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Fisheries Oceanography in Coastal Alabama (FOCAL): Vertical Hydrographic Profiles along a Transect from Mobile Bay to Northern Gulf of Mexico 2007-2012

Dataset extent

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).

Data and Resources

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Additional Info

Field	Value
Author	Kyeong Park
Maintainer	data@disl.org
Last Updated	July 23, 2022, 03:05 (UTC)
Created	July 23, 2022, 03:05 (UTC)
Access_Constraints	Permission to access these data must be given by Dr. Kyeong Park of the Dauphin Island Sea Lab.
ISO 19115 Topic Categories	oceans, inlandWaters
Place Keywords	Alabama, Mobile Bay, Dauphin Island Sea Lab, DISL, Gulf of Mexico
Theme Keywords	CTD, vertical profile, hydrographic data, temperature, salinity, density, conductivity, specific conductance, dissolved oxygen, oxygen saturation, PAR, pressure, pH, chlorophyll, CDOM, fluorescence, beam attenuation, beam transmission, water quality
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.
dc.coverage.placeName	Alabama Mobile Bay Dauphin Island Sea Lab DISL Gulf of Mexico
dc.coverage.t.max	20120711T
dc.coverage.t.min	20070306T
dc.coverage.x.max	-88.0113
dc.coverage.x.min	-88.2116
dc.coverage.y.max	30.4374
dc.coverage.y.min	29.7989
dc.creator	DISL: Park Lab
dc.date	Unpublished material
dc.description	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).
dc.language	en
dc.subject	oceans inlandWaters
dc.title	Fisheries Oceanography in Coastal Alabama (FOCAL): Vertical Hydrographic Profiles along a Transect from Mobile Bay to Northern Gulf of Mexico 2007-2012
spatial	{ "type": "Polygon", "coordinates": [ [ [ -88.2116, 30.4374 ], [ -88.0113, 30.4374 ], [ -88.0113, 29.7989 ], [ -88.2116, 29.7989 ], [ -88.2116, 30.4374 ] ] ] }