Table of Contents

• Dataset Description
  • Data Processing Description
• Data Files
• Parameters
• Deployments
• Project Information
• Funding

BCO-DMO Note: Although the status of these data has been set to Final and Validated, they have not been QC'ed    27March2013

Multi year underway data 2003-2010
These data include version 2 data as submitted.

Version 2 NOTES: Version 2 means that Data set has been updated in part of the new data added: (1) 2010 cruises; (2) Previously unavailable Whole cell counts from the previous cruises; and (3) Previously unavailable data for Underway stations (mostly date, location).

Data files newly created or updated in this version are indicated with "_v2" in file names.
(BCO-DMO Note: for original files as contributed)

Date of creation: 5/12/2011.
Matlab code used for data merging: GM_read_alex_nuts_BTL_v2.m

Sometimes all the data in the Underway file is unavailable at the time but is known to be sampled.
In this case the file is still presented but empty (headers only).

No data reported for the following cruises:
 - 2003/OC391
 - 2005/OC412
 - 2005/TI096
 - 2005/TI105
 - 2005/TI112
 - 2006/TI171
 - 2006/TI177
 - 2006/TI180
 - 2006/TI184
 - 2006/TI185
 - 2008/TI326
 - 2010/EN476
 - 2010/OC460
 - 2010/OC467

Data not sampled or lost are indicated with NaN.
Data not yet available, but that might be contributed in the future are indicated with the "waiting" flag=-9.99.

Funding:
The cruises from 2003-2004 were supported by NOAA grant NA160P2785 (MERHAB).
The cruises from 2005-2010 were jointly funded:
NSF grant OCE-0430724 and NIEHS grant 1P50-ES01274201 (Woods Hole Center for Oceans and Human Health)
NOAA grant NA06NOS4780245 (GOMTOX)

 BCO-DMO Processing/Edits
- Generated from data in original file "GOM_GB_nuts_TS_Alex_v2.tar.gz" contributed by Olga Kosnyrev
- Awk routine "GoMEunderway2csv.awk" generated to convert bottle ".txt" files to BCO-DMO .csv files

Investigations of Alexandrium fundyense dynamics in the Gulf of Maine

Project Summary
Harmful algal blooms, commonly called "red tides" or HABs, are a serious economic and public health problem throughout the world. In the U.S., the most serious HAB problem is paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) , a potentially fatal neurological disorder caused by human ingestion of shellfish that accumulate toxins as they feed on dinoflagellates of the genus Alexandrium. These organisms cause human illness and death due to PSP, repeated shellfish harvest quarantines, and the mortality of fish and marine mammals. This phenomenon, which affects thousands of miles of U.S. coastline and numerous fisheries resources, has expanded dramatically in the last two decades, especially in the Gulf of Maine. ECOHAB-GOM is a project that addresses several fundamental issues regarding Alexandrium blooms in the Gulf of Maine: 1) the source of the Alexandrium cells that appear in the fresh water plumes in the western Maine coastal current (WMCC); 2) Alexandrium cell distribution and dynamics in the eastern Maine coastal current (EMCC); and 3) linkages among blooms in the WMCC, the EMCC and on Georges Bank. Utilizing a combination of numerical modeling, hydrographic, chemical, and biological measurements, moored and drifting current measurements, and satellite imagery, we are working to characterize the structure, variability and autecology of the major Alexandrium habitats in the Gulf of Maine.

Summary of Data Sources by Year
2003 – MERHAB (McGillicuddy)
2004 – MERHAB
2005 – WHCOHH (Stegeman)
2006 – NOAA Rapid Response (Anderson) / WHCOHH
2007 – GOMTOX (Anderson) / WHCOHH
2008 – GOMTOX / WHCOHH
2009 – GOMTOX / WHCOHH
2010 – GOMTOX / WHCOHH

Summary of Funding Sources by Years
The cruises from 2003-2004 were supported by NOAA grant NA160P2785 (MERHAB).

The cruises from 2005-2010 were jointly funded:
NSF grant OCE-0430724 and NIEHS grant 1P50-ES01274201 (Woods Hole Center for Oceans and Human Health)
NOAA grant NA06NOS4780245 (GOMTOX)