Rain measurements in Santa Cruz County, California, January 2023

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Frequently anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?

Title:
Rain measurements in Santa Cruz County, California, January 2023
Abstract:
Rain gages were deployed temporarily at four sites in Santa Cruz County, California, during a series of atmospheric-river storms that delivered unusually large amounts of rain in January 2023. Data collection focused on the San Lorenzo River, and include three locations in the San Lorenzo Valley (in Boulder Creek along Hilton Drive, in Felton near Glengarry Road, and in Scotts Valley along Green Valley Road), as well as one site within the city of Santa Cruz, on Darwin Street. These data are provided to facilitate emergency response and assessment of continued landscape effects of these storms.
Supplemental_Information:
Additional information about the field activity from which these data were derived is available online at:
https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan= 2023-605-FA
Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. The USGS gratefully acknowledges D. Brothers, J. Kluesner, and A. Ritchie for their assistance with data collection.
  1. How might this data set be cited?
    East, Amy E., and Williamson, Jessica L., 20230202, Rain measurements in Santa Cruz County, California, January 2023: data release DOI: 10.5066/P95YN9HE, 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: -122.1639
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -122.0054
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 37.1557
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 36.9754
  3. What does it look like?
  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?
    Beginning_Date: 03-Jan-2023
    Ending_Date: 17-Jan-2023
    Currentness_Reference:
    Ground condition at time data were collected (time reported in Universal Time Coordinated [UTC]).
  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 (7292)
    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 WGS_1984 (EPSG:4326).
      The ellipsoid used is WGS_1984 (EPSG:7030).
      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?
    SantaCruz_RainGage_Jan2023_Data.csv
    Table containing attribute information associated with the data set. (Source: Producer defined.)
    SITE_NAME
    Name of the site containing rain gage. (Source: Producer defined.)
    ValueDefinition
    DarwinStreet_SantaCruzRain gage located near Darwin Street, Santa Cruz California, located approximately at 36.9754, -122.0054.
    GlengarryRoad_FeltonRain gage located near Glengarry Road,Felton, California, approximately at 37.0318, -122.06979.
    GreenValleyRoad_ScottsValleyRain gage located near Green Valley Road,Scotts Valley, California, approximately at 37.0560, -122.0322.
    HiltonDrive_BoulderCreekRain gage located near Hilton Drive, Boulder Creek, California, approximately at 37.1557, -122.1639.
    DATE_TIME
    The date and time of the rain gage measurement (Source: Producer defined.)
    Range of values
    Minimum:01/03/2023 11:01:09
    Maximum:01/17/2023 15:32:03
    Units:Date and time formatted as mm/dd/yyyy hh:mm:ss
    Resolution:1
    RAIN_MM
    The amount of rainfall which was recorded. The gage records the date and time every time 0.2 mm of rainfall are collected in the gage. (Source: Producer defined.)
    Range of values
    Minimum:0.2
    Maximum:0.2
    Units:Millimeters
    Resolution:0.2
    CUMULATIVE_RAIN_MM
    The cumulative amount of rainfall which was collected at the station from deployment to final recovery of the station. (Source: Producer defined.)
    Range of values
    Minimum:0.2
    Maximum:539.2
    Units:Millimeters
    Resolution:0.2
    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)
    • Amy E. East
    • Jessica L. Williamson
  2. Who also contributed to the data set?
    Data collection was funded by the U.S. Geological Survey.
  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?

Direct measurements of rain amount, duration, and intensity such as these can be used to evaluate causes of landscape change.

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: 03-Jan-2023 (process 1 of 2)
    Onset HOBO RG3-M standalone tipping-bucket rain gages were deployed at each of four locations (Darwin Street, Glengarry Road, Green Valley Road, and Hilton Road). Each gage was set up on a level surface.
    Date: 17-Jan-2023 (process 2 of 2)
    Data for all four rain gages were recorded on a self-contained pendant logger housed within each unit and downloaded.
  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?
    These rain gages measure rainfall with a resolution of 0.2 millimeter (mm). Data values are within the expected values. Calibration accuracy is within 1.0 percent (up to 20 mm/hour of maximum rainfall rate of 12.7 cm).
  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?
    Reported geographic coordinates of sites are estimated to be within 5 meters.
  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?
  4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?
    The rain gages were programmed to record only during rain events. 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.
  5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?
    Data values are within the expected values.

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

    1-888-275-8747 (voice)
    sciencebase@usgs.gov
  2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set? These data are available in csv format (SantaCruz_RainGage_Jan2023_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?
  5. What hardware or software do I need in order to use the data set?
    These data can be viewed with any text editing or spreadsheet software.

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:
Last modified: 02-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)
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