Geochemistry data and biogeochemical rate transformations from 2 incubation experiments using water collected from surface of Gulf of Mexico

In laboratory experiments, we simulated environmental conditions comparable to surface seawater during Deepwater Horizon (DWH) discharge. The samples collected from surface seawater within an oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico was used in two incubation experiments with water accommodated fractions (WAFs) and chemically enhanced WAFs (CEWAFs). Samples for experiment 1 and experiment 2 were collected in April 2014 and December 2014, respectively. The incubations started within a 5 weeks of initial sample collection. For cell counting, microbial cells were enumerated using epifluorescence microscopy, using SYBR Gold (Invitrogen) stained for 10 minutes and counted at 100x on a Zeiss epifluorescence microscope. The dataset includes mean nutrients, cell counts, bacterial production, model hydrocarbon turnover times, transparent exopolymeric particle (TEP) concentrations of 3 replicates in each of 6 treatments over a period of 4 weeks. Results are reported at Day 0, Day 7, Day 14, and Day 26.