Continuous Water Level, Salinity, and Temperature Data from Monitoring Wells in Wetlands on the South Shore of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 2020

Well sensors were bench tested for accuracy in the laboratory at the beginning and end of the field season as described below.
Data from temperature sensors logging in air were compared to a National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Traceable Digital Thermometer (Fisher brand) co-deployed on the bench. Logged temperature readings that were within manufacturer's accuracy specification of temperature measured by the NIST Traceable Thermometer were deemed acceptable.
Salinity sensors were checked with a purchased calibration standard (Ricca 50.000 millisiemens per centimeter, catalog number 2248-1) and re-calibrated as needed. Salinity sensors were also field checked periodically and re-calibrated as needed; field service dates are listed in the process steps.
Water level sensors were tested in the laboratory for accuracy by comparing logged pressure readings in air to the barometers used for barometric compensation; logged pressure readings that were within manufacturer's accuracy specification of the barometer's logged pressure in air were deemed acceptable. The make and model of the water level logger and barometer used for each water level measurement are included as attributes in the file SLP_WellSensorDeploymentHeights_2020.csv;the manufacturer's accuracy and resolution specifications for each continuous monitoring sensor are stated in the process steps regarding well logger deployment and atmospheric corrections or in the attribute definitions. Note that prior to 7/15/20 a logged data file from a barometer deployed at complimentary site in Wellfleet, MA was used for atmospheric corrections until a barometer was installed at the Sage Lot Pond site.
Data were exported as logged by each sensor. Calculated attributes of water level ("dbs" and "WL_NAVD88) from all sensor types are reported to a resolution of 0.001 meters to allow for relative point-to-point comparisons. However, accuracy of these calculated parameters is dependent upon sensor accuracy, manual measurements of deployment depths, and RTK GPS elevation measurements. For example, the unconsolidated nature of the sediment surface at many sites (thick thatch, water above the land surface resulting in wet, fluid, dynamic sediment surface). Overall, the approximate accuracy of this measurement technique is 1-5 centimeters.