Table of Contents

• Dataset Description
  • Methods & Sampling
  • Data Processing Description
• Data Files
• Related Publications
• Parameters
• Instruments
• Deployments
• Project Information
• Funding

Multi year bottle data 2003-2010
Note: Dataset updated with 2008/EN448 Version 3 data srg/21Mar2013

These data include version 2 data as submitted.
Version 2 NOTES: Version 2 means that Data set has been updated in part of the new data added: (1) 2010 cruises; (2) Previously unavailable Whole cell counts from the previous cruises; (3) Previously unavailable data for Underway stations (mostly date, location).

Data files newly created or updated in this version are indicated with "_v2" in file names.
(BCO-DMO Note: for original files as contributed)

Date of creation: 5/12/2011.
Matlab code used for data merging: GM_read_alex_nuts_BTL_v2.m

No data reported for cruises: OC440 (2007) or EN456 (2008).

Data not sampled or lost are indicated with NaN.
Data not available at the time but supposed to arrive are indicated with the "waiting" flag=-9.99.

Funding:
The cruises from 2003-2004 were supported by NOAA grant NA160P2785 (MERHAB). The cruises from 2005-2010 were jointly funded: NSF grant OCE-0430724, NIEHS grant 1P50-ES01274201 (Woods Hole Center for Oceans and Human Health) and NOAA grant NA06NOS4780245 (GOMTOX).

Hydrographic profiles and water samples were collected with a standard CTD-rosette system with Niskin bottles.  Nutrient samples were filtered through Millipore HA filters, placed immediately in a sea water-ice bath for 5–10 min, and frozen at −18°C.  Concentrations of NO3+NO2, NH4, Si(OH)4 and PO4 were measured with a Bran Luebbe AA3 AutoAnalyzer using standard techniques.

A. fundyense cells were enumerated from water samples using an oligonucleotide probe and methods described in Anderson et al. (2005). Both A. tamarense and A. fundyense occur in the Gulf of Maine, and these are considered to be varieties of the same species. Available molecular probes cannot distinguish between them, and only detailed analysis of the thecal plates on individual cells can provide this resolution—which is not practical for large numbers of field samples.  Accordingly, for the purpose of this study, the name A. fundyense is used to refer to both forms.

Anderson, D. M., D. M. Kulis, B. A. Keafer, K. E. Gribble, R. Marin, and C. A. Scholin. 2005. Identification and enumeration of Alexandrium spp. from the Gulf of Maine using molecular probes. Deep-Sea Research II 52: 2467-2490.

Hydrographic profiles and water samples were collected with a standard CTD-rosette system with Niskin bottles.  Nutrient samples were filtered through Millipore HA filters, placed immediately in a sea water-ice bath for 5–10 min, and frozen at −18°C.  Concentrations of NO3+NO2, NH4, Si(OH)4 and PO4 were measured with a Bran Luebbe AA3 AutoAnalyzer using standard techniques.

A. fundyense cells were enumerated from water samples using an oligonucleotide probe and methods described in Anderson et al. (2005). Both A. tamarense and A. fundyense occur in the Gulf of Maine, and these are considered to be varieties of the same species. Available molecular probes cannot distinguish between them, and only detailed analysis of the thecal plates on individual cells can provide this resolution—which is not practical for large numbers of field samples.  Accordingly, for the purpose of this study, the name A. fundyense is used to refer to both forms.

Anderson, D. M., D. M. Kulis, B. A. Keafer, K. E. Gribble, R. Marin, and C. A. Scholin. 2005. Identification and enumeration of Alexandrium spp. from the Gulf of Maine using molecular probes. Deep-Sea Research II 52: 2467-2490.

 BCO-DMO Processing/Edits
- Generated from data in original file "GOM_GB_nuts_TS_Alex_v2.tar.gz" contributed by Olga Kosnyrev
- Awk routine "GoMEbottle2csv.awk" generated to convert bottle ".txt" files to BCO-DMO .csv files
- Updated with version 3 data for 2008/EN448 data  21March2013, srg
- All bottle data reprocessed to correct NH4 data 21March2013, srg

Investigations of Alexandrium fundyense dynamics in the Gulf of Maine

Project Summary
Harmful algal blooms, commonly called "red tides" or HABs, are a serious economic and public health problem throughout the world. In the U.S., the most serious HAB problem is paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) , a potentially fatal neurological disorder caused by human ingestion of shellfish that accumulate toxins as they feed on dinoflagellates of the genus Alexandrium. These organisms cause human illness and death due to PSP, repeated shellfish harvest quarantines, and the mortality of fish and marine mammals. This phenomenon, which affects thousands of miles of U.S. coastline and numerous fisheries resources, has expanded dramatically in the last two decades, especially in the Gulf of Maine. ECOHAB-GOM is a project that addresses several fundamental issues regarding Alexandrium blooms in the Gulf of Maine: 1) the source of the Alexandrium cells that appear in the fresh water plumes in the western Maine coastal current (WMCC); 2) Alexandrium cell distribution and dynamics in the eastern Maine coastal current (EMCC); and 3) linkages among blooms in the WMCC, the EMCC and on Georges Bank. Utilizing a combination of numerical modeling, hydrographic, chemical, and biological measurements, moored and drifting current measurements, and satellite imagery, we are working to characterize the structure, variability and autecology of the major Alexandrium habitats in the Gulf of Maine.

Summary of Data Sources by Year
2003 – MERHAB (McGillicuddy)
2004 – MERHAB
2005 – WHCOHH (Stegeman)
2006 – NOAA Rapid Response (Anderson) / WHCOHH
2007 – GOMTOX (Anderson) / WHCOHH
2008 – GOMTOX / WHCOHH
2009 – GOMTOX / WHCOHH
2010 – GOMTOX / WHCOHH

Summary of Funding Sources by Years
The cruises from 2003-2004 were supported by NOAA grant NA160P2785 (MERHAB).

The cruises from 2005-2010 were jointly funded:
NSF grant OCE-0430724 and NIEHS grant 1P50-ES01274201 (Woods Hole Center for Oceans and Human Health)
NOAA grant NA06NOS4780245 (GOMTOX)