Abstract:
This report contains dispersant marker water chemistry data and provides additional context for the posted dataset, including information about the collection, analysis, and organization of the data. This data posting differs from other published datasets relating to the Gulf of Mexico in several respects: It includes data from independent BP studies that have not previously been available to the public. It combines dispersant marker test results from 38 NRDA studies and 11 Response studies into one data file. These data reflect extensive efforts to verify and correct the positional information (i.e., coordinates and depths of each sample collected), where necessary. The focus of this data posting is dispersant marker chemistry data associated with water column samples collected in both federal and state jurisdictional waters in the Gulf of Mexico between 2010-05-11 and 2012-07-21. This data posting is supplemental to the water chemistry data set for petroleum-related compounds in water samples, which was posted separately (data posting reference ID W-01v01). More than 15,000 water samples with associated chemistry analyses, collected at more than 4,300 sampling stations, are included in this posting. These samples were collected during 49 studies, using more than 100 sampling cruises and surveys. These studies can be classified into four general categories: NRDA Cooperative—Studies conducted as part of the NRDA which were agreed to and executed cooperatively by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Department of Interior (DOI), and/or other Trustees, and BP. BP NRDA Independent—Studies conducted by BP independently to develop data to support and inform the NRDA. Trustee Independent—Studies conducted by NOAA, DOI, and/or other Trustees independently to develop data to support and inform the NRDA. Response (non-NRDA)—Studies conducted by BP and/or government representatives under the direction of the Unified Area Command and in association with activities performed in response to the DWH accident (the Response). The chemical parameters provided in this data posting include the following dispersant markers: dipropylene glycol n-butyl ether (DPnB), glycol ethers, dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate (DOSS), 2-butoxyethanol, and propylene glycol. Dispersant markers are chemicals present in the Corexit dispersant formulations used in response to the Deepwater Horizon accident. Analyses of these chemicals are performed to evaluate the potential presence of Corexit in environmental samples. This dataset includes data associated with natural field samples for whole water and for Payne filter and filtrate pairs (Payne et al. 1999), along with the associated field-collected quality control samples, such as field replicates, equipment blanks, field blanks, and trip blanks. Laboratory duplicate samples are provided, where available. No other laboratory quality control samples (e.g., laboratory blanks and spike samples) are included in this data posting. To verify the quality of these data, data validation, to assess the data’s completeness, correctness, and compliance with applicable analytical method requirements, and data verification, to verify the quality of field sample attributes, were conducted.
Suggested Citation:
BP Gulf Science Data. 2016. Dispersant marker chemistry data associated with water column samples collected in the Gulf of Mexico, 2010-05-11 - 2012-07-21. Distributed by: GRIIDC, Harte Research Institute, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi. doi:10.7266/N7ZS2TWC
Purpose:
The purpose of this dataset is to provide analytical data on the components of the dispersant for water samples collected in the Gulf of Mexico as part of the Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA). These data were collected by BP to help guide cleanup operations under the direction of the U.S. Coast Guard and to support the Natural Resource Damage Assessment efforts by federal and state agencies and BP to evaluate potential injury to natural resources in the Gulf. The data and supplemental information are being made available to the public in a format that will facilitate the use of the data for research and other studies. GRIIDC is making these data available following the shutdown of the Gulf Science Data Portal. This will ensure that the data are available and searchable through GRIIDC data discovery.
Data Parameters and Units:
Data Publication Date = Date associated with the current data posting date (MM/DD/YYYY); Data Publication Reference = A general description of data provided in the data posting and a version control number; Study Reference No. = Study reference number (SRN) assigned by BP to provide a link between the data provided in the data file and the associated work plans and study descriptions ; Study Name = The study name used by the original investigator or by NOAA. Related studies are also grouped together under a single harmonized group study name (the next column). Some independent BP studies have only a single harmonized study name. This study name may be referenced by some documentation and other data systems; Harmonized Study Name = A BP assigned name to a group of related sample collection efforts to aid with organization of the data. This name is part of the primary key of this table and is used within other documents created by BP; ASR Number = Analytical Request Form or Analytical Service Request number associated with dataset. Not all samples have an ASR or related number; Location or Station ID = A name given to the location where samples were collected. Many samples were collected opportunistically in the field, targeting observed or suspected oil presence, and the locations were not assigned a name. Therefore, not all samples have a location ID; Interpretive Sample ID = The identifier given to represent a unique combination of location, date (and time) and depth. This identifier is part of the primary key of this table; Sample Date = The date on which the sample was collected (MM/DD/YYYY); Sample Time = The time at which the sample was collected. Times were not recorded for all samples (HH:MM am/pm); Spatial Zone = Short coded descriptor to indicate general location of the samples. Seven zones have been assigned. Five zones are coded to capture water samples located within the state jurisdictional boundaries of Louisiana (LA), Alabama (AL), Mississippi (MS), Texas (TX) and Florida (FL). Two zones are coded to capture water sample located within the federal waters outside of the state jurisdictions. The code “Wellhead” is assigned to samples collected within a 10 nautical miles (nmi) radius of the DWH wellhead and the code “Federal” is assigned to samples collected beyond the 10 nmi radius; Latitude = The north latitude, in decimal degrees, where the sample was collected. This coordinate (with the corresponding longitude) may be either the specific location of the sample or the location assigned to the station where sampling was conducted. See the text for a discussion of sample coordinates and the selection of data from either the BP or Query Manager database systems; Longitude = The west longitude, in decimal degrees, where the sample was collected. See the description of the latitude column; Upper Depth = The upper depth of the sample in the water column (m); Lower Depth = The lower depth of the sample in the water column (m); Depth Unit = The units for sample upper and lower depths. Depth values for water samples are converted to meters as a rule; Field Fraction = Indicates whether the dissolved fraction, the particulate fraction, or the total sample was collected and submitted for analysis; Sample Type = Indicates whether the sample is a natural environmental sample, a field QC sample (i.e., a blank), or a lab QC sample; Field Matrix = The most general description of the substance collected and submitted for analysis; Field Sample Material = The most specific description of the substance collected and submitted for analysis. Only the matrix is reported for samples with attributes taken from Query Manager; Analytical Sample ID = The client sample identifier given to a portion of the interpretive sample, or to the whole interpretive sample, when submitted to a laboratory for analysis. There may be one or several analytical sample IDs for each interpretive sample ID; Lab = The laboratory generating analytical chemistry data for the sample; Laboratory Sample ID = The internal laboratory sample identifier for the sample; SDG = The Sample Delivery Group: an identifier for a batch of samples (typically 20 samples) that are simultaneously prepared, analyzed, and reported by the laboratory; Lab Matrix = The most general description of the substance, or fraction thereof that is analyzed; Lab Material = The most specific description of the substance, or fraction thereof that is analyzed; Parameter Type = The basic group to which the chemical belongs, for example, dispersants; Chemical Name = The name of the chemical analyzed. An effort has been made to harmonize the chemical naming conventions, where possible (Dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate; Dipropylene glycol n-butyl ether; DPnB-Peak1; DPnB-Peak2; 2-Butoxyethanol; Glycol Ether Isomers; DOSS;) Chemical Code = A standardized system-specific code to uniquely identify each chemical. Chemical codes are one-to-one homologous with chemical names; Chemical Type = Indicates whether the chemical is a target analyte or an added standard (e.g., surrogate); Concentration – NDs set to MDLs = The reported concentration of the chemical in the sample, or the detection limit for non-detect results (ug/l); Concentration – NDs set to Zero = The reported concentration of the chemical in the sample, or a zero value for non-detect results (ug/l); Unit = The units of the associated concentration value; Final Qualifiers = The data qualifiers that should be used with the concentration value for data analysis and interpretation. This column may contain a packed string of the qualifiers “U”, “J”, “R”, “T”, and “F”, which are defined in the AQAP; Validation Qualifiers = Qualifiers applied by the data validation firm; Lab Qualifiers = The data qualifiers originally applied by the analytical laboratory; Nondetect Flag = Indicates whether or not the analyte was detected in a sample. This is equivalent to a final qualifier that includes “U”; Field Data Verification Status = Summary of the field data verification process status described in Appendix B. Valid entries - Not started, Underway, and Complete; Validation Level = The type and amount of data validation performed; see the AQAP for a description of the validation levels used; Reporting Limit = The laboratory determined reporting limit associated with each chemical result (ug/l); Method Detection Limit = The laboratory determined method detection limit associated with each chemical result (ug/l); Measurement Basis = Indicates whether a concentration value is expressed in terms of the wet weight or dry weight of the environmental medium; Lab Fraction = Indicates whether the sample was filtered in the laboratory prior to analysis to obtain the dissolved fraction. This field does not capture information related to field filtration; Preparation Method = Method used to prepare the sample for analysis and as reported by the laboratory; Analytical Method = Method used to produce the measured concentration and as reported by the laboratory; Base Analytical Method = A generalization of the analytical method, standardized across laboratory-specific variations in the specific analytical method to aid the data user with categorizing samples by analysis type; Lab Replicate = Code to distinguish multiple measurements when all other identifying attributes are identical; Dilution Factor = The factor by which the sample was diluted for analysis; Date Extracted = The date that the sample was extracted at the laboratory (MM/DD/YYYY); Data Analyzed = The date that the sample was analyzed to produce the reported concentration (MM/DD/YYYY);
Methods:
CAS (Columbia Analytical Services now ALS) SOP for dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinate; EPA SW 8270_SIM; EPA SW 8270C_M; EPA SW 8270M - Alkylated PAH and Petroleum Biomarkers; Battelle SOP 5-157; EPA SW 8270C SIM - Extended PAH (Parent and Alkyl Homologs) and Related Compounds by GC/MS-SIM; Battelle BDO 5-200; EPA SW 3510C; EPA SW 3510C - Separatory funnel liquid-liquid extraction; Alpha Analytical lab SOP 0P-013 - Shaker table extraction; EPA SW 3580A - Solvent dilution; Battelle SOP 5-200; EPA SW 3541 - Automated Soxhlet extraction; The quality guidance documents relevant to this study are the Analytical Quality Assurance Plan (U.S. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 2014. Analytical Quality Assurance Plan Mississippi Canyon 252 (Deepwater Horizon) Natural Resource Damage Assessment Version 4.0. https://pub-dwhdatadiver.orr.noaa.gov/dwh-ar-documents/945/DWH-AR0101767.pdf) and the Deepwater Horizon Quality Assurance Project Plan (Gulf Coast Incident Management Team. 2011. Deepwater Horizon Quality Assurance Project Plan for the BP MC252 Incident Sample Management Group BP-MC252-QAPP.)
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