Aquatic Laser Fluorescence Analyzer of surface water phytoplankton concentration, northern Gulf of Mexico, May 25, 2012 - July 24, 2013

This dataset consists of data collected by the Aquatic Laser Fluorescence Analyzer (ALFA) of surface water phytoplankton concentration and colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) fluorescence in the northern Gulf of Mexico that has been merged with the ship’s flow-through data system. The details of instrument and how it works can be found in Chekalyuk and Hafez (2008). The list of parameters (units) include Cruise ID (Text), Data Type (Text), Target (Data sequence number), Chlorophyll (mg/m^3), Chlorophyll Fluorescence (Blue Laser Ex, relative units), CDOM Fluorescence (Blue Laser Ex, relative units), Local Date (M/DD/YY), Local Time (HH:MM:SS AM/PM), Latitude (DD.DDD), Longitude (DD.DDD), UTC Date (M/DD/YY), UTC Time (HH:MM:SS AM/PM), SST (Sea Surface Temp, Deg C), TSG Temp (Thermosalinograph Temp Deg C), Salinity, Fluorometer (Ship, relative units). The ALFA unit was plumbed to the ship’s flow-through system and collected water from about 4m below the surface through an intact at the bow of the ship. The data was collected to understand the biogeographical variability in phytoplankton concentrations and CDOM in the northern Gulf of Mexico.