Time series data of oceanographic conditions from La Parguera, Puerto Rico, 2017-2018 Coral Reef Circulation and Sediment Dynamics Experiment

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Frequently anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?

Title:
Time series data of oceanographic conditions from La Parguera, Puerto Rico, 2017-2018 Coral Reef Circulation and Sediment Dynamics Experiment
Abstract:
Time-series data of water surface elevation, waves, currents, temperature, and salinity collected between 17 May 2017 and 17 Jan 2018 off the southwest coast of Puerto Rico in support of a study on circulation and sediment transport dynamics over coral reefs. The data are available in NetCDF format, grouped together in zip files by instrument site location. A README.txt file details the files contained within each zip, including the file names, type of data collected, instrument that collected the data, depth, and start and end dates/times.
Supplemental_Information:
Additional information about the field activities from which these data were derived is available online at:
http://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2017-618-FA http://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2017-673-FA
Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.
  1. How might this data set be cited?
    Cheriton, Olivia M., Rosenberger, Kurt J., Logan, Joshua B., and Storlazzi, Curt D., 20190528, Time series data of oceanographic conditions from La Parguera, Puerto Rico, 2017-2018 Coral Reef Circulation and Sediment Dynamics Experiment: data release DOI:10.5066/P9IXOHID, 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: -67.021917
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -66.875600
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 17.941600
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 17.884367
  3. What does it look like?
    https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/file/get/5c8690d7e4b09388244b3d3b?name=PRI17_studyarea.jpg&allowOpen=true (JPG)
    Map showing locations of instrument platforms
  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?
    Beginning_Date: 17-May-2017
    Ending_Date: 17-Jan-2018
    Currentness_Reference:
    ground condition at time data were collected
  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?
      Indirect_Spatial_Reference:
      Data were collected continuously along survey transects. Refer to self-contained NetCDF files for more location information.
    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 NAD83.
      The ellipsoid used is GRS 80.
      The semi-major axis of the ellipsoid used is 6356752.3141.
      The flattening of the ellipsoid used is 1/298.257222101.
  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)
    • Olivia M. Cheriton
    • Kurt J. Rosenberger
    • Joshua B. Logan
    • Curt D. Storlazzi
  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?

The U.S. Geological Survey and the University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez initiated a project investigating circulation, water-column properties, and wave dynamics over the coral reefs on the southern insular shelf and upper insular slope of Puerto Rico near Guanica Bay and La Parguera in order to identify processes controlling resuspension and transport of shelf and land-sourced sediment.

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: 18-May-2017 (process 1 of 7)
    Oceanographic instruments were deployed on the insular shelf off the southwest coast of Puerto Rico to collect time-series data. Instruments included in deployment are: Nortek Acoustic Wave and Current meter, RBR Virtuoso D wave gauges, and Marotte HS current meters.
    Date: 11-Jul-2017 (process 2 of 7)
    Oceanographic instruments were deployed at the shelf break (SBM, SBT) off the southwest coast of Puerto Rico to collect time-series data. Instruments included in deployment are: SeaBird SBE-56 temperature loggers, an RBR Virtuoso D wave gauge, and RBR temperature loggers.
    Date: 23-Jul-2017 (process 3 of 7)
    Oceanographic instruments were deployed at the upper slope (HWM, HWP) off the southwest coast of Puerto Rico to collect time-series data. Instruments included in deployment are: an RDI 300-kHz Workhorse Monitor acoustic doppler current profiler, a Nortek Vector current meter, SeaBird SBE-37 Microcat temperature and salinity loggers, SeaBird SBE-56 temperature loggers, and RBR temperature loggers.
    Date: 02-Mar-2018 (process 4 of 7)
    Data were accumulated into NetCDF files.
    Date: 02-Mar-2018 (process 5 of 7)
    Files are named with a convention that uses a 13-digit alpha-numeric code. The first three characters for this dataset are all 'PRI' for the experiment name. The fourth and fifth characters represent the calendar year in which the first data point in the file was taken (17 = 2017). The sixth, seventh, and eighth characters are an alphanumeric code for the site name (S03, S12, etc.). The ninth and tenth characters represent the instrument position on the platform, where 01 is the instrument nearest the water surface. Next is a two or three-character code for data type (aw = Nortek acoustic wave and current profiler [AWAC]; ct = SeaBird SBE-37 temperature and salinity logger; mar = Marotte current meter; rbr = RBR wave gauge; tl = temperature logger; vec = Nortek Vector current and pressure meter; wh = RDI acoustic Doppler current profiler [ADCP]). An additional code may follow, either with or without a hyphen, to indicate the type of data subset in the file (-b = burst data; -s = burst-averaged data; -wvs = wave statistics; -cal = Nortek AWAC current and pressure data; WVS-p = Nortek AWAC wave statistics).
    Date: 19-Oct-2020 (process 6 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: 18-Feb-2026 (process 7 of 7)
    Edited metadata to update a cross reference link placeholder. No data were changed. (mau@usgs.gov)
  3. What similar or related data should the user be aware of?
    Cheriton, Olivia M., Storlazzi, Curt D., Rosenberger, Kurt J., and Sherman, Clark, 2019, Controls on sediment transport over coral reefs off southwest Puerto Rico: Seasonal patterns and Hurricane Maria.

    Online Links:

    Other_Citation_Details: Coastal Sediments '19 Conference Proceedings

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?
    A formal accuracy assessment of the horizontal positional information in the data set has not been conducted. Stated accuracy of the GPS unit used to geolocate the instrument package is +/- 5 m.
  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?
    A formal accuracy assessment of the vertical positional information in the data set has not been conducted. Accuracy of the vertical position of the instruments is +/- 0.5 m
  4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?
    Dataset is considered complete for the information presented, as described in the abstract. However, there are several known data issues. Any pressure measurements during Hurricane Maria are not correct due to extremely low atmospheric pressures. The HWP RDI acoustic Doppler current profiler (PRI17HWP01wh) has portions of data with poor beam correlation; users are advised to check beam correlation and percent good values. The S12 Nortek acoustic wave and current profiler also has erroneous values during Hurricane Maria for pressure, as well as wave period and wave direction. The Hurricane Maria time period for extremely low pressure is approximately 20-Sep-2017 00:00 to 22-Sep-2017 15:00. 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?
    No formal logical accuracy tests were conducted.

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? Downloadable time-series data in NetCDF format. NetCDF files are grouped into twelve (12) different zip files, one zip file per instrument platform. The zip file names consist of an 8-digit alpha-numeric code, where the first 5 digits (PRI17) indicate the study site and year (Puerto Rico, 2017), and the last 3 digits indicate on which of the 12 platforms the instruments were mounted (for example, S03).
  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 software capable of reading a text file.

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:
Last modified: 18-Feb-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_P9IXOHID/PRI_timeseries_metadata.faq.html>
Generated by mp version 2.9.51 on Fri Feb 20 14:10:24 2026