CARTHE: Historical stable carbon isotope (d13C) data from bottom sediments in the Gulf of Mexico (1963 to 2010).

These data are compiled from 21 different publications dated between 1963 and 2011. They contain stable carbon isotope (d13C) values measured in core-top sediments, surface grab sediments, and other sediment samples from the sediment-water interface. All samples in this compilation were taken before the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill even if the publication date is after that event. The compilation also includes some stable isotope measurements from carbonate in the same samples and radiocarbon (14C) data. This data set and figures derived from it are featured in a manuscript submitted and in review in Deep Sea Research II. These data are useful for comparison to after-spill measurements of the same basic parameters. This dataset was created by the Consortium for Advanced Research on Transport of Hydrocarbon in the Environment (CARTHE). This research was made possible by a grant from BP/The Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative. It is currently part of a manuscript, “Employing extant stable carbon isotope data in Gulf of Mexico sedimentary organic matter for oil spill studies,” by Brad E. Rosenheim, Matthew Pendergraft, George C. Flowers, Robert Carney, José Sericano, Reda M. Amer, Jeff Chanton, Zeynep Dincer, and Terry Wade, currently under revision with the peer-reviewed journal Deep Sea Research II.