Tuvalu, South Pacific, wave and water level data, 2019

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?
   Rosenberger, Kurt J., Cheriton, Olivia M., and Storlazzi, Curt D., 20210326, Tuvalu, South Pacific, wave and water level data, 2019: data release doi:10.5066/P9RYN5NH, U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Santa Cruz, California.

   Online Links:

   • https://doi.org/10.5066/P9RYN5NH
   • https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/item/5f5a913882cefd9f208689d6

   This is part of the following larger work.
   Rosenberger, Kurt J., Cheriton, Olivia M., and Storlazzi, Curt D., 2021, Cross-reef wave and water level data from coral reef environments: data release DOI:10.5066/P9RYN5NH, U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Santa Cruz, CA.

   Online Links:

   • https://doi.org/10.5066/P9RYN5NH

2. What geographic area does the data set cover?

   West_Bounding_Coordinate: 176.1085
   East_Bounding_Coordinate: 179.8035
   North_Bounding_Coordinate: -5.6689
   South_Bounding_Coordinate: -10.7905
   

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

   Beginning_Date: 22-Jul-2019

   Ending_Date: 16-Dec-2019

   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?
      This is a Point data set.
   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 0.00001. Longitudes are given to the nearest 0.00001. Latitude and longitude values are specified in Decimal degrees. The horizontal datum used is NAD 1983.
      The ellipsoid used is WGS_1984.
      The semi-major axis of the ellipsoid used is 6378137.0.
      The flattening of the ellipsoid used is 1/298.257223563.
      

      Vertical_Coordinate_System_Definition:

      Altitude_System_Definition:

      Altitude_Datum_Name: Mean Sea Level
      Altitude_Resolution: 0.1
      Altitude_Distance_Units: meters
      Altitude_Encoding_Method:

      Explicit elevation coordinate included with horizontal coordinates

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)
   • Kurt J. Rosenberger
   • Olivia M. Cheriton
   • 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
   

   831-460-4747 (voice)

   pcmsc_data@usgs.gov

Why was the data set created?

The continuous measurements of waves and water levels from these instrument deployments provide information on the variability of waves on the coral reefs of Tuvalu. These data will be used to study the transformation of waves over the reef and how this process contributes to water levels, runup and the potential for flooding of the coast.

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: 08-Oct-2019 (process 1 of 4)

   Wave gauges owned by the U.S. Geological Survey (Richard Branker Research Model Solo D.Wave) were shipped to colleagues at the Secretariat for the Pacific Community (SPC) in Fiji, to be deployed on reefs through the Tuvalu Island Chain by SPC personnel. Over the course of several weeks the instruments were placed in transects on the fore-reef and reef-flat of 6 island atolls in Tuvalu, and left to record data on waves and water levels for a period of 87 days.

   Date: 26-Aug-2020 (process 2 of 4)

   Raw data from each instrument were exported to ASCII text files using the manufacturers software, RBR Ruskin v2.8.0, on an Apple Macintosh Personal Computer running OS10.11.6. Exported data were QA/QC’d and exported to netCDF in Matlab R2017a. During post-processing, data collected when instruments were out of the water, and data degraded by biological fouling, were removed from the time series. Bad data points were identified by 1) the deployment and recovery times, and 2) pressure readings equal to or less than 3 cm of water. The raw pressure readings include the pressure from both the overlying water and the atmosphere, and therefore have to be corrected to remove the atmospheric pressure. Data on atmospheric pressure were downloaded from a local weather station at the Funafuti Airport on the island of Tuvalu. The data on barometric pressure were interpolated to the burst interval of the pressure measurements, and a single value was removed from each burst.

   Date: 26-Aug-2020 (process 3 of 4)

   Files are named with a convention that uses a 13-digit alpha-numeric code. The first three characters for this dataset are all 'TVL' for the experiment name; the fourth and fifth positions represent the calendar year in which the first data point in the file was taken (19, 2019); the sixth, seventh and eighth characters are an alphanumeric code for the site name (NL1, NG1 etc.); the ninth and tenth characters represent the instrument position on the platform, where 01 is the top-most. Next is a two or three-character code for data type (rbr, RBR Wave). The suffix of ‘-b’ indicates that these are the raw burst data. Person who carried out this activity:
   

   Kurt Rosenberger

   U.S. Geological Survey

   Oceanographer

   2885 Mission Street

   Santa Cruz, CA
   

   831-460-7560 (voice)

   krosenberger@usgs.gov

   Date: 13-Oct-2021 (process 4 of 4)

   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

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?
   A formal accuracy assessment of the horizontal positional information in the data set was not conducted
3. How accurate are the heights or depths?
   No formal assessment of vertical accuracy was performed. The stated accuracy of the pressure sensor on the wave gauge is +/- 0.01 decibars, which is approximately equivalent to 0.01 meters.
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 metadata for each part of this data release carefully for additional details.
5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?
   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
   

   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 binary netCDF format contained in a zip file.
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:	Zip file contains the time-series data of waves and water level in NetCDF format from the islands of Nanumanga, Nikulaelae and Niulakita. in format netCDF Size: 443.2
     Network links:	https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/file/get/5f5a913882cefd9f208689d6?name=TVL19_WaveData1.zip https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/item/5f5a913882cefd9f208689d6 https://doi.org/10.5066/P9RYN5NH

   • Cost to order the data: None.

   • Availability in digital form:

     Data format:	Zip file contains the time-series data of waves and water level in NetCDF format from the islands of Nanumea and Nui. in format netCDF Size: 475
     Network links:	https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/file/get/5f5a913882cefd9f208689d6?name=TVL19_WaveData2.zip https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/item/5f5a913882cefd9f208689d6 https://doi.org/10.5066/P9RYN5NH

   • 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 the NOAA netCDF file viewer, ncBrowse, which can be downloaded from the internet at https://www.pmel.noaa.gov/epic/java/ncBrowse.

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:

Last modified: 13-Oct-2021

Metadata author:

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

Attn: PCMSC Science Data Coordinator

2885 Mission Street

Santa Cruz, CA

831-460-4747 (voice)

pcmsc_data@usgs.gov

Metadata standard:

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