Seasonal high-frequency measurements of discharge, water temperature, and specific conductivity from the Onyx River at Lower Wright, McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica (1972-2020, ongoing)

Summary

Abstract:

As part of the Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) project in the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica, a systematic sampling program has been undertaken to monitor the glacial meltwater streams in that region. This package contains data pertaining to continuous monitored water quality and quantity parameters measured with automatic recording devices on streams in this region. Specifically, this metadata record describes the hydrology data set for the McMurdo Dry Valleys' Onyx River at the Lower Wright streamgage, located in the Wright Valley. Measurements commenced in 1972 and are ongoing. This dataset extends through the first half of the 2019-20 field season.

Date Range:

December 4, 1972 to January 22, 2020

Data Citation

Gooseff, M.N., Mcknight, D.M. 2021. Seasonal high-frequency measurements of discharge, water temperature, and specific conductivity from the Onyx River at Lower Wright, McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica (1972-2020, ongoing). Environmental Data Initiative. DOI: 10.6073/pasta/4370a8c48ad3b1f5f1de7aa43155e13c. Dataset accessed 28 April 2024.

Dataset(s)

Description:

Onyx River at Lower Wright

Variables (click to expand):

DATASET_CODE

Label: Dataset code
Definition: Code representing discrete stream gauge measurements dataset
Type: Nominal
Missing values: None specified

STRMGAGEID

Label: stream gage id
Definition: Code representing stream gauge
Type: Nominal
Missing values: None specified

DATE_TIME

Label: Date/time
Definition: Date/time of sample (McMurdo time)
Type: Date/time
Date format: MM/DD/YYYY HH24:MM
Missing values: None specified

DISCHARGE RATE

Label: Discharge Rate
Definition: Stream discharge
Type: Physical quantity
Unit: litersPerSecond
Maximum: Not specified
Minimum: Not specified
Precision: 0.01
Missing values:
- Null = None given

DIS_COMMENTS

Label: Discharge Quality
Definition: Estimated accuracy of discharge (good=most accurate within 10%, fair=most data accurate within 25%, poor=significant amounts of data may be >25% off)
Type: Nominal
Missing values: None specified

COMMENTS

Label: Comments
Definition: Comments about the overall data
Type: Nominal
Missing values: None specified

WATER_TEMP

Label: Water Temperature
Definition: Water Temperature
Type: Physical quantity
Unit: celsius
Maximum: Not specified
Minimum: Not specified
Precision: 0.1
Missing values:
- Null = None given

WATER_TEMP_QUALITY

Label: Water Temperature Quality
Definition: Estimated accuracy of water temperature (good=most accurate within 10%, fair=most data accurate within 25%, poor=significant amounts of data may be >25% off)
Type: Nominal
Missing values: None specified

CONDUCTIVITY

Label: Conductivity
Definition: The electrical conductivity in microSiemens/cm of a 1:5 soil:deionized water solution.
Type: Physical quantity
Unit: microSiemens/cm
Maximum: Not specified
Minimum: Not specified
Precision: Not specified
Missing values:
- Null = None given

CONDUCTIVITY_QUALITY

Label: Conductivity Quality
Definition: Estimated accuracy of conductivity (good=most accurate within 10%, fair=most data accurate within 25%, poor=significant amounts of data may be >25% off)
Type: Nominal
Missing values: None specified

File:

mcmlter-strm-onyx_lwright-15min-20210106.csv (13.76 MB)

Short name:

ONYX_LWRIGHT_HYDRO

Dataset ID:

9021

People

Principal Investigator(s):

Michael N. Gooseff

Diane M. McKnight

Contact:

McMurdo Dry Valleys LTER Information Manager

Associated Personnel:

Associated Researcher

Data Manager

Former Field Crew

Former Data Manager

Methodology

Methods:

Campbell CR10 dataloggers were used to record stream stage, water temperature, and conductivity in a network of stream gages. Stage is monitored with pressure transducers; PSS-1 and PS-2 models form Paroscientific Corporation, and Accubars from Sutron Corporation. The pressure transducers measure the backpressure in orifice lines set into or above controls in the stream channel. In addition, some of the sites monitor water temperature and conductivity with either USGS minimonitor probes, or Campbell temperature/conductivity probes. Ratings are developed for the stage/discharge relationship at each site by measuring streamflow with current meters or portable flumes, according to standard USGS methods. Datum corrections to the stage are determined by periodically surveying the elevation of the orifice line to the control and nearby reference marks. Calibrations for the temperature and conductivity are assessed by measuring these parameters with portable field meters while simultaneously noting the readings from the gage probes. Data is downloaded into Campbell storage modules, and retrieved into pcs. From there, the data is sent to a USGS computer, where time discrepancies are resolved, and the data is loaded into ADAPS, a database system developed in the USGS for maintaining and processing water data. A determination for each site as to when the stream was flowing and when it was not is made. For water temperature and conductivity, bad data is deleted. Variable shifts are determined based on field calibration measurements, and other indicators. The shifts are applied to the remaining good data inside of ADAPS. The data is pulled out of ADAPS, and reformatted for input into ORACLE. Cases of water temperature below reasonable values are set to lower limits. A quality code is assigned to every value. The resulting data is uploaded into the ORACLE and the McMurdo database. For stage/discharge, bad data is deleted. Survey data is reviewed to compute weir elevations and datum corrections. A rating curve is developed graphically, based on available data, and entered into ADAPS. All applicable shifts and datum corrections are entered into ADAPS. All corrections and ratings are run against the good stage data to compute the discharge at each recording interval . The data is pulled out of ADAPS, and reformatted for input into ORACLE. A quality code is assigned to every value. The resulting data is uploaded into ORACLE and the McMurdo database. ADAPS was deprecated in 2012 in favor of the software Aquarius

Maintenance:

On 2016, data seasons from 2005 until 2010 were reworked. Data had an incorrect one hour offset. In addition, the unit conversion from cfs to Liters per second was incorrect. Additionally, data had errors in the USGS workups that was based upon. Finally, the USGS data lacked recordings for the water temperature and specific conductance. All these issues were corrected by Chris Jaros, and data was reposted in Nov. 2016 by Inigo.

The seasons from 2005 onwards were pulled off the public domain and are currently undergoing revision (Feb 2016).

New codes for the COMMENTS column were created in 2005 after a meeting between the stream team and the information manager (Chris Gardner). These comments were added to stream data that were worked up after that point - they usually appear in the data around the 2003 season.

Additional new comments codes were added for revised stream flow analysis for the Onyx at Vanda and Onyx at Lower Wright sites by Karen Cozzetto and Steven Crisp. Stream flow data for the Onyx river was re-analyzed.

Metadata moved to DEIMS by Inigo San Gil on 2015

Metadata enhanced by Inigo San Gil on 2014

In order to make the data more relational / useful in Oracle and ArcInfo, and generate links between different data and metadata fields, a dataset code was added to these files.

In October, 1999 Mike Gooseff submitted the 1997-98 data to Denise Steigerwald (the data manager at the time)

in ascii, comma delimited files. In order to prepare the files for use in an Oracle database as well as a geographic information system, Denise created a field for "strmgageid" (stream gage id), converted any time fields of 24:00 to 0:00 on the following day, combined the date and time fields into one date/time field, and separated the data into separate files for each station. Data which was previously presented according to decade collected is now presented according to location, and contains records from the start date of monitoring for a given stream gage.

The 'discrete_stream_gauge' table was created by Harry House in early 1994. It was first stored in an INGRES database, but was converted to ORACLE format in early 1996. Modifications were generally made each year after the initial creation in the early part of the year. It was transferred to INSTAAR in late 1997, where it was stored in a Microsoft Access database, and presented on the web in ascii, comma delimited files.

Research Section:

MCM Keywords:

Keywords:

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