Water quality data from a multiparameter sonde from Thompsons Beach and Stone Harbor, New Jersey, collected between September 2018 and December 2022

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?
   De, Olivia A. Meo, Bales, Robert D., Suttles, Steven E., Ganju, Neil K., and Marsjanik, Eric D., 20240116, Water quality data from a multiparameter sonde from Thompsons Beach and Stone Harbor, New Jersey, collected between September 2018 and December 2022: data release DOI:10.5066/P9CS5U6N, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

   Online Links:

   • https://doi.org/10.5066/P9CS5U6N
   • https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/item/64920d4ad34ef77fcb004e31

   This is part of the following larger work.
   De, Olivia A. Meo, Bales, Robert D., Suttles, Steve E., Marsjanik, Eric D., and Ganju, Neil K., 2024, Supplementary data in support of oceanographic and water quality times-series measurements made at Thompsons Beach and Stone Harbor, NJ from September 2018 to February 2023: data release DOI:10.5066/P9CS5U6N, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

   Online Links:

   • https://doi.org/10.5066/P9CS5U6N
   • https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/item/648cc60fd34ef77fcaff4462

   Other_Citation_Details:

   Suggested citation: De Meo, O.A., Bales, R.D., Suttles, S.E., Marsjanik, E.D., and Ganju, N.K., 2024, Supplementary data in support of oceanographic and water quality times-series measurements made at Thompsons Beach and Stone Harbor, NJ from September 2018 to February 2023: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9CS5U6N.

2. What geographic area does the data set cover?

   West_Bounding_Coordinate: -74.98410
   East_Bounding_Coordinate: -74.78240
   North_Bounding_Coordinate: 39.19570
   South_Bounding_Coordinate: 39.03161
   

3. What does it look like?

   https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/file/get/64920d4ad34ef77fcb004e31?name=ysi_exo.jpg (JPEG)

   Picture of the YSI EXO2.

4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?

   Beginning_Date: 18-Sep-2018

   Ending_Date: 22-Dec-2022

   Currentness_Reference:

   Ground condition at the time data were collected.

5. What is the general form of this data set?

   Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: tabular digital data
   

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 (1180)
   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 North American Datum of 1983 (National Spatial Reference System 2011).
      The ellipsoid used is GRS_1980.
      The semi-major axis of the ellipsoid used is 6378137.000000.
      The flattening of the ellipsoid used is 1/298.257222.
      

      Vertical_Coordinate_System_Definition:

      Depth_System_Definition:

      Depth_Datum_Name: Local surface
      Depth_Resolution: 0.01
      Depth_Distance_Units: meters
      Depth_Encoding_Method: Explicit depth coordinate included with horizontal coordinates
      

7. How does the data set describe geographic features?

   NFWF_EXOHH.csv

   Water quality measurements from a handheld multiparameter sonde. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey)

   Date

   Date and time the sample was collected in mm/dd/yyyy hh:mm:ss format. Time is reported in UTC. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey) Character string.

   Site ID

   Sampling site identifier. TB indicates Thompsons Beach, NJ. SH indicates Stone Harbor, NJ. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey) Character string.

   Sample ID

   Unique identifier to match the sensor readings to the concurrent water sample. TB indicates Thompsons Beach, NJ. SH indicates Stone Harbor, NJ. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey) Character string.

   CHLrfu

   Chlorophyll A in relative fluorescence units (Source: U.S. Geological Survey)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	0.09
   Maximum:	13.09
   Units:	percent
   Resolution:	0.01

   Fch_906

   Mass concentration of chlorophyll in sea water from calibration of sensor with rhodamine W/T in lab (Source: Climate and Forecast (CF) Metadata Conventions)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	0.32
   Maximum:	52.38
   Units:	micrograms per liter
   Resolution:	0.01

   C_51

   Seawater electrical conductivity (Source: Climate and Forecast (CF) Metadata Conventions)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	1.30694
   Maximum:	5.69340
   Units:	Siemens per meter
   Resolution:	0.00001

   fDOMQSU

   Fluorescent dissolved organic matter in quinine sulfate units (Source: U.S. Geological Survey)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	0.00
   Maximum:	73.92
   Units:	quinine sulfate units
   Resolution:	0.01

   fDOMRFU

   Fluorescent dissolved organic matter in relative fluorescence units (Source: U.S. Geological Survey)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	0.00
   Maximum:	24.77
   Units:	percent
   Resolution:	0.01

   OST_62

   Fractional saturation of oxygen in sea water (Source: Climate and Forecast (CF) Metadata Conventions)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	27.0
   Maximum:	155.2
   Units:	percent
   Resolution:	0.1

   DO

   Mass concentration of oxygen in sea water (Source: Climate and Forecast (CF) Metadata Conventions)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	1.89
   Maximum:	10.82
   Units:	milligrams per liter
   Resolution:	0.01

   P_1ac

   Sea water pressure due to seawater (Source: Climate and Forecast (CF) Metadata Conventions)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	0.059
   Maximum:	3.888
   Units:	decibars
   Resolution:	0.001

   S_41

   Sea water practical salinity (Source: Climate and Forecast (CF) Metadata Conventions)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	10.72
   Maximum:	32.90
   Units:	practical salinity units
   Resolution:	0.01

   SpC_48

   Specific conductivity (Source: U.S. Geological Survey)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	0.13069
   Maximum:	0.56934
   Units:	Siemens per meter
   Resolution:	0.00001

   TALPErfu

   Blue-green algae phycoerythrin in relative fluorescence units (Source: U.S. Geological Survey)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	0.00
   Maximum:	57.76
   Units:	percent
   Resolution:	0.01

   TALPE

   Blue-green algae phycoerythrin (Source: U.S. Geological Survey)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	0.00
   Maximum:	166.07
   Units:	micrograms per liter
   Resolution:	0.01

   Turb

   Sea water turbidity (Source: Climate and Forecast (CF) Metadata Conventions)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	0.29
   Maximum:	154.14
   Units:	nephelometric turbidity units
   Resolution:	0.01

   pH_159

   Sea water pH reported on the total scale (Source: Climate and Forecast (CF) Metadata Conventions)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	7.09
   Maximum:	8.68
   Units:	pH units
   Resolution:	0.01

   T_28

   Sea water temperature (Source: Climate and Forecast (CF) Metadata Conventions)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	5.262
   Maximum:	32.515
   Units:	Celsius
   Resolution:	0.001

   Depth

   Depth below the water surface (Source: U.S. Geological Survey)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	0.084
   Maximum:	3.915
   Units:	meters
   Resolution:	0.001

   Latitude

   Latitude coordinate of sample location. South latitude is recorded as negative values. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	39.02573
   Maximum:	39.22254
   Units:	decimal degrees
   Resolution:	0.00001

   Longitude

   Longitude coordinate of sample location. West longitude is recorded as negative values. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	-75.02975
   Maximum:	-74.78258
   Units:	decimal degrees
   Resolution:	0.00001

   BP_915

   Barometric pressure (Source: U.S. Geological Survey)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	1006.5
   Maximum:	1025.7
   Units:	millibars
   Resolution:	0.1

   Entity_and_Attribute_Overview:

   These data are available in a .csv format. The first line of the .csv file is a header line and those labels are defined in the attribute section.

   Entity_and_Attribute_Detail_Citation:

   USGS Field Activities 2018-048-FA, 2018-056-FA, 2018-059-FA, 2019-006-FA, 2019-016-FA, 2019-023-FA, 2019-028-FA, 2019-036-FA, 2022-013-FA, 2023-015-FA, and 2023-016-FA.

Who produced the data set?

1. Who are the originators of the data set? (may include formal authors, digital compilers, and editors)
   • Olivia A. De Meo
   • Robert D. Bales
   • Steven E. Suttles
   • Neil K. Ganju
   • Eric D. Marsjanik
2. Who also contributed to the data set?
3. To whom should users address questions about the data?
   Olivia A. De Meo

   U.S. Geological Survey

   Technical Information Specialist

   384 Woods Hole Road

   Woods Hole, MA
   

   US

   508-548-8700 x2356 (voice)

   508-457-2310 (FAX)

   odemeo@usgs.gov

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?

   Date: Dec-2022 (process 1 of 3)

   The deployment sites were accessed by boat and a YSI EXO2 Multiparameter Sonde was lowered overboard. A burst of readings was taken concurrently while a water sample was collected with a Van Dorn water sampler. Measurements and water samples were taken at Thompsons Beach on September 19, 2018; October 9-10, 2018; December 5, 2018; February 26, 2019; April 24, 2019; March 22, 2022; June 6, 2022; August 11-13, 2022; September 26-27, 2022; and December 8, 2022. Measurements and water samples were collected at Stone Harbor on December 4, 2018; December 27, 2019; April 25, 2019; July 16, 2019; March 22-23, 2022; June 8, 2022; August 12, 2022; September 28, 2022; and December 6, 2022. Person who carried out this activity:
   

   Steve Suttles

   U.S. Geological Survey

   Mechanical Engineer

   384 Woods Hole Road

   Woods Hole, MA
   

   (508) 548-8700 x2228 (voice)

   ssuttles@usgs.gov

   Date: Apr-2023 (process 2 of 3)

   Upon returning to the lab, the turbidity readings were downloaded from the YSI EXO2 into a binary file and exported to a .csv file using YSI KorEXO v2.3.10.0 software. Person who carried out this activity:
   

   Robert Bales

   U.S. Geological Survey

   Oceanographer

   384 Woods Hole Road

   Woods Hole, MA
   

   (508) 548-8700 x2326 (voice)

   rbales@usgs.gov

   Date: Apr-2023 (process 3 of 3)

   Matlab was used to compile data and site information (latitude/longitude) from all of the .csv files. Depth was calculated from pressure where there were missing depth values as depth = p/(rho * g) where p = pressure (Pascals), rho = water density (kg/m^3), and g = acceleration due to gravity (m/s^2). Rho was calculated using the function 'gsw_rho' from the Gibbs SeaWater Oceanographic Toolbox v3.06 (https://www.teos-10.org/software.htm#1). Depth and pressure readings were corrected using barometric pressure when the sensor was not zeroed to atmospheric pressure. Measurements taken when the sensor was out of the water were removed. Bursts were found by taking values within +/- 5 seconds of the time a water sample was collected. Readings where turbidity differed by more than 100% of the median turbidity value were filled with NaN. The burst was not used if there were less than 5 readings left. Bursts were also excluded where the turbidity standard deviation divided by the turbidity mean was greater than 0.5. Negative readings beyond the range of sensor were rounded to zero for CHLrfu, Fch_906, fDOMQSU, fDOMRFU, BGAPErfu, and BGAPE (see attributes section for definitions of these variables). All columns were rounded to the correct significant figures. Dates/times were converted to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), a clock offset of +9 seconds was added to March 2022 data, and a clock offset of +62 seconds was added to August 2022 data. The final compiled data was exported to a .csv file. Only the bursts that have passed quality-control and match the date and time of a water sample are included in the .csv file. Person who carried out this activity:
   

   Olivia A. De Meo

   U.S. Geological Survey

   Technical Information Specialist

   384 Woods Hole Road

   Woods Hole, MA
   

   US

   508-548-8700 x2356 (voice)

   508-457-2310 (FAX)

   odemeo@usgs.gov

3. What similar or related data should the user be aware of?
   Bales, Robert D., Suttles, Steven E., De, Olivia A. Meo, Ganju, Neil K., and Marsjanik, Eric D., 2024, Time-series measurements of oceanographic and water quality data collected at Thompsons Beach and Stone Harbor, New Jersey, USA, September 2018 to September 2019 and March 2022 to May 2023: data release DOI:10.5066/P9Z0Z8DM, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

   Online Links:

   • https://doi.org/10.5066/P9Z0Z8DM

How reliable are the data; what problems remain in the data set?

1. How well have the observations been checked?
   The YSI EXO2 multiparameter sonde has the following accuracies: temperature = ±0.01 degrees C from -5 to 35 degrees C and ±0.05 degrees C between 35-50 degrees C, conductivity = greater of ±1% of reading or 0.002 mS/cm, barometric pressure = ±1.5 mmHg from 0-50 degrees C, depth = ±0.004 m from 0-10 m and ±0.04 m from 0-100 m, salinity = ±1.0% of reading, turbidity = ±2% of reading from 0-999 FNU and ±5% of reading from 1000-4000 FNU, pH = ±0.2 pH units for entire temperature range, fDOM = r-squared > 0.999 for serial dilution of 300 ppb quinine sulfate solution, dissolved oxygen % air saturation = ±1% of reading from 0-200% and ±5% of reading from 200-500%, dissolved oxygen in mg/L = ±0.1 mg/L from 0-20 mg/L and ±5% of reading from 20-50 mg/L, chlorophyll = r-squared > 0.999 for serial dilution of Rhodamine WT solution from 0-400 ug/L Chl a equivalents, and blue-green algae phycoerythrin (BGA-PE) = r-squared > 0.999 for serial dilution of Rhodamine WT solution from 0-280 ug/mL BGA-PE equivalents.
2. How accurate are the geographic locations?
   Horizontal position was determined using a Garmin GPSMAP 78sc handheld GPS. The expected absolute, horizontal accuracy is stated to be 3 to 5 m at the 95% confidence level using the WAAS setting. Additional sources of error in the position for the sample locations are caused by the offset from the GPS and the exact location of the EXO2 sonde at the time the reading was taken, which could be as large as 2 m. Therefore, overall expected accuracy of the reported horizontal position for these sample locations is on the order of 7 m or better. The Garmin GPS collects data in the WGS84 datum; however it is reported in the NAD83 datum as the difference in the values of the latitude and longitude is within the error of the sensor.
3. How accurate are the heights or depths?
   Depth was measured by the EXO2 sonde. Depth measurements were taken from the water surface at time of sample and were not referenced to a fixed datum. Expected accuracy of depth measurements is 0.001 m.
4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?
   Readings where the sensor was out of the water were removed. If turbidity readings differed by more than 100% of the median turbidity value, they were filled with NaN. Bursts were excluded when the turbidity standard deviation divided by the turbidity mean was greater than 0.5. Only the bursts that passed quality-control and were taken concurrently with a water sample are included in the .csv file.
5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?
   Depth was calculated from pressure where there were missing depth values. When the sensor was not zeroed to atmospheric pressure prior to deployment, the depth and pressure readings were corrected using barometric pressure.

How can someone get a copy of the data set?

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
   

   United States

   1-888-275-8747 (voice)

   sciencebase@usgs.gov
2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set? This dataset contains water quality measurements taken with a handheld multiparameter sonde at Stone Harbor and Thompsons Beach, NJ from 2018-2022 (NFWF_EXOHH.csv).
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:	Comma-separated values (.csv) file saved from Microsoft Excel for Office 365 (64-bit) using UTF-8 encoding. in format CSV Size: 0.17
     Network links:	https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/file/get/64920d4ad34ef77fcb004e31 https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/item/64920d4ad34ef77fcb004e31 https://doi.org/10.5066/P9CS5U6N

   • Cost to order the data: None

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:

Last modified: 16-Jan-2024

Metadata author:

Olivia A. De Meo

U.S. Geological Survey

Technical Information Specialist

384 Woods Hole Road

Woods Hole, MA

US

508-548-8700 x2356 (voice)

508-457-2310 (FAX)

whsc_data_contact@usgs.gov

Contact_Instructions:

The metadata contact email address is a generic address in the event the person is no longer with the USGS.

Metadata standard:

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