Geological and chemical data collected around Gaillard Island, Mobile Bay, Alabama from 11 Apr 1980 to 25 Aug 1982 (NODC Accession 0117688)

Sediment samples were collected from four sites around Gaillard Island, quarterly in 1980 and monthly in 1981-1982, and analyzed for particle size characteristics, total organic carbon, and total reducing substances.

Purpose: Gaillard Island is an artificial island in Mobile Bay, Alabama, at the intersection between the Theodore ship channel and the Mobile Bay ship channel. It was built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1979-1981 while dredging the Theodore ship channel. Field data were collected from 50 sampling stations in 7 categories of station types around the construction site before, during, and after construction of the island (1977-1982) to describe the area's sedimentology, benthic biology, and hydrography, and to ascertain the environmental impact of the construction. The subset of data in this dataset are from four of eight Bay Bottom stations, which were sampled for sediment analysis during and after construction.