standard_Name:
FGDC Biological Data Profile of the Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata
Metadata_Standard_Version:
FGDC-STD-001-1998
Metadata_Access_Constraints:
none
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