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Dataset Overview | National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)

Biological Data for Biological Baseline Studies of Mobile Bay: Benthic Fauna 1980-1981 (NCEI Accession 0116100)

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Beginning in late 1979, the Alabama Coastal Area Board (CAB) funded a series of baseline surveys on the coastal resources of Alabama, from which they could develop a monitoring program to observe any significant changes in the resources over time.

Eight stations within Mobile Bay, Alabama were sampled monthly from April 1980 to April 1981. Data collected included samples for benthic fauna, pelagic fauna, sediment particle size, total organic carbon, foraminifera, zooplankton, phytoplankton, chlorophyll, turbidity, river flow, and hydrographic parameters.

The subset of data presented here are for the benthic fauna, which were sampled by 0.1 m^2 Peterson grab. Fauna were enumerated and identified to the lowest taxon possible, and mainly included crustaceans, molluscs, polychaetes, and echinoderms. Data in readily accessible digital form are available from April 1980 to February 1981.
  • Cite as: Hopkins, Thomas S. (2014). Biological Data for Biological Baseline Studies of Mobile Bay: Benthic Fauna 1980-1981 (NCEI Accession 0116100). [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/0116100. Accessed [date].
gov.noaa.nodc:0116100
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Distribution Formats
  • Originator data format
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Distributor NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
+1-301-713-3277
ncei.info@noaa.gov
Dataset Point of Contact NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
ncei.info@noaa.gov
Time Period 1980-04-03 to 1981-02-26
Spatial Bounding Box Coordinates
West: -88.17333
East: -87.85167
South: 30.23833
North: 30.61333
Spatial Coverage Map
General Documentation
Publication Dates
  • publication: 2014-01-29
  • revision: 2014-02-28
  • creation: 2014-01-29
Data Presentation Form Digital table - digital representation of facts or figures systematically displayed, especially in columns
Dataset Progress Status Complete - production of the data has been completed
Historical archive - data has been stored in an offline storage facility
Data Update Frequency As needed - NCEI Accession 0116100 was revised and a new version of the archival package was published. Updates to existing archival packages may provide additional files or replace obsolete files. The latest version contains the most complete and up-to-date representation of this archival information package. All of the files received prior to this update are available in the preceding version of this accession. Please see journal.txt in the /about directory for additional details on changes made.
Supplemental Information
Sampling for this study began 6 months after landfall of a Category 3 hurricane (Hurricane Frederic, September 1979), which caused a massive re-suspension of all sediments within Mobile Bay, and also resulted in extra high volume of river discharge for Spring 1980. This may have affected the baseline which this study intended to measure.

This data contains benthic fauna data.

In this accession, NCEI has archived multiple versions of these data. The latest (and best) version of these data has the largest version number.
Purpose To provide benchmark data to the Alabama Coastal Area Board (CAB) for distribution, abundance, and seasonality of benthic infauna, phytoplankton, zooplankton, foraminifera, epifaunal invertebrates and fishes. CAB became part of the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) in 1982, and ADEM became part of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) in 2000.
Use Limitations
  • accessLevel: Public
  • Distribution liability: NOAA and NCEI make no warranty, expressed or implied, regarding these data, nor does the fact of distribution constitute such a warranty. NOAA and NCEI cannot assume liability for any damages caused by any errors or omissions in these data. If appropriate, NCEI can only certify that the data it distributes are an authentic copy of the records that were accepted for inclusion in the NCEI archives.
Dataset Citation
  • Cite as: Hopkins, Thomas S. (2014). Biological Data for Biological Baseline Studies of Mobile Bay: Benthic Fauna 1980-1981 (NCEI Accession 0116100). [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/0116100. Accessed [date].
Cited Authors
Principal Investigators
Contributors
Resource Providers
Publishers
Acknowledgments
  • Alabama Coastal Area Board (contracts 80-05 and 81-03)
Theme keywords NODC DATA TYPES THESAURUS NODC OBSERVATION TYPES THESAURUS WMO_CategoryCode
  • oceanography
Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Science Keywords Originator Keywords
  • Peterson grab
  • baseline survey
  • benchmark survey
  • benthic assemblages
  • benthic infauna
  • benthic macroinvertebrates
  • bottom grab samples
  • crustaceans
  • epifaunal invertebrates
  • macroinfauna
  • molluscs
  • polychaetes
  • soft-bottom
Data Center keywords NODC COLLECTING INSTITUTION NAMES THESAURUS NODC SUBMITTING INSTITUTION NAMES THESAURUS Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Data Center Keywords
Instrument keywords NODC INSTRUMENT TYPES THESAURUS Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Instrument Keywords
Place keywords NODC SEA AREA NAMES THESAURUS Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Location Keywords Originator Place Names
  • Alabama
  • East Mississippi Sound
  • Mobile Bay
Project keywords NODC PROJECT NAMES THESAURUS
Keywords NCEI ACCESSION NUMBER
Use Constraints
  • Cite as: Hopkins, Thomas S. (2014). Biological Data for Biological Baseline Studies of Mobile Bay: Benthic Fauna 1980-1981 (NCEI Accession 0116100). [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/0116100. Accessed [date].
Access Constraints
  • Use liability: NOAA and NCEI cannot provide any warranty as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of furnished data. Users assume responsibility to determine the usability of these data. The user is responsible for the results of any application of this data for other than its intended purpose.
Fees
  • In most cases, electronic downloads of the data are free. However, fees may apply for custom orders, data certifications, copies of analog materials, and data distribution on physical media.
Lineage information for: dataset
Processing Steps
  • 2014-01-29T19:47:07Z - NCEI Accession 0116100 v1.1 was published.
    Rationale: Access to this revision of this accession has been limited, and full and open access is not available at this time. As acknowledged in NOAA Administrative Order 212-15, some data archived at NCEI may have specific access constraints that are mutually agreed upon and documented by the Data Producer / Data Provider and NCEI.
  • 2014-02-28T14:37:11Z - NCEI Accession 0116100 was revised and v2.2 was published.
    Rationale: Updates were received for this dataset. These updates were copied into the data/0-data/ directory of this accession. These updates may provide additional files or replace obsolete files. This version contains the most complete and up-to-date representation of this archival information package. All of the files received prior to this update are available in the preceding version of this accession.
Output Datasets
Lineage information for: repository
Processing Steps
  • 2015-04-22T00:00:00 - NOAA created the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) by merging NOAA's National Climatic Data Center (NCDC), National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC), and National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC), including the National Coastal Data Development Center (NCDDC), per the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015, Public Law 113-235. NCEI launched publicly on April 22, 2015.
Acquisition Information (collection)
Instrument
  • laboratory analysis
  • sediment sampler - grab
Last Modified: 2025-12-22T19:45:18Z
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