Microplankton community composition FlowCAM data in the Mississippi Bight in the northern Gulf of Mexico obtained aboard the R/V Point Sur, BCS-01, also known as “BONCARRS” from 2016-02-10 to 2016-02-12

This dataset contains microplankton community composition FlowCAM data in the Mississippi Bight in the northern Gulf of Mexico obtained aboard the R/V Point Sur (BCS-01) also known as “BONCARRS” from 2016-02-10 to 2016-02-12. The primary goal was to classify microplankton communities in the Mississippi Bight following the opening of the Bonnet Carré Spillway to determine whether nutrient-rich Mississippi River waters stimulated a phytoplankton bloom. Microplankton community composition was determined using image data from FlowCAM and classified into three broad groups: diatoms, dinoflagellates, and microzooplankton. This dataset was taken approximately two weeks after the closing of the 2016 wintertime opening of the Bonnet Carré Spillway. The dataset also contains coordinates (longitude, latitude) and date of sample collection. This dataset supports the publication: Parra, Sabrina M., Virginie Sanial, Adam D. Boyette, M. Kemal Cambazoglu, Inia M. Soto, Adam T. Greer, Luciano M. Dinniman, Angie Hoover, and Michael S. Dinniman. 2020. Bonnet Carré Spillway freshwater transport and corresponding biochemical properties in the Mississippi Bight. Continental Shelf Research, 199, 104114. doi:10.1016/j.csr.2020.104114