Dataset: Hurricane Harvey impacts on biogeochemistry of water assessed using samples collected in Mission-Aransas Estuary in south Texas from June 2017 to March 2019

Water samples were collected from both surface and bottom depths at 19 sites in the Mission Aransas Estuary.  Hydrographic measurements including temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, and pH were collected on site using a YSI sonde. Upon return to the lab on the same day, 200 to 1000 milliliters of the collected water was filtered through pre-combusted 47 mm glass fiber filters (Whatman GF/F, 0.7 µm), which were frozen immediately at -20 ºC until analysis.

Organic carbon and nitrogen
The GF/F filters were first acidified to remove inorganic carbon by acid fumigation according to Hedges and Stern (1984).  The organic carbon and nitrogen content in these samples was then measured using a Thermo FLASH 2000 CHN Elemental Analyzer.  Precision for the C/N content is within 5%. 

Pigment analysis
The glass fiber filter was transferred into a 15 mL polypropylene centrifuge tube, to which 3 mL acetone was added for pigment extraction (Sun et al., 1991). The mixture was sonicated for 15 minutes, and then centrifuged for another 10 minutes. The acetone extract was filtered with a syringe filter (0.2 µm Nylon filter) and the procedure was repeated on the GF/F using fresh acetone. The two extracts were then combined before the high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis. Quantitative analysis of all pigments was conducted using a Shimadzu HPLC system with a reverse phase column (Agilent Eclipse XDB-C8, 3.5 µm particle size, 150-mm length × 4.6-mm diameter).

Dissolved Nutrients
Nutrient analyses (Phosphorous, Ammonia, Nitrate+Nitrite) were performed on Lachat QuikChem 8500.