Summary of Oceanographic and Water-Quality Measurements near the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, 2011

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Frequently anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?

Title:
Summary of Oceanographic and Water-Quality Measurements near the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, 2011
Abstract:
Suspended-sediment transport is a critical element governing the geomorphology of tidal marshes. Marshes rely both on organic material and inorganic sediment deposition to maintain their elevation relative to sea-level. In wetlands near the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, MD, portions of the salt marsh have been subsiding relative to sea level since the early 20th century. Other portions of the marsh have been successful at maintaining elevation. The USGS undertook measurements of suspended-sediment concentration in the tidal channels in order to understand the magnitude of suspended-sediment concentrations, the sediment-transport mechanisms, and relative differences between the two areas of the marsh. We deployed optical turbidity sensors and acoustic velocity meters at multiple sites over two periods in 2011. The time-series of oceanographic data collected during those field studies, including velocity, depth, turbidity, salinity, water temperature, and pH are presented here. For more information on the field operations associated with data collection: https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2011-017-FA; https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2011-029-FA; https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2011-044-FA; https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2011-050-FA;
  1. How might this data set be cited?
    Ganju, Neil K, Dickhudt, Patrick J., Montgomery, Ellyn T., Brennand, Patrick, Derby, R. Kyle, Brooks, Thomas W., Martini, Marinna A., Borden, Jonathan, and Baldwin, Sandy, 2012, Summary of Oceanographic and Water-Quality Measurements near the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, 2011: U.S. Geological Survey, Coastal and Marine Geology Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, Woods Hole, MA.

    Online Links:

  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?
    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -76.1
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -75.95
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: +38.425
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: +38.35
  3. What does it look like?
  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?
    Beginning_Date: Mar-2011
    Ending_Date: Dec-2011
    Currentness_Reference:
    ground condition of data collection; data were not collected during the entire span of dates. See the sampling interval link for specific start and end dates for each instrument.
  5. What is the general form of this data set?
  6. How does the data set represent geographic features?
    1. How are geographic features stored in the data set?
    2. What coordinate system is used to 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? (may include formal authors, digital compilers, and editors)
    • Neil K Ganju
    • Patrick J. Dickhudt
    • Ellyn T. Montgomery
    • Patrick Brennand
    • R. Kyle Derby
    • Thomas W. Brooks
    • Marinna A. Martini
    • Jonathan Borden
    • Sandy Baldwin
  2. Who also contributed to the data set?
    Funding was provided by the U.S. Geological Survey Coastal and Marine Geology Program and Global Climate Change Program.
  3. To whom should users address questions about the data?
    Neil K. Ganju
    U.S. Geological Survey
    384 Woods Hole Road
    Woods Hole, MA
    United States

    (508) 457-8700 x2252 (voice)
    nganju@usgs.gov

Why was the data set created?

This dataset provides measurements from an estuarine field study that occurred in the spring and fall of 2011. The data were collected in support of efforts to model the circulation, nutrient and sediment fluxes in the marsh. The background and experimental setup are described in the open file report "Summary of Oceanographic and Water-Quality Measurements near the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, 2011", https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2012/1099/. The locations, deployment depths, sensor type and parameters measured during the deployment are shown in the table displayed by the Basic Sampling Interval link ( https://stellwagen.er.usgs.gov/bw2011-a.html ). The basic sampling interval data files are provided at the rate at which the sensor made observations- no temporal averaging, filtering or subsampling was done. The data files are accessible by clicking the file name.

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: 2012 (process 1 of 6)
    FIELD PROGRAM: Between March and May 2011, continuous measurements were collected at three sites in the Blackwater complex (moorings 903, 904, 905) and three sites in the Fishing Bay complex (moorings 906, 907, 908). Identical pole-mounted YSI sensors were deployed at all six sites. Parameters measured include water level, salinity, temperature, dissolved Oxygen, pH, and turbidity. Between September and October 2011, continuous measurements were collected at two sites in the Blackwater complex (moorings 916, 917) and two sites in the Fishing Bay complex (moorings 915, 918). A pole-mounted YSI and an upward looking current profiler were deployed at sites 915 and 916, with a pole-mounted turbidity sensor deployed at 917 and 918. Parameters measured include water level, water velocity, salinity, temperature, dissolved Oxygen, and turbidity.
    Date: 2012 (process 2 of 6)
    DATA PROCESSING Data processing was conducted using the proprietary software for each instrument, and (or) specialized software developed by the USGS. The proprietary software was often used to download data from the instruments and export the data to ASCII-files. Post-processing of the raw binary or ASCII files was accomplished using USGS software developed in the MATLAB (http://www.mathworks.com/) programming language. As part of the processing, instrument-specific formats were converted to the EPIC-standard NetCDF format (http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/epic/) and scientific units. Data were carefully checked for inconsistencies, time drift, and other problems and then edited if needed. The beginning and end of each data series were truncated to remove data collected out of water. After final editing, the best basic version of the data file that includes all variables recorded at the basic sampling interval (the fastest rate at which the sensor sampled) is published. Person who carried out this activity:
    Ellyn Montgomery
    U.S. Geological Survey
    384 Woods Hole Road
    Woods Hole, MA
    United States

    508-457-8700 x2356 (voice)
    emontgomery@usgs.gov
    Date: 12-Jul-2016 (process 3 of 6)
    Edits to the metadata were made to fix any errors that MP v 2.9.32 flagged. This is necessary to enable the metadata to be successfully harvested for various data catalogs. In some cases, this meant adding text "Information unavailable" or "Information unavailable from original metadata" for those required fields that were left blank. Other minor edits were probably performed (title, publisher, publication place, etc.). Added online link to experiment page. Fixed online link to cross-reference. The metadata date (but not the metadata creator) was edited to reflect the date of these changes. The metadata available from a harvester may supersede metadata bundled within a download file. Compare the metadata dates to determine which metadata file is most recent. Person who carried out this activity:
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Attn: VeeAnn A. Cross
    Marine Geologist
    384 Woods Hole Rd.
    Woods Hole, MA

    508-548-8700 x2251 (voice)
    508-457-2310 (FAX)
    vatnipp@usgs.gov
    Date: 20-Jul-2018 (process 4 of 6)
    USGS Thesaurus keywords added to the keyword section. 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: 31-Jan-2019 (process 5 of 6)
    Fixed broken links. 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: 08-Sep-2020 (process 6 of 6)
    Added keywords section with USGS persistent identifier as theme keyword. 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
  3. What similar or related data should the user be aware of?
    Montgomery, E.T., Martini, M.A., Lightsom, F.L., and Butman, Bradford, 2008, Documentation of the U.S. Geological Survey Oceanographic Time Series Measurement Database: Open-File Report 2007-1194, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

    Online Links:

    Ganju, N.K., Dickhudt, P.J., Montgomery, E.T., Brennand, P., Derby, R.K., Brooks, T.W., Martini, M.A., Borden, J., and Baldwin, S., 2011, Summary of Oceanographic and Water-Quality Measurements near the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, 2011: Open-File Report 2012-1099, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

    Online Links:

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?
    The deployment locations were measured by a hand-held GPS (Garmin GPS C76).
  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?
    The sensors were mounted on poles or the channel bottom in less than 5 meters of water. The tidal range here is ~0.5 meters so as the tide changes, so will the relative depth. Height above the bottom will not change and be accurate to within 5cm, while depth may change significantly.
  4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?
    The data have been edited to remove outlying points and data recorded when the instruments were out of the water (before and after deployment or at low tide).
  5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?
    Data are logically consistent

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 Data presented are in the public domain. Please acknowledge the U.S. Geological Survey, Coastal Marine Geology Program as the source of these data.
  1. Who distributes the data set? (Distributor 1 of 1)
    Neil K. Ganju
    U.S. Geological Survey
    384 Woods Hole Road
    Woods Hole, MA
    USA

    (508) 457-8700 x2252 (voice)
    nganju@usgs.gov
  2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set? Downloadable Data available from https://stellwagen.er.usgs.gov/bw2011.html.
  3. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?
    Neither the U.S. Government, the Department of the Interior, nor the USGS, nor any of their employees, contractors, or subcontractors, make any warranty, express or implied, nor assume any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, nor represent that its use would not infringe on privately owned rights. The act of distribution shall not constitute any such warranty, and no responsibility is assumed by the USGS in the use of these data or related materials. Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.
  4. How can I download or order the data?
  5. What hardware or software do I need in order to use the data set?
    The user's computer must have software to read netCDF files or import OPeNDAP.

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:
Last modified: 07-Jul-2022
Metadata author:
Ellyn T. Montgomery
U.S. Geological Survey
384 Woods Hole Road
Woods Hole, MA
United States

(508) 457-8700 x2356 (voice)
whsc_data_contact@usgs.gov
Contact_Instructions:
The metadata contact email address is a generic address in the event the metadata contact is no longer with the USGS or the email is otherwise invalid.
Metadata standard:
FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata (FGDC-STD-001-1998)
This page is <https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/catalog/whcmsc/stellwagen/BW_meta_final.faq.html>
Generated by mp version 2.9.51 on Thu Jul 14 11:37:40 2022