May 2016 deployment (CHC16): Water pressure/depth, velocity, and turbidity time-series data from CHC16 Tidal creek stations in China Camp Marsh, California

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Frequently anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?

Title:
May 2016 deployment (CHC16): Water pressure/depth, velocity, and turbidity time-series data from CHC16 Tidal creek stations in China Camp Marsh, California
Abstract:
Files contain hydrodynamic and sediment transport data for the location and deployment indicated. Time-series data of water depth, velocity, turbidity, and temperature were collected in San Pablo Bay and China Camp Marsh as part of the San Francisco Bay Marsh Sediment Experiments. Several instruments were deployed in tidal creek, marsh, mudflat, and Bay locations, gathering data on water depth, velocity, salinity/temperature, and turbidity. Deployment data are grouped by region (Bay channel (main Bay), Bay shallows, tidal creek, or marsh/mudflat/upper tidal creek). Users are advised check metadata and instrument information carefully for applicable time periods of specific data, as individual instrument deployment times vary.
Supplemental_Information:
Information about the data collection field activities can be found at: http://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2016-632-FA
  1. How might this data set be cited?
    Lacy, Jessica R., 2017, May 2016 deployment (CHC16): Water pressure/depth, velocity, and turbidity time-series data from CHC16 Tidal creek stations in China Camp Marsh, California: data release DOI:10.5066/F7HM56MX, U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center Santa Cruz, California.

    Online Links:

    This is part of the following larger work.

    Lacy, Jessie R., Allen, Rachel M., Foster-Martinez, Madeline R., Joanne C. T. Ferreira, and O'Neill, Andrea, 2017, Hydrodynamic and sediment transport data from San Pablo Bay and China Camp marsh (northern San Francisco Bay), 2013-2016: data release DOI:10.5066/F7HM56MX, U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center Santa Cruz, California.

    Online Links:

  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?
    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -122.4930
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -122.3697
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 38.0451
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 38.0060
  3. What does it look like?
    https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/file/get/58af775fe4b01ccd54f9f5f3?name=CHC16_TidalcreekStations.png&allowOpen=true (PNG)
    image showing location of deployment instrument locations for listed area
  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?
    Beginning_Date: 05-May-2016
    Ending_Date: 21-Jun-2016
    Currentness_Reference:
    dates of observations
  5. What is the general form of this data set?
    Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: NetCDF files
  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):
      • Entity point (1)
    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 0.001. Longitudes are given to the nearest 0.001. Latitude and longitude values are specified in Decimal degrees. The horizontal datum used is World Geodetic System 1984 (WGS84).
      The ellipsoid used is WGS84.
      The semi-major axis of the ellipsoid used is 6378137.0.
      The flattening of the ellipsoid used is 1/298.257223563.
  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?
    Entity_and_Attribute_Overview:
    NetCDF files are self-contained and attribute information may be found in the header of the file itself.
    Entity_and_Attribute_Detail_Citation:
    The entity and attribute information was generated by the individual and/or agency identified as the originator of the data set. Please review the rest of the metadata record for additional details and information.

Who produced the data set?

  1. Who are the originators of the data set? (may include formal authors, digital compilers, and editors)
    • Jessica R. Lacy
  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?

Data from these experiments will be used to investigate the spatial and temporal variation in suspended sediment transport at the marsh boundary in order to better inform predictions of marsh resilience, and offer more complete characterizations of sediment transport and conditions within this unique environment.

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: 01-May-2016 (process 1 of 7)
    Instruments at each station are: Nortek Vector acoustic Doppler velocimeter, with SeaPoint turbidity sensor as external sensor. The range of the turbidity sensors was 0-500 FTUs. Turbidities are reported as voltages over the range 0-5 V: 5 V corresponds to 500 FTU.
    Date: 30-Jun-2016 (process 2 of 7)
    Instruments were retrieved, and data were recovered from the instruments. Data were processed and accumulated into NetCDF files. These stations are intertidal, so instruments were occasionally not submerged; these data remain. Velocity data collected when water depth (measured by the pressure sensor) is less than 45 cm, and turbidity data collected when water depth was less than 25 cm, are not reliable.
    Date: 30-Jun-2016 (process 3 of 7)
    Data files were named with a convention that uses a 12- to 13-digit alpha-numeric code; zip files use an abridged eight-digit code. The first three characters for this dataset are for the deployment name (CHC for China Camp measurements including all measurement locations from Bay channel stations to Tidal Creek stations; abridged deployments with measurements taken only at Bay Shallows stations begin with 'SP' followed by A, B, C, or D to denote chronological occurrence). The fourth and fifth positions represent the calendar year in which the first data point in the file was taken (13, 2013; 14, 2014; 15, 2015; 16, 2016). The sixth through eighth positions represent the station identification - see the graphic at https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/file/get/58458e82e4b04fc80e5233b3?name=SFBayStationLocations.png (all Bay stations) for location information. Zip files use the informative character codes outlined above for positions 1-8; additional character positions provide instrumentation information for the data files only. The ninth and tenth positions are numbers representing the instrument position on the frame (01, 02 or 03), with 01 as uppermost on the frame. Next is a two- to three-character code for the instrument and data type (adv = Sontek ADV; bpr = RBR bursting pressure sensor; ctd = RBR CTD; obs = optical backscatter; lst = LISST; sct = SeaBird seacat CTD; vec = Nortek ADV; wh = RDI ADCP current data; wv = RDI ADCP wave data). Note that some instruments also include additional external sensors. There are an additional two characters for the instruments that collect data in a bursting pattern to indicate if the burst is included in the file or the statistics of the burst; this indicator is omitted if there is no bursting pattern (-b, burst; -s, statistics). Instruments that collect burst data only record the start time of each burst. The bursting time stamp can be generated from the start time, sampling frequency, and number of samples per burst (retrievable in the NetCDF file).
    Date: 25-Nov-2019 (process 4 of 7)
    Extraneous text was removed from Semi-Major Axis tag. Person who carried out this activity:
    Susan A. Cochran
    U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
    2885 Mission St.
    Santa Cruz, CA
    USA

    831-460-7545 (voice)
    scochran@usgs.gov
    Date: 19-Oct-2020 (process 5 of 7)
    Edited metadata to add keywords section with USGS persistent identifier as theme keyword. No data were changed. Person who carried out this activity:
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Attn: VeeAnn A. Cross
    Marine Geologist
    384 Woods Hole Road
    Woods Hole, MA

    508-548-8700 x2251 (voice)
    508-457-2310 (FAX)
    vatnipp@usgs.gov
    Date: 13-Oct-2021 (process 6 of 7)
    Performed minor edits to the metadata to correct typos. No data were changed Person who carried out this activity:
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Attn: Susan A. Cochran
    Geologist
    2885 Mission Street
    Santa Cruz, CA

    831-460-7545 (voice)
    scochran@usgs.gov
    Date: 08-Apr-2026 (process 7 of 7)
    The metadata title was modified to move the deployment information to the beginning of the title. This was done to meet new system requirements as ScienceBase is migrated to a new platform, and to keep datasets grouped by deployment and time period on the new data release landing page. (20260408). Person who carried out this activity:
    Manda Au
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Data Management Specialist
    2885 Mission Street
    Santa Cruz, CA

    831-460-7575 (voice)
    mau@usgs.gov
  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.
  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?
    Horizontal accuracy derived from GPS instrumentation is less than 1 m.
  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?
    There are two sources of uncertainty associated with vertical positioning of the instruments: 1) the measuring tools used during instrument mounting, 2) the amount of settling that occurs during deployment. The measuring tools used to mount the instruments onto the platforms have a resolution of 0.1 cm resulting in an uncertainty of 0.2 cm. Creek beds were very soft; the instrument platforms were light and did not sink in during moderate tidal cycles, but during large spring tides they may have sunk in. This source of error is estimated to be less than 6 cm.
  4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?
    Dataset is considered complete for the information presented, as described in the abstract. The tidal creek stations are intertidal so the instruments were not submerged during the lowest tides. Velocity data collected when water depth (measured by the pressure sensor) is less than 45 cm, and turbidity data collected when water depth was less than 25 cm, are not reliable. Users are advised to read the metadata for each part of this data release carefully for additional details.
  5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?
    No formal logical accuracy tests were conducted. Data fall within expected ranges.

How can someone get a copy of the data set?

Are there legal restrictions on access or use of the data?
Access_Constraints none
Use_Constraints USGS-authored or produced data and information are in the public domain from the U.S. Government and are freely redistributable with proper metadata and source attribution. Please recognize and acknowledge the U.S. Geological Survey as the originator(s) of the dataset and in products derived from these data.
  1. Who distributes the data set? (Distributor 1 of 1)
    U.S. Geological Survey - ScienceBase
    Denver Federal Center, Building 810, Mail Stop 302
    Denver, CO
    USA

    1-888-275-8747 (voice)
    sciencebase@usgs.gov
  2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set? Downloadable data in NetCDF file format grouped in zip files. Within each zip file, separate NetCDF files are available for each instrument at the deployment location. The zip file and NetCDF file names consist of a multi-element alphanumeric code as defined in the Process Steps.
  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?

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:
Last modified: 08-Apr-2026
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)
This page is <https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/catalog/pcmsc/DataReleases/ScienceBase/DR_F7HM56MX/CHC16_creeks_metadata.faq.html>
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