Long-Term Oceanographic Monitoring in Massachusetts Bay (1989-2006) for Assessment of the Transport and Fate of Sediments and Associated Contaminants

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?
   Butman, Bradford, Dalyander, P.S., Bothner, M.H., Borden, Jonathan, Casso, M.A., Gutierrez, B.T., Hastings, M.E., Lightsom, F.L., Martini, M.A., Montgomery, E.T., Rendigs, R.R., and Strahle, W.S., 2009, Long-Term Oceanographic Monitoring in Massachusetts Bay (1989-2006) for Assessment of the Transport and Fate of Sediments and Associated Contaminants: U.S. Geological Survey, Coastal and Marine Geology Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, Woods Hole, MA.

   Online Links:

   • http://stellwagen.er.usgs.gov/mbay_lt.html

2. What geographic area does the data set cover?

   West_Bounding_Coordinate: -071.000000
   East_Bounding_Coordinate: -070.500000
   North_Bounding_Coordinate: +42.500000
   South_Bounding_Coordinate: +42.000000
   

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

   Beginning_Date: 1989

   Ending_Date: 2006

   Currentness_Reference:

   Ground condition of data collection; Platforms were deployed with instruments at several depths for 3 to 6 months sequentially over 26 years. The duration of data in individual files is the length of the deployment, but segments can be concatenated to make a nearly continuous time-series of measurements. There may also be periods where data is missing due to sensor sensor failure.

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)
   • Bradford Butman
   • P.S. Dalyander
   • M.H. Bothner
   • Jonathan Borden
   • M.A. Casso
   • B.T. Gutierrez
   • M.E. Hastings
   • F.L. Lightsom
   • M.A. Martini
   • E.T. Montgomery
   • R.R. Rendigs
   • W.S. Strahle
2. Who also contributed to the data set?
   For their outstanding logistical support in collecting the oceanographic data in this report, we thank crews of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutters White Heath and Marcus Hanna and their captains Michael Frias, Buddy Blackburn, Vernon Shay, Peter Boardman, Richard Foy, Thomas Dickey, and Paul Dupuis. The USGS and the USCG safely conducted more than 90 cruises to deploy and recover hundreds of individual instruments on about 160 separate moorings to obtain this long-term data set. Mike Bothner was chief scientist on the USCG cruises. Fran Lightsom, Mary Hastings, and Ellyn Montgomery processed the time-series data. William Strahle, Marinna Martini, and Jonathan Borden oversaw the preparation and deployment of the physical oceanographic instrumentation. Michael Casso and Rick Rendigs oversaw collection and analysis of the the sediment-trap data. Ben Gutierrez helped in the preparation of version 1 of this report. Dann Blackwood took many of the photographs in this report. Bob Barton, Dann Blackwood, Jon Borden, Michael Casso, Jessica Cote, Ray Davis, Peter Gill, Joe Newell, Carol Parmenter, Andre Ramsey, Rick Rendigs, Steve Ruane, and Richard Signell carried out the work at sea, ashore, and in the laboratory. Rick Rendigs, Dan Blackwood, Larry Ball, Steve Cross, and Ken Parolski aided in the successful recovery of several bottom tripod systems by diving when the primary recovery system failed. Donna Newman and Jennifer Martin did the html coding. Mike Connor, Ken Keay, Wendy Leo, Mike Mickelson, and Andrea Rex provided guidance from MWRA. Neil Ganju and Erin Twomey (USGS) provided helpful reviews of this report. Frank Marachi, captain of the fishing vessel Christopher Andrew, provided assistance and valuable local knowledge on a number of cruises. This research was partially supported by a Cooperative Research Agreement between the U.S. Geological Survey and the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority and by an Interagency Support Agreement with the U.S. Coast Guard.
3. To whom should users address questions about the data?
   Bradford Butman

   U.S. Geological Survey

   U.S. Geological Survey Woods Hole Science Center 384 Woods Hole Road

   Woods Hole, Massachusetts
   

   508 548-8700 x2212 (voice)

   bbutman@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: 2009 (process 1 of 6)

   FIELD PROGRAM: Sequential deployments of instruments at two sites to measure ocean currents, temperature, conductivity, turbidity light transmission and other parameters was completed between 1989 and 2006 to assess impacts of sewage discharge in Massachusetts Bay. Site A was just at 42 degrees 22.6 minutes N., 70 degrees 47.0 minutes W.; nominal water depth 32 meters. Four mooring configurations were used during the 16-year period (1989-2006) that instruments were deployed at LT-A.  The objective was to obtain measurements of currents and water properties at three nominal depths:  near-surface (about 5 m below the surface, above the thermocline in summer); near-bottom (about 22 m, 10 m above the bottom, below the thermocline in summer); and bottom (1-2 m above bottom). Long -term site B (1997-2004) was at 42 degrees 9.8 minutes N., 70 degrees 38.4 minutes W.; nominal water depth 22 meters. Observations at LT-B included temperature and conductivity at about 12 m (10 m above bottom) and 21 m (1 m above bottom), and time-series sediment trap at about 18 m (4 m above bottom). The instruments at each site varied with what was available at the time, thus current measurements were made at discrete depths with Vector Measuring Current Meters (VMCM) in the early years and progressed to full water column measurements made with Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCP) after 1994. For a more complete description of the configuration, see the Field Program section of: http://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/74/.

   Date: 2009 (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. Biological fouling often degrades light transmission data after several months of deployment. Organisms grow on the transmissometer lenses and gradually block light transmission, which results in a gradual increase of the beam-attenuation coefficient. This drift occurs more quickly and is more severe at shallower depths. The attenuation data plots have not been corrected for biological fouling and should be interpreted with care. Salinity measured by instruments on tripods during 1989-1996, were erroneously low by as much as one practical salinity unit by the end of the 4-month deployments, due to fouling of the conductivity cells. Tripod conductivity data apparently were affected by a slow, gradual build-up of a biological film on the electrodes and also occasional sudden depositions of a significant volume of material (possibly sediments) inside the measurement volume of the conductivity cell. In June 1996 (mooring 470), Sea-Bird pumps were added to the MIDAS to flush the conductivity cell prior to making a measurement, reducing the effect of deposits on the conductivity measurements. The salinity data should be used and interpreted with care. For a more complete description of the data processing, see the Data Processing section of http://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/74/. 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.). The links to the experiment page had to be fixed in the Identification_Information section and the Distribution_Information section. Fixed the online link to a cross-reference. Removed special characters in the text. 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: 29-Jan-2018 (process 4 of 6)

   An error was fixed in one of the originator names. 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: 20-Jul-2018 (process 5 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: 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, 2009, 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:

   • https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/ofr20071194

   Butman, B., Dalyander, P.S., Bothner, M.H., Borden, J., Casso, M.A., Gutierrez, B.T., Hastings, M.E., Lightsom, F.L., Martini, M.A., Montgomery, E.T., Rendigs, R.R., and Strahle, W.S., 2009, Long-Term Oceanographic Observations in Massachusetts Bay, 1989-2006: Data Series 74, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

   Online Links:

   • http://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/74/

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 positions were obtained from the ship's positioning system. The deployment spans many years, so the accuracy may vary up to 20 meters for the earlier records, but are nearer 1 meter by the end of the program, given the improvement in technology over the decades.
3. How accurate are the heights or depths?
   Instruments mounted on the seafloor have depth accuracy of better than 1 meter. Mooring based measurements will have more variability due to tides and storms and are accurate to 10m.
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). Data have been removed for periods when a sensor failed.
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?

1. Who distributes the data set? (Distributor 1 of 1)
   
   Ellyn Montgomery

   U.S. Geological Survey

   384 Woods Hole Road

   Woods Hole, MA
   

   United States

   508-457-8700 x2356 (voice)

   emontgomery@usgs.gov
2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set? Downloadable Data available from http://stellwagen.er.usgs.gov/mbay_lt.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?
   • Availability in digital form:

     Data format:	netCDF
     Network links:	http://stellwagen.er.usgs.gov/mbay_lt.html

   • Cost to order the data: None.

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)