Benthic foraminiferal assemblages, stable isotopes, and short-lived radioisotope measurements from sediment cores collected during the multiple cruises in the northwestern margin of Cuba and Gulf of Mexico from 2010-06-13 to 2017-07-19 (NCEI Accession 0234331)

This dataset contains a compilation of seafloor surface benthic foraminifera assemblages, baseline stable carbon and oxygen isotope measurements from benthic foraminifera, and short-lived radioisotope measurements from sediment cores collected on multiple cruises and field sampling throughout the Gulf of Mexico and the northwestern margin of Cuba from 2010-06-13 to 2017-07-19. Stable isotope measurements were performed on Cibicidoides spp. The dataset includes the sediment core information such as location, date, and depth; benthic foraminiferal stable carbon and oxygen isotopes; and the total density and diversity calculations using Fisher’s Alpha and Shannon indices from the surface-most sub-sample from each core (typically 0-2 mm). For short-lived radioisotope measurements, samples were analyzed by gamma spectrometry with High-Purity Germanium (HPGe) gamma-ray detectors (Canberra Coaxial Planar configuration) for total 210Pb (46.5 keV), 214Pb (295 keV and 351 keV), and 214Bi (609 keV) activities. The mean activity of the 214Pb (295 keV), 214Pb (351 keV), and 214Bi (609 keV) was used as a proxy for 226Ra activity and therefore the supported 210Pb that is produced in situ. The reported excess 210Pb (210Pbxs) is the difference of the total 210Pb and the supported 210Pb.