Comma-delimited Text File of Piezometer Groundwater Data Collected August, 2005 in the Nauset Marsh Area of Cape Cod, Massachusetts

Metadata also available as - [Outline] - [Parseable text]

Frequently-anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?

Title:
Comma-delimited Text File of Piezometer Groundwater Data Collected August, 2005 in the Nauset Marsh Area of Cape Cod, Massachusetts
Abstract:
In order to test hypotheses about groundwater flow under and into estuaries and the Atlantic Ocean, geophysical surveys, geophysical probing, submarine groundwater sampling, and sediment coring were conducted by U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists at Cape Cod National Seashore (CCNS) from 2004 through 2006. Coastal resource managers at CCNS and elsewhere are concerned about nutrients that are entering coastal waters via submarine groundwater discharge, which are contributing to eutrophication and harmful algal blooms. The research carried out as part of the study described here was designed, in part, to help refine assumptions required by earlier versions of models about the nature of submarine groundwater flow and discharge at CCNS. This study was conducted in four phases, with a variety of field techniques and equipment employed in each phase. Phase 1 consisted of continuous resistivity profiling (CRP) surveys of the entire study area conducted in 2004. Phase 2 consisted of CRP ground-truthing via resistivity probe measurements and submarine groundwater sampling from hydraulically-drive piezometers using a barge in the Salt Pond/Nauset Marsh area in 2005. Phase 3 consisted of supplemental detailed CRP surveys in the Salt Pond/Nauset Marsh area in 2006. Finally, Phase 4 consisted of sediment coring and porewater extraction in the Salt Pond/Nauset Marsh area later in 2006 to supplement the 2005 sampling.
  1. How should this data set be cited?

    Bratton, John F. , 2008, Comma-delimited Text File of Piezometer Groundwater Data Collected August, 2005 in the Nauset Marsh Area of Cape Cod, Massachusetts: Open-File Report 2006-1169, U.S. Geological Survey, Coastal and Marine Geology Program, Woods Hole Science Center, Woods Hole, MA.

    Online Links:

    This is part of the following larger work.

    Cross, VeeAnn A. , Bratton, John F. , Crusius, John, Colman, John A. , and McCobb, Timothy D. , 2008, Submarine Hydrogeological Data from Cape Cod National Seashore: Open-File Report 2006-1169, U.S. Geological Survey, Coastal and Marine Geology Program, Woods Hole Science Center, Woods Hole, MA.

    Online Links:

  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?

    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -69.971643
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -69.962932
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 41.835998
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 41.830668

  3. What does it look like?

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

    Beginning_Date: 22-Aug-2005
    Ending_Date: 25-Aug-2005
    Currentness_Reference: ground condition

  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 Vector data set. It contains the following vector data types (SDTS terminology):

      • Entity point (5)

    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 0.000000. Longitudes are given to the nearest 0.000000. Latitude and longitude values are specified in Decimal degrees.

      The horizontal datum used is North American Datum of 1983.
      The ellipsoid used is Geodetic Reference System 80.
      The semi-major axis of the ellipsoid used is 6378137.000000.
      The flattening of the ellipsoid used is 1/298.257222.

  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?

    piezlocs_2005

    site
    Name assigned to the piezometer location - attempting to reoccupy the Geoprobe locations by the same site name. (Source: Chief scientist.)

    waterdep_cm
    Approximate water depth at the time of sampling in centimeters. (Source: Measured value.)

    depbelowsed_cm
    Depth below the sediment surface in centimeters. (Source: Measured value.)

    temp_c
    Temperature in degrees Celsius. (Source: Measured value.)

    cond_mS_per_m
    Conductivity in milli-Siemens per meter. (Source: Measured value.)

    Salinity
    Salinity in parts per thousand. (Source: Measured value.)

    dissoxy_perc
    Dissolved oxygen as percent saturation - how much oxygen is dissolved in the water as a percentage of how much it could hold at that temperature. (Source: Measured value.)

    dissoxy_mg_per_L
    Dissolved oxygen in milligrams per liter. (Source: Measured value.)

    pH
    The measured acidity or alkalinity on the pH scale. (Source: Measured value.)

    oxired_mV
    Oxidation-reduction potential in millivolts indicating the relative strength of oxidizing compounds in the solution (more positive values) or reducing compounds in the solution (more negative values). (Source: Measured value.)

    ammonia_mcg_per_l
    Concentration of nitrogen in the reduced form of ammonium, concentration in micrograms per liter. (Source: Measure value.)

    nitrate_mcg_per_L
    Concentration of nitrogen in the oxidized forms of nitrate and nitrite combined, concentration in micrograms per liter. (Source: Measured value.)

    phosphate_mcg_per_L
    Concentration of phosphorus in the form of phosphate, concentration in micrograms per liter. (Source: Measured value.)

    tdp_mcg_per_L
    Total dissolved phosphorus; dissolved inorganic and organic phosphorus all chemically converted to inorganic form and measured as phosphorus; concentration in micrograms per liter. (Source: Measured value.)

    tdn_mcg_per_L
    Total dissolved nitrogen; dissolved inorganic and organic nitrogen all chemically converted to inorganic form and measured as nitrogen; concentration in micrograms per liter. (Source: Measured value.)

    Entity_and_Attribute_Overview:
    A hydraulic vibratory drilling rig mounted on an all-terrain vehicle and secured to a barge was used to advance piezometers for submarine ground-water sampling. These piezometers consisted of 2.5 cm diameter steel pipe in 3.4 m lengths that were joined by hydraulically crimped couplings. Water samples were taken general every 305 cm with water quality measurements of temperature, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, pH, and oxidation-reduction potential made using a YSI 650 Multi-Parameter data sonde. In addition, filtered samples were collected for nutrient measurements.

Who produced the data set?

  1. Who are the originators of the data set? (may include formal authors, digital compilers, and editors)

  2. Who also contributed to the data set?

  3. To whom should users address questions about the data?

    John F. Bratton
    U.S. Geological Survey
    384 Woods Hole Rd.
    Woods Hole, MA 02543-1598

    (508) 548-8700 x2254 (voice)
    (508) 457-2310 (FAX)
    jbratton@usgs.gov

Why was the data set created?

To provide the analyses of the piezometer groundwater data in a format compatible with ArcGIS to be used as a relate table. A relate table is necessary when establishing a one-to-many relationship. In this case, the one-to-many relationship is between piezlocs_2005.shp and the piezometer measurement results contained in piez_gwdata.csv. The common relate field is "site" in both files.

How was the data set created?

  1. From what previous works were the data drawn?

  2. How were the data generated, processed, and modified?

    (process 1 of 4)
    Piezometer groundwater was collected at various sites in the Nauset Marsh area. These locations were intended to reoccupy locations where Geoprobe samples were collected, thus the site designations are the same. However, the exact Geoprobe locations were not reoccupied.

    Person who carried out this activity:

    John F. Bratton
    U.S. Geological Survey
    384 Woods Hole Rd.
    Woods Hole, MA 02543-1598

    (508) 548-8700 x2254 (voice)
    (508) 457-2310 (FAX)
    jbratton@usgs.gov

    (process 2 of 4)
    Groundwater analyses were made with a YSI 650 multi-parameter data sonde, as well as filtered samples collected for nutrient analysis in the lab.

    Person who carried out this activity:

    John F. Bratton
    U.S. Geological Survey
    384 Woods Hole Rd.
    Woods Hole, MA 02543-1598

    (508) 548-8700 x2254 (voice)
    (508) 457-2310 (FAX)
    jbratton@usgs.gov

    Date: 23-Jan-2006 (process 3 of 4)
    The nutrient samples were analyzed using a Lachat Quickchem Flow Injection Analysis System. The methods used are as follows: N as NH3 (nitrogen as ammonia): method detection limit = 4 micrograms nitrogen per liter; Lachat QuickChem Method 10-107-06-1-C rev. 27Nov01; based on Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Method 350.1. N as NO3/NO2 (cadmium reduction); method detection limit = 1.7 micrograms nitrogen per liter; Lachat QuikChem Method 31-107-04-1-C rev. 16Sept03; based on Grasshoff, K., Methods of Seawater Analysis, Verlag Chemie, 2nd Ed., 1976. P as PO4 (phosphorus as phosphate); method detection limit 0.1 micrograms phophorus per liter; Lachat QuikChem Method 10-115-01-1-M rev. 27Aug03; based on EPA Method 365.1. Total dissolved Nitrogen (TDN)/ Total Dissolved Phosphorus (TDP) notes: Samples were prepared by persulfate digestion (following Valderrama, 1981, Marine Chemistry 10:109-122) prior to analysis by Lachat Methods. TDP results with an asterisk indicate TDP < inorganic phosphorous. Values are very close; typically this represents that all of the phosphorus is in the dissolved inorganic state.

    Person who carried out this activity:

    Krista Lee
    National Park Service
    Physical Scientist
    Cape Cod National Seashore
    Wellfleet, Massachusetts 02667

    (508) 487-3262 x110 (voice)
    (508) 487-7153 (FAX)
    Krista_Lee@nps.gov

    Date: 2007 (process 4 of 4)
    The information was transferred to an Excel spreadsheet. The column headers in the Excel spreadsheet were modified to be compatible with ArcGIS. This table was then exported as a comma-delimited text file.

    Person who carried out this activity:

    VeeAnn A. Cross
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Marine Geologist
    384 Woods Hole Rd.
    Woods Hole, MA 02543-1598

    (508) 548-8700 x2251 (voice)
    (508) 457-2310 (FAX)
    vatnipp@usgs.gov

  3. What similar or related data should the user be aware of?

    (ed.), Klaus Grasshoff , 1976, Methods of Seawater Analysis: Verlag Chemie.

    Valderrama, Jorge C. , 1981, The simultaneous analysis of total nitrogen and total phosphorus in natural waters: Marine Chemistry Volume 10, Issue 2, Elsevier Science.

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?

    All groundwater analyses information available for the piezometer locations is included in this comma-delimited text file. The shapefile piezlocs_2005.shp has a one-to-many relationship with this text file.

  5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?

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:
The U.S. Geological Survey must be referenced as the originator of the dataset in any future products or research derived from these data.

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

    John F. Bratton
    U.S. Geological Survey
    384 Woods Hole Rd.
    Woods Hole, MA 02543-1598

    (508) 548-8700 x2254 (voice)
    (508) 457-2310 (FAX)
    jbratton@usgs.gov

  2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set?

    Downloadable Data

  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?

    These data are available as a generic ASCII formatted text file. The user must have a software program capable of reading the comma delimited data file.

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:
Last modified: 25-Feb-2008
Metadata author:
VeeAnn A. Cross
U.S. Geological Survey
Marine Geologist
384 Woods Hole Rd.
Woods Hole, MA 02543-1598

(508) 548-8700 x2251 (voice)
(508) 457-2310 (FAX)
vatnipp@usgs.gov

Metadata standard:
FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata (FGDC-STD-001-1998)
Metadata extensions used:

Generated by mp version 2.8.6 on Tue Jul 08 11:21:42 2008