Abstract:

In 2013-2015 over 6000 drift cards were deployed at various locations in the Gulf of Mexico by volunteers from various vessels of opportunity. By February 2016 approximately 10% of the deployed cards were recovered and reported to staff associated with the Gulf of Mexico Research Integrated Spill Response (GISR) Research Consortia. This is the raw dataset consisting of the deployment information for all cards released and the deployment and recovery information for cards recovered.

Suggested Citation:

Piers Chapman. 2016. Drift Card Experiment: Deployment dates, times and locations and recovery dates and locations for drift cards released at various locations in the Gulf of Mexico between April 2013 and October 2015. Distributed by: GRIIDC, Harte Research Institute, Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi. doi:10.7266/N7P55KJF

Purpose:

This dataset was designed to make inferences on ocean circulation in the Gulf of Mexico.

Data Parameters and Units:

Deployment: date (YYYY-MM-DD), time (HH:MM:SS), and geographic location (latitude longitude, decimal degrees) Recovery: date, and geographic location.

Methods:

Bright yellow drift cards were given volunteers who promised to release them at sea. Typically, cards were released in multiples of 10. On average approximately 20 cards were released at each location.

Instruments:

Drift cards are 3-inch by 5-inch thin wood planks which are painted bright yellow to make them highly-visable. Each card had a unique ID number written on it. Instructions painted on the card in English and Spanish ask the finder to contact the GISR office are report where and when they were recovered.

Provenance and Historical References:

These are the raw data. No analysis products are included.

Individual Files: