Oceanographic Conditions in Prince William Sound, CTD, Chlorophyll-a, and Zooplankton Data: 2013-2016, Gulf Watch Alaska Environmental Drivers Component

These data are part of the Gulf Watch Alaska (GWA), Environmental Drivers component of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council (EVOSTC), project numbers 12120114-E, 13120114-E, 14120114-E, 15120114-E, and 16120114-E. Gulf Watch Alaska is the long-term ecosystem monitoring program of the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council for the marine ecosystem affected by the 1989 oil spill. Vessel surveys in Prince William Sound (PWS) were conducted several times per year during 2013 to 2016 to conduct Conductivity, Temperature, and Depth (CTD), water nutrient and cholorphyll-a, and zooplankton measurements. Surveys were timed around the “productivity season” to attempt to capture the spring and autumn blooms (i.e. pre-bloom, bloom and post-bloom). The surveys visited four PWS bays to maintain ongoing EVOSTC funded time series measurements. The historic datasets are from CTD surveys conducted by various agencies from the 1970s to 2009, and surveys conducted from 2010 to 2012 under the EVOS Herring Program. The major PWS entrances (Hinchinbrook Entrance and Montague Strait) were also surveyed from 2013 to 2016. This dataset includes three data types: 1) CTD casts. These data are presented as .zip files containing collections of CTD casts by year from 2013 - 2016. Each file contains the CTD data, gps track, event log, archived paper logs, and instrument calibration files (as separate zipped files for years 2014, 2015, and 2016). The CTD data is presented in various formats following routine processing using the SeaBird electronics SBE Data Processing software, and custom software written in MATLAB. Raw XML HEX data formats and converted ASCII CNV files are included in a file directory prefaced with a number indicating the processing step and text indicating what processing was done. Event logs contain station metadata for each cruise. 2) Chlorophyll-a concentration. These data are presented as a single comma-separated values (csv) file containing values of extracted chlorophyll-a concentrations at various depths and stations in Prince William Sound from 2013 to 2016. 3) Zooplankton concentration. These data are presented as a single csv file containing values of zooplankton concentrations, by species and stage, at stations in Prince William Sound from 2013 to 2016.