Fisheries Oceanography in Coastal Alabama (FOCAL): Vertical Hydrographic Profiles along a Transect from Mobile Bay to Northern Gulf of Mexico 2007-2012
Metadata:
- Identification_Information:
- Citation:
- Citation_Information:
- Originator:
- DISL: Park Lab
- Publication_Date:
- Unpublished material
- Title:
- Fisheries Oceanography in Coastal Alabama (FOCAL): Vertical Hydrographic Profiles along a Transect from Mobile Bay to Northern Gulf of Mexico 2007-2012
- Description:
- Abstract:
- The Fisheries Oceanography in Coastal Alabama (FOCAL) program began in 2006 as a way for scientists at Dauphin Island Sea Lab (DISL) to study the natural variability of Alabama's nearshore environment as it relates to fisheries production. FOCAL provided a long-term baseline data set that included time-series hydrographic data from a permanent offshore mooring (vertical array of thermisters, CTDs at surface and bottom, and an ADCP at bottom) and shipboard surveys (vertical CTD profiles and water sampling), as well as monthly ichthyoplankton and zooplankton (depth-discrete) sample collections.
The subset of data presented here are for vertical CTD profile data collected from 2007-2012 along a 75 km transect starting from the Middle Bay Lighthouse in Mobile Bay and extending out to the 35 m isobath on the shelf in the northern Gulf of Mexico. The upstream six stations are within Mobile Bay and, except stations MB and two more just outside of Mobile Bay, are located in the 12-14 m deep ship channel or deeper water. The transect had between 15 and 17 stations from 2007-2012.
At each station, a SeaBird Sealogger CTD (SBE 25) was cast for vertical profile data including temperature, conductivity (salinity, density), specific conductance, pressure (depth), oxygen and oxygen saturation, fluorescence (chlorophyll, CDOM), PAR, pH, and beam attenuation and transmission. CTD profiles were done at approximately 1-3 month intervals from March 2007 to July 2012, with more frequent sampling in June-July 2010 (after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill).
- Purpose:
- The purpose of FOCAL was to capture and understand the highly variable nature of Alabama's nearshore environment as it relates to fisheries production.
- Time_Period_of_Content:
- Time_Period_Information:
- Range_of_Dates/Times:
- Beginning_Date:
- 20070306
- Ending_Date:
- 20120711
- Currentness_Reference:
- ground condition
- Status:
- Progress:
- Complete
- Maintenance_and_Update_Frequency:
- As needed
- Spatial_Domain:
- Bounding_Coordinates:
- West_Bounding_Coordinate:
- -88.2116
- East_Bounding_Coordinate:
- -88.0113
- North_Bounding_Coordinate:
- 30.4374
- South_Bounding_Coordinate:
- 29.7989
- Keywords:
- Theme:
- Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus:
- ISO 19115 Topic Category
- Theme_Keyword:
- oceans
- Theme_Keyword:
- inlandWaters
- Theme:
- Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus:
- None
- Theme_Keyword:
- CTD
- Theme_Keyword:
- vertical profile
- Theme_Keyword:
- hydrographic data
- Theme_Keyword:
- temperature
- Theme_Keyword:
- salinity
- Theme_Keyword:
- density
- Theme_Keyword:
- conductivity
- Theme_Keyword:
- specific conductance
- Theme_Keyword:
- dissolved oxygen
- Theme_Keyword:
- oxygen saturation
- Theme_Keyword:
- PAR
- Theme_Keyword:
- pressure
- Theme_Keyword:
- pH
- Theme_Keyword:
- chlorophyll
- Theme_Keyword:
- CDOM
- Theme_Keyword:
- fluorescence
- Theme_Keyword:
- beam attenuation
- Theme_Keyword:
- beam transmission
- Theme_Keyword:
- water quality
- Place:
- Place_Keyword_Thesaurus:
- None
- Place_Keyword:
- Alabama
- Place_Keyword:
- Mobile Bay
- Place_Keyword:
- Dauphin Island Sea Lab
- Place_Keyword:
- DISL
- Place_Keyword:
- Gulf of Mexico
- Access_Constraints:
- Permission to access these data must be given by Dr. Kyeong Park of the Dauphin Island Sea Lab.
- Use_Constraints:
- Acknowledgment of the Dauphin Island Sea Lab (DISL), Fisheries Oceanography in Coastal Alabama (FOCAL) program, 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:
- Kyeong Park
- Contact_Organization:
- DISL: Park Lab
- Contact_Position:
- Principal Investigator
- Contact_Address:
- Address_Type:
- mailing and physical
- Address:
- Dauphin Island Sea Lab
- Address:
- 101 Bienville Blvd.
- City:
- Dauphin Island
- State_or_Province:
- AL
- Postal_Code:
- 36528
- Country:
- USA
- Contact_Voice_Telephone:
- 251-861-2141 x7563
- Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address:
- kpark@disl.org
- Hours_of_Service:
- 8-5:00 CST
- Contact_Instructions:
- Please email Dr. Kyeong Park for further information.
- Browse_Graphic:
- Browse_Graphic_File_Name:
- http://www.ncddc.noaa.gov/approved_recs/org/disl/FOCAL/Park/FOCAL-data/CTD-Transect_browse_FOCAL-transect-fig1.JPG
- Browse_Graphic_File_Description:
- Map of the Alabama shelf and lower Mobile Bay, showing the stations of the FOCAL transect at the beginning of the FOCAL program. CP is the location of a permanent mooring with time-series hydrographic data. Map is from Dzwonkowski, B., Park, K., Ha, H.K., Graham, W.M., Hernandez, F.J., and S.P. Powers (2011). "Hydrographic variability on a coastal shelf directly influenced by estuarine outflow." Continental Shelf Research 31: 939-950.
- Browse_Graphic_File_Type:
- JPEG
- Browse_Graphic:
- Browse_Graphic_File_Name:
- http://www.ncddc.noaa.gov/approved_recs/org/disl/FOCAL/Park/FOCAL-data/CTD-Transect_browse1_FOCAL_Stations_-map.pdf
- Browse_Graphic_File_Description:
- Map of the Alabama shelf and lower Mobile Bay, showing the stations of the FOCAL transect at the end of the FOCAL program. T20 is the location of a permanent mooring with time-series hydrographic data.
- Browse_Graphic_File_Type:
- PDF
- Native_Data_Set_Environment:
- space-delimited ASCII text
Back To Index
- Data_Quality_Information:
- Attribute_Accuracy:
- Attribute_Accuracy_Report:
- If there is only one parameter labelled "fluorescence," it was chlorophyll. If there are two, the second is CDOM. In cases where CDOM was measured but not chlorophyll, the parameter is labelled "CDOM."
- Logical_Consistency_Report:
- N/A
- Completeness_Report:
- The transect had between 15 and 17 regular stations over the duration of the FOCAL program. Data are not always available for every station during every survey due to weather, equipment failures, etc.
For each CTD profile, data are always available for conductivity, temperature, and pressure, from which salinity, density, and depth are derived. Other parameters depend on what sensors were installed on the CTD profiler at the time.
- Lineage:
- Process_Step:
- Process_Description:
- Raw data were downloaded from the SeaBird Sealogger CTD (SBE 25) as hexadecimal text files, and converted to space-delimited text using SeaBird SBE Data Processing software. Data were then processed using either FORTRAN or Matlab to create simple diagnostic figures and bin-averaged values.
- Process_Date:
- Unknown
Back To Index
- Entity_and_Attribute_Information:
- Detailed_Description:
- Entity_Type:
- Entity_Type_Label:
- FOCAL Transect Stations
- Entity_Type_Definition:
- A list of station names and locations. Over the course of FOCAL (2007-2012), some stations were renamed and others were added.
- Entity_Type_Definition_Source:
- DISL: FOCAL program
- Attribute:
- Attribute_Label:
- Station Names
- Attribute_Definition:
- The data are in a series of text files that are named by station and CTD cast date. This is a list of the stations and their latitude/longitude locations.
- Attribute_Definition_Source:
- DISL: FOCAL program
- Attribute_Domain_Values:
- Enumerated_Domain:
- Enumerated_Domain_Value:
- MB
- Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition:
- Transect station is located at latitude 30 26.243'N longitude 88 00.678'W.
- Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source:
- DISL: FOCAL program
- Enumerated_Domain_Value:
- M4
- Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition:
- Transect station is located at latitude 30 24.036'N longitude 88 01.065'W. It was initially named M5.
- Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source:
- DISL: FOCAL program
- Enumerated_Domain_Value:
- M3
- Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition:
- Transect station is located at latitude 30 21.829'N longitude 88 01.452'W. It was initially named M4.
- Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source:
- DISL: FOCAL program
- Enumerated_Domain_Value:
- M2
- Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition:
- Transect station is located at latitude 30 19.622'N longitude 88 01.839'W. It was initially named M3.
- Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source:
- DISL: FOCAL program
- Enumerated_Domain_Value:
- M1
- Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition:
- Transect station is located at latitude 30 17.414'N longitude 88 02.226'W. It was initially named M2.
- Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source:
- DISL: FOCAL program
- Enumerated_Domain_Value:
- DI
- Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition:
- Transect station is located at latitude 30 15.207'N longitude 88 02.613'W. It was initially named M1.
- Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source:
- DISL: FOCAL program
- Enumerated_Domain_Value:
- DM
- Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition:
- Transect station is located at latitude 30 13.000'N longitude 88 03.000'W. It was initially named DI.
- Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source:
- DISL: FOCAL program
- Enumerated_Domain_Value:
- DS
- Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition:
- Transect station is located at latitude 30 11.500'N longitude 88 05.000'W.
- Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source:
- DISL: FOCAL program
- Enumerated_Domain_Value:
- T10
- Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition:
- Transect station is located at latitude 30 10.000'N longitude 88 07.000'W. It was initially named SI.
- Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source:
- DISL: FOCAL program
- Enumerated_Domain_Value:
- SC
- Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition:
- Transect station is located at latitude 30 07.705'N longitude 88 09.847'W.
- Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source:
- DISL: FOCAL program
- Enumerated_Domain_Value:
- T20
- Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition:
- Transect station is located at latitude 30 05.410'N longitude 88 12.694'W. It was initially named CP ("Compass Port"), and is the location of the FOCAL permanent mooring.
- Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source:
- DISL: FOCAL program
- Enumerated_Domain_Value:
- C1
- Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition:
- Transect station is located at latitude 30 02.433'N longitude 88 12.694'W.
- Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source:
- DISL: FOCAL program
- Enumerated_Domain_Value:
- C2
- Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition:
- Transect station is located at latitude 29 59.455'N longitude 88 12.694'W.
- Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source:
- DISL: FOCAL program
- Enumerated_Domain_Value:
- C3
- Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition:
- Transect station is located at latitude 29 56.478'N longitude 88 12.694'W.
- Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source:
- DISL: FOCAL program
- Enumerated_Domain_Value:
- C4
- Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition:
- Transect station is located at latitude 29 53.500'N longitude 88 12.694'W. It was initially named TA.
- Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source:
- DISL: FOCAL program
- Enumerated_Domain_Value:
- T35
- Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition:
- Transect station is located at latitude 29 47.932'N longitude 88 12.497'W. It was first sampled on 20070423, and was initially named TA after the previous TA became C4.
- Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source:
- DISL: FOCAL program
- Enumerated_Domain_Value:
- C5
- Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition:
- Transect station is located at latitude 29.8420 longitude -88.2100. It was added to the transect as a regular station in June 2010.
- Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source:
- DISL: FOCAL program
- Detailed_Description:
- Entity_Type:
- Entity_Type_Label:
- Data by Station and CTD Cast Date
- Entity_Type_Definition:
- A series of space-delimited text files, named by station and CTD cast date, containing hydrographic data. All possible parameters are listed below, but not all were available for every CTD cast.
- Entity_Type_Definition_Source:
- DISL: Park Lab
- Attribute:
- Attribute_Label:
- i
- Attribute_Definition:
- Line number.
- Attribute_Definition_Source:
- DISL: Park Lab
- Attribute_Domain_Values:
- Range_Domain:
- Range_Domain_Minimum:
- 1
- Range_Domain_Maximum:
- 100
- Attribute:
- Attribute_Label:
- d(m)
- Attribute_Definition:
- Depth in meters. Raw data values are averaged into 1 m or 0.5 m bins.
- Attribute_Definition_Source:
- DISL: Park Lab
- Attribute_Domain_Values:
- Range_Domain:
- Range_Domain_Minimum:
- 0.5
- Range_Domain_Maximum:
- 40
- Attribute_Units_of_Measure:
- meter
- Attribute:
- Attribute_Label:
- S(psu)
- Attribute_Definition:
- Salinity in PSU.
- Attribute_Definition_Source:
- DISL: Park Lab
- Attribute_Domain_Values:
- Range_Domain:
- Range_Domain_Minimum:
- 0
- Range_Domain_Maximum:
- 40
- Attribute_Units_of_Measure:
- PSU
- Attribute:
- Attribute_Label:
- T(C)
- Attribute_Definition:
- Temperature in Celsius.
- Attribute_Definition_Source:
- DISL: Park Lab
- Attribute_Domain_Values:
- Range_Domain:
- Range_Domain_Minimum:
- 0
- Range_Domain_Maximum:
- 40
- Attribute_Units_of_Measure:
- Celsius
- Attribute:
- Attribute_Label:
- sigma-t
- Attribute_Definition:
- Density, given as sigma-t.
- Attribute_Definition_Source:
- DISL: Park Lab
- Attribute_Domain_Values:
- Range_Domain:
- Range_Domain_Minimum:
- -15
- Range_Domain_Maximum:
- 30
- Attribute_Units_of_Measure:
- kilogram per cubic meter
- Attribute:
- Attribute_Label:
- p(db)
- Attribute_Definition:
- Pressure in decibars.
- Attribute_Definition_Source:
- DISL: Park Lab
- Attribute_Domain_Values:
- Range_Domain:
- Range_Domain_Minimum:
- 0
- Range_Domain_Maximum:
- 50
- Attribute_Units_of_Measure:
- decibars (db)
- Attribute:
- Attribute_Label:
- cd
- Attribute_Definition:
- Conductivity
- Attribute_Definition_Source:
- DISL: Park Lab
- Attribute_Domain_Values:
- Range_Domain:
- Range_Domain_Minimum:
- 0
- Range_Domain_Maximum:
- 60
- Attribute:
- Attribute_Label:
- sc(10**4 uS/cm)
- Attribute_Definition:
- Specific conductance
- Attribute_Definition_Source:
- DISL: Park Lab
- Attribute_Domain_Values:
- Range_Domain:
- Range_Domain_Minimum:
- 0
- Range_Domain_Maximum:
- 60
- Attribute_Units_of_Measure:
- 10^4 uS/cm
- Attribute:
- Attribute_Label:
- DO(mg/l)
- Attribute_Definition:
- Dissolved oxygen
- Attribute_Definition_Source:
- DISL: Park Lab
- Attribute_Domain_Values:
- Range_Domain:
- Range_Domain_Minimum:
- 0
- Range_Domain_Maximum:
- 15
- Attribute_Units_of_Measure:
- mg/L
- Attribute:
- Attribute_Label:
- DOS(.)
- Attribute_Definition:
- Dissolved oxygen saturation
- Attribute_Definition_Source:
- DISL: Park Lab
- Attribute_Domain_Values:
- Range_Domain:
- Range_Domain_Minimum:
- 0
- Range_Domain_Maximum:
- 200
- Attribute_Units_of_Measure:
- percent
- Attribute:
- Attribute_Label:
- pH
- Attribute_Definition:
- pH
- Attribute_Definition_Source:
- DISL: Park Lab
- Attribute_Domain_Values:
- Range_Domain:
- Range_Domain_Minimum:
- 0
- Range_Domain_Maximum:
- 14
- Attribute:
- Attribute_Label:
- FL(mg/m3)
- Attribute_Definition:
- Fluorescence. Usually chlorophyll.
- Attribute_Definition_Source:
- DISL: Park Lab
- Attribute_Domain_Values:
- Range_Domain:
- Range_Domain_Minimum:
- 0
- Range_Domain_Maximum:
- 100
- Attribute_Units_of_Measure:
- mg/m^3
- Attribute:
- Attribute_Label:
- PAR
- Attribute_Definition:
- Photosynthetically active radiation
- Attribute_Definition_Source:
- DISL: Park Lab
- Attribute_Domain_Values:
- Range_Domain:
- Range_Domain_Minimum:
- 0
- Range_Domain_Maximum:
- 3,000
- Attribute_Units_of_Measure:
- micro einstein per square meter per second (uE/m2/s)
- Attribute:
- Attribute_Label:
- CDOM(mg/m3)
- Attribute_Definition:
- Colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM)
- Attribute_Definition_Source:
- DISL: Park Lab
- Attribute_Domain_Values:
- Range_Domain:
- Range_Domain_Minimum:
- 0
- Range_Domain_Maximum:
- 100
- Attribute_Units_of_Measure:
- mg/m^3
- Attribute:
- Attribute_Label:
- b.att
- Attribute_Definition:
- Beam attenuation. The transmissometer was first installed in June 2010.
- Attribute_Definition_Source:
- DISL: Park Lab
- Attribute_Domain_Values:
- Range_Domain:
- Range_Domain_Minimum:
- 0
- Range_Domain_Maximum:
- 100
- Attribute_Units_of_Measure:
- per meter (1/m)
- Attribute:
- Attribute_Label:
- b.trans
- Attribute_Definition:
- Beam transmission. The transmissometer was first installed in June 2010.
- Attribute_Definition_Source:
- DISL: Park Lab
- Attribute_Domain_Values:
- Range_Domain:
- Range_Domain_Minimum:
- 0
- Range_Domain_Maximum:
- 100
- Attribute_Units_of_Measure:
- percent
- Attribute:
- Attribute_Label:
- N
- Attribute_Definition:
- Number of raw values averaged into the bin mean.
- Attribute_Definition_Source:
- DISL: Park Lab
- Attribute_Domain_Values:
- Range_Domain:
- Range_Domain_Minimum:
- 1
- Range_Domain_Maximum:
- 10
- Attribute:
- Attribute_Label:
- meandepth(m)
- Attribute_Definition:
- Mean depth of raw values averaged into the bin mean. d(m) is an assigned depth bin (0.5, 1, 1.5, etc.); meandepth(m) is calculated.
- Attribute_Definition_Source:
- DISL: Park Lab
- Attribute_Domain_Values:
- Range_Domain:
- Range_Domain_Minimum:
- 0
- Range_Domain_Maximum:
- 40
- Attribute_Units_of_Measure:
- meter
Back To Index
- Metadata_Reference_Information:
- Metadata_Date:
- 20140501
- 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 Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata
- Metadata_Standard_Version:
- FGDC-STD-001.1-1999
Back To Index