This data package contains MOCNESS (Multiple Opening/Closing Net Environmental Sensing System) profile data and other ichthyoplankton and decapod specimen identification data collected during Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) Plankton Survey Nick Skansi PC4 (NSPC4) in the Gulf of Mexico from 2010-10-16 to 2010-10-24. This survey was part of a series of NS NRDA cruises conducted in 2010 and 2011 to evaluate the distribution and densities of ichthyoplankton and other zooplankton in northern Gulf of Mexico waters potentially affected by the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill (DWHOS). The data package includes the original profile data representing environmental samples (e.g., temperature, salinity, pressure) for individual MOCNESS tows as well as combined and summary data (all tows) for the full cruise. Dataset also includes sampling event data (e.g., time, latitude, longitude, depth, volume filtered) and specimen data (e.g., taxonomic identification, length, number of individuals).

This data package contains MOCNESS (Multiple Opening/Closing Net Environmental Sensing System) profile data and other ichthyoplankton and decapod data collected during Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) Plankton Survey Nick Skansi 9 (NS9) in the Gulf of Mexico from 2011-04-17 to 2011-06-26. This survey was part of a series of NS NRDA cruises conducted in 2010 and 2011 to evaluate the distribution and densities of ichthyoplankton and other zooplankton in northern Gulf of Mexico waters potentially affected by the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill (DWHOS). The data package includes the original profile data representing environmental samples (e.g., temperature, salinity, pressure) for individual MOCNESS tows as well as combined and summary data (all tows) for the full cruise. Dataset also includes sampling event data (e.g., time, latitude, longitude, depth, volume filtered) and specimen data (e.g., taxonomic identification, length, number of individuals).

This dataset reports plankton species abundance from 14 sites off the Florida Panhandle Bight at the head of DeSoto Canyon, Gulf of Mexico aboard the R/V Bellows cruise BE-1317 from 2013-04-06 to 2013-04-08. Plankton samples were collected using a net with a mesh size of 25 micrometer and 0.5m diameter. This dataset reports the location, date, time, and length of tow for each sample. Plankton species were categorized as Ceratium spp., Dinophysis spp., other dinoflagellates, Chaetoceros/Bacteriastrum spp., Rhizosolenia/Guinardia spp, Eucampia/Hemiaulus spp., other chain-forming diatoms, Thalassionematales spp., Nitzschioid diatoms, other diatoms, Cyanobacteria (Trichodesmium spp.), and zooplankton. Abundances were recorded as individual counts as well as percentages of the total sample. Quantitative phytoplankton profiles were taken specifically at 5 sites (P1, P3, P5, P7, P9). For this, one-liter samples were collected from the surface and at different depths using Niskin bottles. Samples were filtered onto a 0.45 micrometer nitrocellulose filter and air-dried. A portion of each filter was mounted on an aluminum stub, sputter-coated, and examined with a JEOL JSM-6480 LV scanning electron microscope. Diatoms, coccolithophores, and armored dinoflagellates were identified to the lowest possible taxonomic category. The number of cells of each taxon in a field of view at a magnification of 1000x was recorded, with up to 700 fields-of-view examined, depending on the density of phytoplankton in the sample. The dataset includes the depth, the volume filtered, the number of cells of each taxon counted, and the calculated abundance of each taxon in cells per liter. Micrographs taken during the analysis are included.

This dataset reports plankton species relative abundances from sites off the Florida Panhandle Bight at the head of DeSoto Canyon. Plankton samples were collected from 15 offshore shelf sites from June 02 to June 04, 2013. It includes sites, date/times, length of tow, plankton samples, counts, and the percentage of total sample represented by each group. Plankton species were categorized as Ceratium spp., Dinophysis spp., other dinoflagellates, Chaetoceros/Bacteriastrum spp., Rhizosolenia/Guinardia spp, Eucampia/Hemiaulus spp., other chain-forming diatoms, Thalassionematales spp., Nitzschioid diatoms, other diatoms, Cyanobacteria (Trichodesmium spp.), and zooplankton.

Data presented here are subset of a larger plankton imagery data set collected in the subtropical Straits of Florida from 2014-05-28 to 2014-06-14. Imagery data were collected using the In Situ Ichthyoplankton Imaging System (ISIIS-2) as part of a NSF-funded project to assess the biophysical drivers affecting fine-scale interactions between larval fish, their prey, and predators. This subset of images was used in the inaugural National Data Science Bowl (www.datasciencebowl.com) hosted by Kaggle and sponsored by Booz Allen Hamilton. Data were originally collected to examine the biophysical drivers affecting fine-scale (spatial) interactions between larval fish, their prey, and predators in a subtropical pelagic marine ecosystem. Image segments extracted from the raw data were sorted into 121 plankton classes, split 50:50 into train and test data sets, and provided for a machine learning competition (the National Data Science Bowl). There was no hierarchical relationships explicit in the 121 plankton classes, though the class naming convention and a tree-like diagram (see file "Plankton Relationships.pdf") indicated relationships between classes, whether it was taxonomic or structural (size and shape). We intend for this dataset to be available to the machine learning and computer vision community as a standard machine learning benchmark. This “Plankton 1.0” dataset is a medium-size dataset with a fair amount of complexity where image classification improvements can still be made.

This dataset reports counts of plankton taxa from 9 plankton tows conducted during R/V Bellow cruise from September 29 to September 30, 2011. It includes sites, date/times, length of tow, plankton samples, counts, and the percentage of total plankton represented by each group. Plankton are grouped into the following taxa: Ceratium spp., Dinophysis spp., other dinoflagellates, Chaetoceros/Bacteriastrum spp., Rhizosolenia/Guinardia spp., Eucampia/Hemiaulus spp., other chain-forming diatoms, Thalassionematales spp., Nitzschioid diatoms, other diatoms, Cyanobacteria (Trichodesmium spp.), zooplankton. Chain forming diatoms include Campylosira spp., Skeletonema spp., and Paralia spp. Zooplankton includes all crustaceans. Nitzschioid diatoms include Pseudo-nitzschia spp.

This dataset contains CTD and plankton species relative abundance data collected during R/V Bellows cruise BE-1403 from 2013-09-14 to 2013-09-16. CTD data were collected from 27 sample sites, while plankton samples were collected from 14 offshore shelf sites off the Florida Panhandle at the head of DeSoto Canyon using a net with a mesh size of 25-micrometer and 0.5-meter diameter. Plankton abundance data report the location, date, time, and length of tow for each sample. Plankton species are categorized as Ceratium spp., Dinophysis spp., other dinoflagellates, Chaetoceros spp., Rhizosolenia/Guinardia, Eucampia/Hemiaulus, other chain-forming diatoms, Thalassionema spp., Nitzschioid diatoms, other diatoms, cyanobacteria (Trichodesmium spp.), and zooplankton. Abundances were recorded as individual counts as well as percentages of the total sample. Diatoms and dinoflagellates counted as cells, cyanobacteria as colonies/filaments, and zooplankton as individuals.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) deployed a sediment trap (McLane PARFLUX 78H) mooring in the northern Gulf of Mexico (27.5 °N and 90.3°W, water depth 1150 meters [m]) in January 2008 to collect seasonal time-series data on the flux and assemblage composition of planktic foraminifers. The trap was positioned in the water column at a depth of 700 m on the mooring cable to enable the collection of deeper dwelling species of planktic foraminifera. The trap contains 21 collection cups that were programmed to rotate every 7 to 14 days (resulting in weekly to biweekly sampling resolution). Upon retrieval, samples were subsequently wet split into four aliquots using a precision rotary splitter, stored in buffered deionized water, and refrigerated. A quarter split was wet sieved over a 150-micron (μm) sieve and subsequently wet picked for all foraminifers. In samples containing fewer than 300 foraminifers in the first quarter split, an additional split was processed and picked in its entirety. The counts were then summed. All planktic foraminifers were identified to the species level. This report gives information on the raw counts and foraminifera flux (tests m−2 day−1) through May 2014. Flux was calculated based on the total number of foraminifera for each sub-sample, the fraction of the total sample used, the duration (days) the sediment trap was opened and collecting data for a given sample, and the aperture area of the sediment trap (0.5 meter-squared [m2]). The sediment trap mooring is currently deployed, and foraminifera data will be updated as new samples are processed.

This dataset contains plankton abundance, CTD, and water quality data collected from 18 stations during R/V Bellows cruise BE-1407 in the Gulf of Mexico from 2013-12-07 to 2013-12-08. Plankton samples were collected from 10 offshore shelf sites. This dataset reports the location, date, time, and length of tow for each sample. Plankton species were categorized as Ceratium spp., Dinophysis spp., other dinoflagellates, Chaetoceros/Bacteriastrum spp., Rhizosolenia/Guinardia spp, Eucampia/Hemiaulus spp., other chain-forming diatoms, Thalassionematales spp., Nitzschioid diatoms, other diatoms, Cyanobacteria (Trichodesmium spp.), and zooplankton. Abundances were recorded as individual counts as well as percentages of the total sample. Water column profiles were collected at 18 stations and the data includes CTD, dissolved oxygen, oxygen saturation, Chlorophyll-a, and Color Dissolved Organic Matter (CDOM) fluorescence and turbidity measurements.