Introduction to the Gulf of Maine Contaminated Sediments Database

Inorganics Table

The Inorganics Table in the Gulf of Maine Database is an Excel version 4.0 document using 3.7MB of hard disk space. The table contains Unique Identification Numbers (Unique ID#) which allow the user to access more information on the sample sites from the other tables in the database. The table also contains columns for the source of the data, the year of the publication or data collection, the analytical laboratory, the methods used, any replicates for laboratory quality control, 35 major/minor/trace elements, 40 other inorganic parameters, as well as qualifier and detection limit fields (See Parameter List).

This table can be used independently to assess the quality of the data in each field by examining the qualifiers given with each analysis.  It is VITAL that this quality assurance step be taken by the user prior to using the data for scientific and interpretive purposes! Once the user is satisfied with the selection of appropriate data, the organic contaminant data tables may be used in conjunction with information from the station table (e.g. latitude and longitude data) to illustrate and study the distribution of the samples and their concentrations. Examples of plots and graphs that describe the inorganic data in the Contaminated Sediments Database for the Gulf of Maine are displayed here.

View plots and graphs of selected inorganics parameters.