Dataset: NEFSC oceanographic profile (hydrography) data from multiple cruises in the the Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank, Northeast Continental Shelf of the United States from 1977-2009 (Hydrography project)

Since 1977, the Northeast Fisheries Science Center has been collecting hydrographic data on the northeast US continental shelf in support of efforts to understand how the components of this ecosystem influence the distribution, abundance, and productivity of living marine resources. Temperature and salinity profile data are collected on all Northeast Fisheries Science Center cruises, amounting to nearly 2000 profiles collected each year on the northeast continental shelf from Cape Hatteras to the Gulf of Maine. The data are collected aboard a variety of vessels, but most regularly from the Delaware II, HB Bigelow. The data are used to characterize baseline conditions on the shelf, as documented in annual summaries of regional average temperature and salinity, surface and bottom property distributions and their anomalies relative to a consistent reference (http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/HydroAtlas.) The data have been and continue to be used to monitor the seasonal to inter-annual variability of water properties on the northeast US continental shelf.

These data are also accessible directly from the National Marine Fisheries Center http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/epd/ocean/MainPage/ioos.html and from the National Oceanographic Data Center at http://www.nodc.noaa.gov/. Some of the data are also available from the Canadian Marine Environmental Data Service (MEDS) at http://www.meds-sdmm.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/isdm-gdsi/index-eng.html .

The null values of '999' were replaced with 'nd'.

A unique purpose code has been assigned to each survey, identifying the Northeast Fisheries Science Center program or larger national program to which those data are associated.

Purpose Codes:                     
01 BLUEFISH SURVEY                                         
02 LOBSTER SURVEY                                           
03 COD SPAWNING SURVEY                                     
04 COOPERATIVE RESEARCH SURVEY - GOOSEFISH                  
05 COOPERATIVE RESEARCH SURVEY - IBS COD                   
06 COOPERATIVE RESEARCH SURVEY - IBS YELLOWTAIL            
07 COOPERATIVE RESEARCH SURVEY - GEAR SELECTIVITY STUDY    
10 NMFS NEFSC BOTTOM TRAWL SURVEY                          
11 MASSACHUSETTS DMF BOTTOM TRAWL SURVEY                    
12 NMFS NEFSC HERRING BOTTOM TRAWL SURVEY                   
13 NMFS NEFSC MISCELLANEOUS BOTTOM TRAWL SURVEY             
14 BIOME STATIONS                                           
15 SCOTIAN SHELF REVISION                                   
16 NMFS ACOUSTICS SURVEY  
17 DEEPWATER SYSTEMATICS                                    
19 EXPERIMENTAL GEAR TEST                                  
20 GLOBEC BROADSCALE SURVEY                                
21 GLOBEC PROCESS STUDY                                     
22 ECOSYSTEM MONITORING                                     
23 MARMAP                                                   
24 LARVAL HERRING SURVEY                                    
25 12-MILE DUMPSITE                                         
26 ICNAF LARVAL HERRING SURVEY                              
27 WARM CORE RING CRUISE                                    
28 COLTON CRUISE                                            
29 STVOR CRUISE                                           
30 FOREIGN BOTTOM TRAWL SURVEY                              
31 FOREIGN PELAGIC TRAWL SURVEY                            
32 FOREIGN MACKEREL SURVEY                                  
33 FOREIGN FEEDING ECOLOGY                                 
35 MISCELLANEOUS FOREIGN SURVEY                            
36 FOREIGN HERRING BOTTOM TRAWL SURVEY                     
37 FOREIGN SCALLOP SURVEY                                   
38 FOREIGN GEAR CRUISE                                      
40 NMFS NEFSC SHRIMP SURVEY                                 
50 NMFS NEFSC CLAM AND QUAHOG SURVEY                       
60 NMFS NEFSC SEA SCALLOP SURVEY                            
70 NMFS NEFSC GEAR COMPARISON                               
71 NMFS GEAR/SENSOR TESTING AND MENSURATION                 
80 FOOD CHAIN DYNAMICS FEEDING ECOLOGY SURVEY
81 COASTAL OCEAN PROGRAM  
82 APEX PREDATOR SURVEY          
90 MISCELLANEOUS NON-RANDOM RESOURCE INVESTIGATION CRUISE   
91 BENTHIC HABITAT STUDY                       
93 MARINE MAMMAL SURVEY

Occasionally, a cruise identifier (or opsid) contains more than one part. For example, ALB0301, actually consists of five (5) opsid's. This is because multiple hardware breakdowns during the cruise required that the ship return to port. Because these port visits spanned many days, different opsid's were assigned to each contiguous leg of the cruise.