Kathryn E.L. Smith
James G. Flocks
Gregory D. Steyer
Sarai C. Piazza
20140929
Wetland Paleoecological Study of Coastal Louisiana: Sediment Cores and Diatom Samples Dataset
tabular digital data
https://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/0877
Wetland sediment data was collected from coastal Louisiana as part of a pilot study to develop a diatom-based proxy for past wetland water chemistry and the identification of sediment deposits for tropical storms. The complete dataset includes forty-six surface sediment samples and nine sediment cores. The surface sediment samples were collected in fresh to brackish marsh throughout the southwest Louisiana Chenier Plain and are located coincident with Coastwide Reference Monitoring System (CRMS). Sediment cores were collected at Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge. The data described here include sedimentary properties, radioisotopes, x-radiographs, and diatom species counts for depth-interval samples of sediment cores.
To investigate the use of diatoms as a proxy for past water chemistry and identification of historic storms.
This metadata describes data on field sites and sediment core collection (sediment_core_sites.txt), laboratory analyses of sediment sampled from cores at 2-cm depth intervals (sediment_core_properties.txt) and diatom species counts from sediment sampled at select 2-cm depth intervals (sediment_core_diatom.txt). For diatom species counts, attributes are assigned a species code that is defined by the taxa's genus and species name. A description of the code set is found in the included taxa_list.txt file.
20090429
20090430
field collection date
As needed
-92.615035
-92.578566
29.636539
29.588228
USGS Metadata Identifier
USGS:5903856a-ac6b-4a55-bd27-2b916f86e06d
ISO 19115 Topic Category
biota
environment
geoscientificInformation
USGS Thesaurus
geology
ecology
wetland ecosystems
diatoms
unconsolidated deposits
None
samples
sediment
cores
paleoecology
paleoecological indicator
wetlands
None
Louisiana
Chenier Plain
Gulf of Mexico
Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge
None
Subsurface
Sediment
Benthic
None
Prior to use of these records in any analysis or report, the USGS must be notified and if used the provenance of the original data must be acknowledged. Acknowledge the use of specific records from contributing USGS databases and recognize the limitations of data.
U.S. Geological Survey
Kathryn Smith
Ecologist
physical and mailing
600 4th Street South
St. Petersburg
Florida
33701
USA
727-502-8000
pages/figures/Fig1_map.jpg
Map of the location of sample sites in the Chenier Plain of southwest Louisiana (inset A). Surface sediment sample stations (circles) were collected throughout the Chenier Plain at monitoring stations. Sediment cores (stars) were collected at Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge (inset B).
JPG
Data are provided by the USGS St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center (SPCMSC) through funding from the Coastal and Marine Geology Program. The USGS National Wetlands Research Center (NWRC) and Louisiana Department of Natural Resources are recognized as essential collaborators in sample collection.
Microsoft Windows 7; Microsoft Excel Version 14.0; ESRI ArcGIS 10.1
Kathryn E.L. Smith
2012
Paleoecological Study of Coastal Marsh in the Chenier Plain, Louisiana: Investigating the Diatom Composition of Hurricane-Deposited Sediments and a Diatom-Based Quantitative Reconstruction of Sea-Level Characteristics
Gainesville, FL
University of Florida Thesis (Ph.D.)
The validity or accuracy of information is dependent on sample collection, preparation, and analyses. When replicate samples were collected, the standard deviation is provided. Several replicate diatom species counts were conducted to determine consistency and were found to be similar suggesting procedures had a high-degree of accuracy; however, no statistical procedures detailing accuracy were conducted. Species identities are dependent on available flora and uncertainty in species identifications are noted via "cf." in the species name.
No tests for fidelity were performed.
Data are complete.
Horizontal positions were determined with a handheld GPS. Expected horizontal accuracy for site surveys is 0.005 to 0.020 meters.
Cores were collected at Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge (RWR) aboard an airboat. RWR is state-owned refuge that is managed primarily for waterfowl and fishery habitat with a primary mission of promoting scientific research. Five core sites were located along a transect perpendicular to the Gulf of Mexico coastline, ranging from 0.5 to 5.75 km distant from the shoreline. To examine small-scale variation, two additional sites were located 100 meters to the east and west of site 09WCC01_04 and parallel to the shore. Two additional sites were located to the west and east of the transect.
Sediment was extracted by pushing a clear acrylic tube, 10-cm in diameter into the marsh. The barrel edge was sharpened and vegetation around the extraction point's perimeter was sliced to reduce compaction during tube insertion. Compaction was estimated by measuring the difference in the marsh elevation between the inside and outside of the barrel top prior to extraction. The tube was capped and extracted from the sediment with a handle constructed of PVC. Geographic position, time of day, water depth, and surface water salinity were measured at each site. Porewater salinity was measured by driving a narrow plastic tube to a depth of 10 cm and using suction supplied by an attached syringe, to withdraw a water sample. The water sample was placed in a cup and salinity was measured with a handheld YSI conductivity probe.
The cores were sealed and transported to the lab. The cores remained cold and vertical during transport in an insulated and lined 50-gallon barrel containing ice. Upon arrival at the lab, the cores were x-radiographed (58-64 kV, 2.0 mAs) with a Torrex 120 portable X-ray unit and a ScanX CR2500 imaging system (exposure setting 58/2.0), producing bitmap files at 4457 x 5500-6000 pixels, 8-bit depth and approximate 23-25MB each. After imaging, cores were extruded and sliced at 2-cm intervals. Compaction from core transport and sampling (extrusion) were estimated by the difference between the measured lengths of the core before and after each procedure. Sedimentary characteristics; sediment texture, physical characteristics, presence of roots/shells/burrow, and stratification type; were described in detail during the sampling process.
Field data was hand-entered into Microsoft Excel 2010, double-checked for accuracy, and exported into a comma-delimited text file.
200904
sediment core samples
x-radiographs
09WCC01_core_descriptions.pdf
sediment_core_sites.txt
U.S. Geological Survey
Kathryn Smith
Ecologist
physical and mailing
600 4th Street South
St. Petersburg
Florida
33701
USA
727-502-8000
Laboratory procedure: All sediment core samples were analyzed for bulk density, organic carbon, and lead-dating. A 30-mL sediment sample was weighed wet, dried in an oven at 60 °C, and weighed again to calculate bulk density (dry mass divided by volume). Loss-on-ignition (LOI) was determined by grinding the dried sample into a fine powder and combusting a subsample at 650 °C for four hours. Lead-210 was determined by measuring the activity of Po-210 using alpha-spectrometry. Polonium-210 is assumed to be in secular equilibrium with its parent Pb-210. The fired sample from LOI analysis was transferred to a glass beaker and Po-210 was acid leached from the sediment. A known quantity of the tracer Po-209 was added to the solution prior to auto-plating and counted on low-level alpha spectrometer coupled to a pulse-height analyzer. Reported errors are the statistical counting errors at the 95 percent confidence interval. At least five samples per core were processed in duplicate in order to calculate relative standard deviation for an estimate of between sample errors. Select core samples were identified for gamma-ray spectrometry (Cs-137) by examining Pb-210 profile data, isolating the depth where the detectable limit where excess Pb-210 reaches zero (provides a rough estimate 100 years before present), and estimating where Cs-137 activity would likely be detected (1950 to 1984). Approximately 15 g of dried, ground sample was sealed in a plastic jar and stored for at least 3 weeks to allow activity to reach equilibrium. Samples were counted using a germanium detector for low-energy gamma rays and a multi-channel analyzer was used for data collection. Samples were counted for at least 24 hours or until counting errors were less than 5 percent. In addition, select core samples were processed for grain size by examining x-ray images and bulk density data to identify possible changes in sedimentary layers. Data was hand entered into Microsoft Excel, double-checked for accuracy, and exported into a comma-delimited text file.
sediment core samples
x-radiographs
09WCC01_core_descriptions.pdf
2011
sediment_core_properties.txt
U.S. Geological Survey
Kathryn Smith
Ecologist
physical and mailing
600 4th Street South
St. Petersburg
Florida
33701
USA
727-502-8000
Microfossil analyses: Approximately 0.5 mL of sediment was digested in a 100-mL beaker using hydrogen peroxide and potassium dichromate. Samples were rinsed twice with deionized (DI) water (the beaker was filled with DI water; sample was allowed to settle overnight, decanted to 500-mL mark, and refilled, etc.). Since samples contained a significant fraction of fine-grained sediment (silt and clay), a 7 percent sodium hexametaphosphate solution was added to deflocculate fine-grained sediments. Each sample was continually rinsed until decant was clear. A known volume (5 or 10 mL depending on the density of diatoms and sand grains) of diatom solution was added to settling trays containing four cover slips and allowed to dry (Battarbee, 1973). Cover slips were sealed to microscope slides using Zrax diatom mountant (refractive index ~ 1.7+). A minimum of 300 diatoms were identified to species and counted using a Nikon Optiphot light microscope at 1000x magnification (Plan 100x / 1.25 oil DIC objective). The identification of species and autecology, including general salinity preferences, was determined from taxonomic literature. Each species identified was given a code, composed of the genus and species name, and checked with surface sediment samples of the same area for differences. Any species missing from the regional assessment were added. Data was hand-entered into Excel, double-checked for accuracy, and exported as a comma-delimited text file.
physical sediment samples
2012
sediment_core_diatoms.txt
taxa_list.txt
U.S. Geological Survey
Kathryn Smith
Ecologist
physical and mailing
600 4th Street South
St. Petersburg
Florida
33701
USA
727-502-8000
Keywords section of metadata optimized by correcting variations of theme keyword thesauri and updating/adding keywords.
20180328
U.S. Geological Survey
Arnell S. Forde
Geologist
mailing and physical address
600 4th Street South
St. Petersburg
FL
33701
727-502-8000
aforde@usgs.gov
Added keywords section with USGS persistent identifier as theme keyword.
20201013
U.S. Geological Survey
VeeAnn A. Cross
Marine Geologist
Mailing and Physical
384 Woods Hole Road
Woods Hole
MA
02543-1598
508-548-8700 x2251
508-457-2310
vatnipp@usgs.gov
Point
Entity point
46
8.98315284119521e-009
8.98315284119521e-009
Decimal Degrees
D WGS 1984
WGS 1984
6378137.0
298.257223563
sediment_core_sites.txt
Location and environmental data for sediment core sites
USGS
Site
Site identification number
USGS
The site code begins with the Field Activity Number (FAN) 09WCC01. Last two digits are the site identification numbers: 01 through 09.
Latitude
Latitude coordinates in decimal degrees (WGS 1984)
USGS
29.5632
29.9624
decimal degrees
Longitude
Longitude coordinates in decimal degrees (WGS 1984)
USGS
-93.6981
-92.0418
decimal degrees
Date
Date sample was collected
USGS
Date is in MM/DD/YYYY format
Time
The time when sample was collected
USGS
Time is in hh:00 AM/PM format; central daylight savings time (CDT)
SW_depth
Surface water depth (cm)
USGS
2.0
16.0
centimeters
Field_length
Total length of the core measured in the field prior to transport to the lab (cm)
USGS
50
62
centimeters
Lab_length
Total length of the core measured in the lab after transport from the field (cm)
USGS
46
60
centimeters
SW_salinity
Surface water salinity (ppt)
USGS
6.0
20.1
parts per thousand
PW10_salinity
Pore water salinity at 10cm depth (ppt)
USGS
10.0
22.3
parts per thousand
PW30_salinity
Pore water salinity at 30cm depth (ppt)
USGS
13.7
22.3
parts per thousand
sediment_core_properties.txt
Sediment properties for sediment core samples
USGS
Sample
Sample identification number
USGS
The sample identification number is a combination of the site ID, such as 09WCC01_SS_DD, where 09WCC01 is the Field Activity Number, SS is the core site (01 through 09), and DD is the mid-depth of the sample interval in 2-cm increments.
BD
Average bulk density (g/mL)
USGS
0.1122
0.6031
grams per milliliter
BD_N
Total number of samples analyzed for bulk density
USGS
1
3
BD_SD
Standard deviation of bulk density (g/mL) when sampled more than once
USGS
0
0.1224
grams per milliliter
LOI
Loss-on-ignition (%)
USGS
8.45
58.32
percent
LOI_N
Total number of samples analyzed for loss-on-ignition
USGS
1
5
LOI_SD
Standard deviation of Loss-on-ignition (%)
USGS
0
5.26
percent
Sand
Grain size: percent sand (%)
USGS
0
100
percent
Sand_SD
Grain size: standard deviation of percent sand
USGS
0
4.30
percent
Mud
Grain size: percent mud (silt + clay sized particles) (%)
USGS
0
100
percent
Mud_SD
Grain size: standard deviation of percent mud (silt + clay sized particles) (%)
USGS
0
4.2
percent
Clay
Grain size: percent clay
USGS
8.76
34.5
percent
SD_Clay
Grain size: standard deviation of percent clay (%)
USGS
0
2.3
percent
Pb210
Total activity of lead radioisotope (Pb-210) in dpm/g
USGS
0
13.1
degradations per minute per gram
Pb_error
Error for total activity of lead radioisotope (Pb-210) in dpm/g
USGS
0
0.3
degradations per minute per gram
Cs137
Total activity of cesium radioisotope (Cs-137) in dpm/g
USGS
0
9
degradations per minute per gram
Cs_error
Total activity of cesium radioisotope (Cs-137) in dpm/g
USGS
0
0.4
degradations per minute per gram
Ra226
Total activity of radium isotope (Ca-226) in dpm/g
USGS
0
1.7
degradations per minute per gram
Ra_error
Error of total activity of radium isotope (Ra-226) in dpm/g
USGS
0
0.2
degradations per minute per gram
K40
Total activity of potassium radioisotope (K-40) in dpm/g
USGS
0
50.0
degradations per minute per gram
K_error
Error of total activity of potassium radioisotope (K-40) in dpm/g
USGS
0
4.0
degradations per minute per gram
sediment_core_diatoms.txt
Diatom counts for sediment core samples
USGS
Sample
Sample identification number
USGS
The sample identification number is a combination of the site ID, such as 09WCC01_SS_DD, where 09WCC01 is the Field Activity Number, SS is the core site (01 through 09), and DD is the mid-depth of the sample interval in 2-cm increments.
Gen_spec
Percent of total diatoms counted that were identified by species. The attribute label is coded by species name. Please see the Entity and Attribute Overview for additional information.
USGS
0
100
percent
taxa_list.txt
Diatom species codes and species definitions, with authority, references, and count information.
USGS
Code
Species code
USGS
The species code is typically in the form Gen_spec where Gen is a three letter code for the Genus and spec is the four letter code for the species. The inclusion of cf suggests the species appears similar to the reference identification, but may be slightly different in some of the descriptive characteristics. The code spp suggests a species complex, where specimens were identified only to the genus level. The code spp1 indicates a species not identified in available flora, but consistent specimens were grouped accordingly.
Taxon
Full species name
USGS
Full species name with both Genus and species. The most recent nomenclature was used whenever possible. The inclusion of cf suggests the species appears similar to the reference identification, but may be slightly different in some of the descriptive characteristics. The code spp suggests a species complex, where specimens were identified only to the genus level. The code spp1 indicates a species not identified in available flora, but consistent specimens were grouped accordingly.
Authority
Species Authority
USGS
The full authority for the binomial name is given as described in the Catalogue of Diatom Names (http://researcharchive.calacademy.org/research/diatoms/names/)
Reference
Reference used to identify the specimen
USGS
Citation (author and year only) used to identify the specimen. Full reference is available within the References Cited section of the data series (https://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/0877)
Total_Surf
Total number of surface sediment sites in which the species was identified (N=46)
USGS
0
46
Total_Core
Total number of core sediment samples in which the species was identified (N=47)
USGS
0
47
For diatom species counts, the attribute labels are defined by a species code set that was created from the scientific species name. Species codes can be found in the Taxa list at https://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/0877 or in the included taxa_list.txt file.
Smith, K.E.L., Flocks, J.G., Steyer, G.D., and Piazza, S.C., 2014, Wetland Paleoecological Study of Coastal Louisiana: Sediment Cores and Diatom Calibration Dataset: U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 877. [Available at https://doi.org/10.3133/ds877]
U.S. Geological Survey
Kathryn Smith
Ecologist
physical and mailing
600 4th Street South
St. Petersburg
Florida
33701
USA
727-502-8000
kelsmith@usgs.gov
This publication was prepared by an agency of the United States Government. Although these data have been processed successfully on a computer system at the U.S. Geological Survey, no warranty expressed or implied is made regarding the display or utility of the data on any other system, nor shall the act of distribution imply any such warranty. The U.S. Geological Survey shall not be held liable for improper or incorrect use of the data described and (or) contained herein. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof.
text file (TXT)
ZIP
https://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/0877
None, if obtained online
20211109
U.S. Geological Survey
Kathryn Smith
Ecologist
mailing and physical
600 4th Street South
St. Petersburg
FL
33701
USA
727-502-8000
kelsmith@usgs.gov
Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata
FGDC-STD-001-1998
local time