Organic geochemical analyses of sediments collected aboard R/V Point Sur cruise PS18-25 in the northern Gulf of Mexico from 2018-05-18 to 2018-05-23

This dataset contains organic geochemical analyses of sediments collected aboard R/V Point Sur cruise PS18-25 from the South and Southeast of the Macondo Wellhead in the northern Gulf of Mexico (NGoM) from 2018-05-18 to 2018-05-23. The dataset includes the site information (date, site ID, and location), and the concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAHs) and biomarkers (hopanes, steranes, alkanes). Samples were collected with a multiple corer (Ocean Instrument MC-800 Multicore) from different stations in south and southeast of the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) release point. The amount of DWH oil-derived hydrocarbons that was deposited in the study area was determined by measuring the composition and concentration of compounds such as aliphatics, aromatics, hopanes, and steranes in various layers of sediments. Detection and quantification of hydrocarbons were done by using a gas chromatograph/mass spectrometric detector (GC/MS/MS-MRM). Cruise documentation was provided for the R/V Point Sur cruise PS18-25, led by chief scientist Dr. Arne Diercks. The objective was to characterize the fate of the DWH marine oil snow deposited on the seafloor in offshore waters of the Gulf of Mexico.