Suspended-sediment concentrations from water samples collected in Bellingham Bay, Washington, USA, 2019 to 2021

Frequently anticipated questions:

• What does this data set describe?
  1. How might this data set be cited?
  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?
  3. What does it look like?
  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?
  5. What is the general form of this data set?
  6. How does the data set represent geographic features?
  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?
• Who produced the data set?
  1. Who are the originators of the data set?
  2. Who also contributed to the data set?
  3. To whom should users address questions about the data?
• Why was the data set created?
• How was the data set created?
  1. From what previous works were the data drawn?
  2. How were the data generated, processed, and modified?
  3. What similar or related data should the user be aware of?
• How reliable are the data; what problems remain in the data set?
  1. How well have the observations been checked?
  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?
  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?
  4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?
  5. How consistent are the relationships among the data, including topology?
• How can someone get a copy of the data set?
  1. Are there legal restrictions on access or use of the data?
  2. Who distributes the data?
  3. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set?
  4. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?
  5. How can I download or order the data?
• Who wrote the metadata?

What does this data set describe?

1. How might this data set be cited?
   Nowacki, Daniel J., vanArendonk, Nathan R., Stevens, Andrew W., Grossman, Eric E., and Tan, Angela C., 20230218, Suspended-sediment concentrations from water samples collected in Bellingham Bay, Washington, USA, 2019 to 2021: data release DOI:10.5066/P96EH1MS, U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Santa Cruz, California.

   Online Links:

   • https://doi.org/10.5066/P96EH1MS

   This is part of the following larger work.
   Nowacki, Daniel J., vanArendonk, Nathan R., Stevens, Andrew W., Grossman, Eric E., and Tan, Angela C., 2023, Oceanographic and water-quality measurements collected in Bellingham Bay, Washington, USA, 2019 to 2021: data release DOI:10.5066/P96EH1MS, U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Santa Cruz, CA.

   Online Links:

   • https://doi.org/10.5066/P96EH1MS

2. What geographic area does the data set cover?

   West_Bounding_Coordinate: -122.612889
   East_Bounding_Coordinate: -122.485953
   North_Bounding_Coordinate: 48.764537
   South_Bounding_Coordinate: 48.715133
   

3. What does it look like?
4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?

   Beginning_Date: 30-Jul-2019

   Ending_Date: 15-Apr-2021

   Currentness_Reference:

   ground condition at time data were collected

5. What is the general form of this data set?

   Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: comma-delimited text
   

6. How does the data set represent geographic features?
   1. How are geographic features stored in the data set?
      This is a Point data set. It contains the following vector data types (SDTS terminology):
      • Point (164)
   2. What coordinate system is used to represent geographic features?
      Horizontal positions are specified in geographic coordinates, that is, latitude and longitude. Latitudes are given to the nearest 0.000001. Longitudes are given to the nearest 0.000001. Latitude and longitude values are specified in Decimal degrees. The horizontal datum used is D_WGS_1984.
      The ellipsoid used is WGS_1984.
      The semi-major axis of the ellipsoid used is 6378137.000000.
      The flattening of the ellipsoid used is 1/298.257224.
      
7. How does the data set describe geographic features?

   Attribute table

   Table containing attribute information associated with the dataset (Source: Producer defined)

   FAN ID

   Unique U.S. Geological Survey field activity identifier (Source: producer defined) Unique identifier for the U.S. Geological Survey field activity. Links to information about each field activity are found in the Supplemental Information section of this metadata.

   Sample ID

   Name of sample (Source: producer defined) Unique identifier for the sample used given in the field

   Lab ID

   Name of sample identifier in BELXY format, where X is a number 1–5 indicating locations of time-series moorings or a letter A–C indicating the sequential deployment in the corresponding time-series data, and Y is either a hyphen and sequential sample number or, for 12 of the samples, an indicator BOTT or SURF to denote whether the sample was collected near the sea bed or water surface. (Source: Producer defined) Unique identifier for the sample given during analysis in the lab

   Date Collected

   Date of sample collection in mm/dd/yyyy format (Source: producer defined)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	7/30/2019
   Maximum:	4/15/2021
   Units:	Dates in mm/dd/yyyy format

   Time (UTC)

   Time of sample collection in HH:MM:SS format relative to UTC (Source: producer defined)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	00:00:00
   Maximum:	23:59:59
   Units:	Times in HH:MM:SS format

   Latitude

   Latitude of sample in decimal degrees. “n/a” indicates that no latitude coordinate was collected for the sample. (Source: producer defined)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	48.715133
   Maximum:	48.764637
   Units:	decimal degrees

   Longitude

   Longitude of sample in decimal degrees. “n/a” indicates that no longitude coordinate was collected for the sample. (Source: producer defined)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	-122.612889
   Maximum:	-122.485953
   Units:	decimal degrees

   Additional Sample Info

   freehand description of additional information about a sample (Source: producer defined) freehand text field to document field notes

   Processing Notes

   any notes from the sediment lab technician (Source: producer defined) freehand text field to document lab notes

   Suspended Sediment Concentration mg/L

   concentration of suspended sediment found in sample. (Source: producer defined)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	1.58
   Maximum:	132.82
   Units:	milligrams per liter

   Turbidity NTU

   measurement of water turbidity obtained at time of sample collection. (Source: producer defined)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	0.82
   Maximum:	66.95
   Units:	nephelometric turbidity units (NTU)

   Entity_and_Attribute_Overview: The first line of the csv file is a header line.
   Entity_and_Attribute_Detail_Citation: U.S. Geological Survey
   

Who produced the data set?

1. Who are the originators of the data set? (may include formal authors, digital compilers, and editors)
   • Daniel J. Nowacki
   • Nathan R. vanArendonk
   • Andrew W. Stevens
   • Eric E. Grossman
   • Angela C. Tan
2. Who also contributed to the data set?
3. To whom should users address questions about the data?
   U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

   Attn: PCMSC Science Data Coordinator

   2885 Mission Street

   Santa Cruz, CA
   

   831-427-4747 (voice)

   pcmsc_data@usgs.gov

Why was the data set created?

How was the data set created?

1. From what previous works were the data drawn?
2. How were the data generated, processed, and modified?

   Date: 15-Apr-2021 (process 1 of 3)

   Water samples were collected from July 30, 2019, to April 15, 2021 using a van Dorn water sampler. Samples were generally collected 50 centimeters above the seabed. Sampling positions were recorded using a hand-held global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receiver. Samples were placed in cold storage until processed.

   Date: 06-May-2021 (process 2 of 3)

   The suspended sediment concentrations of the samples were determined in the USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center sediment lab. Suspended sediment concentrations were determined by filtering a known volume of sample through a pre-weighed filter, which is then dried and reweighed to determine the mass of suspended sediment on the filter.

   Date: 06-May-2021 (process 3 of 3)

   Suspended sediment concentrations were calculated by subtracting the weight of the filter from the weight of the reweight (post filtering) filter. The resulting weight (in milligrams) is divided by the volume of sample filtered (in liters) to get the concentration of suspended sediments.

3. What similar or related data should the user be aware of?

How reliable are the data; what problems remain in the data set?

1. How well have the observations been checked?
   No formal attribute accuracy tests were conducted. Data fall within expected ranges. Duplicates were run for most samples and results generally were similar. When duplicates did not match, additional duplicates were run. Notes for specific samples are available in the Processing Notes.
2. How accurate are the geographic locations?
   A formal accuracy assessment of the horizontal positional information in the data set has not been conducted. The stated accuracy of the GPS unit used to geolocate the instrument package is 3 to 5 m, 95 percent typical.
3. How accurate are the heights or depths?
   
4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?
   Dataset is considered complete for the information presented, as described in the abstract. Users are advised to read the rest of the metadata record carefully for additional details. Additional turbidity data are available in the companion data set “Oceanographic time-series measurements collected in Bellingham Bay, Washington, USA, 2019 to 2021”.
5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?
   No formal logical accuracy tests were conducted. Occasionally a GPS waypoint or time was not collected; more information for these samples is available in Additional Sample Info.

How can someone get a copy of the data set?

1. Who distributes the data set? (Distributor 1 of 1)
   
   U.S. Geological Survey - CMGDS

   2885 Mission Street

   Santa Cruz, CA
   

   831-427-4747 (voice)

   pcmsc_data@usgs.gov
2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set? These data are available in csv format (bbay_ssc_data.csv) accompanied by CSDGM FGDC-compliant metadata
3. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?
   Unless otherwise stated, all data, metadata and related materials are considered to satisfy the quality standards relative to the purpose for which the data were collected. Although these data and associated metadata have been reviewed for accuracy and completeness and approved for release by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), no warranty expressed or implied is made regarding the display or utility of the data on any other system or for general or scientific purposes, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty.
4. How can I download or order the data?
   • Availability in digital form:

     Data format:	Data contained in comma-delimited text files. in format comma-delimited text (version Microsoft Excel for Mac Version 16.67 (22111300)) Size: 0.018
     Network links:	https://doi.org/10.5066/P96EH1MS

   • Cost to order the data: None.

5. What hardware or software do I need in order to use the data set?
   These data can be viewed with any software capable of viewing text files.

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:

Last modified: 18-Feb-2023

Metadata author:

U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

Attn: PCMSC Science Data Coordinator

2885 Mission Street

Santa Cruz, CA

831-427-4747 (voice)

pcmsc_data@usgs.gov

Metadata standard:

Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata (FGDC-STD-001-1998)