Title: METADATA FOR STATION/ENVIRONMENTAL DATA SETS FROM PUMP CASTS COLUMBIA RIVER LMER PROJECT Contact: Charles A. "Si" Simenstad Fisheries Research Institute University of Washington Box 357980 Seattle, WA 98195-7980 USA email: csimenstad@lternet.edu Principle Investigators (Institution) and research area: Antonio Baptista (Oregon Graduate Inst. of Oceanography) hydrodynamics; John Baross (Univ. of Washington School of Oceanography) microbiology; L.J. "Sam" Bledsoe (UC-Davis Civil and Environmental Engineering) system modeling; David Jay (Oregon Graduate Inst. of Oceanography) geophysics; Fredrick Prahl (Oregon St. Univ. Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences) geochemistry; Denise Reed (Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium) sediment transport; Charles A. "Si" Simenstad (Univ. Washington Fisheries Research Inst.) zooplankton; Lawrence Small (Oregon St. Univ. Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences) phytoplankton Data Description: Pump casts were conducted immediately following a CTD cast and are, thus, cross- referenced by CTD data parameters. Pump samples were collected from usually three depths per cast (near- surface, mid-depth, near-bottom), with PIs responsible for analyzing "core" parameters. These data are critical for many aspects of the study as they are used to construct dynamic models of the estuarine turbidity maxima at different tidal and flow regimes. See Simenstad et al. (1994) for a project overview. Spatial and Temporal Resolution: Pump cast sampling, and associated CTD casts took place from a fixed vessel during one 28-35 day cruise per year in 1990, 1991, 1992, 1995, and 1996. During 1997 and early 1998, there were 2 week "seasonal" cruises in May, July, and October (1997) and February to March (1998). During 1999, sampling was conducted for two weeks in June on the Columbia River and for two weeks in July on the Fraser River in British Columbia, Canada. Methodology: Measurements were conducted from an anchored vessel. A Seabird (1990-1992) SBE 9/11 or Ocean Sensors (1995-1996) model OS-200 CTD equipped with a CT cell, OBS sensor, and a WetLabs AC-3 chlorophyll absorption-attenuation sensor were deployed for vertical profiles approximately every 30 minutes. Water samples were collected with a pump attached to the CTD package immediately following a CTD cast. CTDs were factory calibrated each year. CTD data, unless otherwise noted, were taken on the downcast and the resulting salinity and temperature profiles were used to select pump depths on the following upcast. Variables: Code cast-specific code number (see below) Date Date in MM/DD/YY format Time Time of day (Pacific Standard Time) DegLatN degrees north latitude MinLatN minutes north latitude, decimal is tenths of minutes DegLongW degrees west longitude MinLongW minutes west longitude, decimal is tenths of minutes RiverKm kilometer mark along river channel Bottle nutrient bottle reference number Salinity salinity Temp temperature in degrees Celcius Depth depth in meters Density density (sigma-T) OBS optical backscattering (see below) Fluor chlorophyll a (mg/m^3) determined by fluorometer (1992 only) AC3chla chlorophyll a (mg/m^3) determined by AC-3 (see below) Atten beam attenuation (1/m) Transmiss transmissivity (% pure water) Explanation of Code: Format of code is: YYBSENN YY first two digits indicate year B letter(s) indicates boundary location or tidal series as follows: U=upstream (beyond salt wedge), D=downstream (below estuarine turbidity maximum), N=neap tide, S=spring tide, SN=spring-neap transition, E= ebb, F=flood, L=long time series, YB=Young's Bay, CB=Cathlamet Bay, P=Pitt River (Fraser only), T=Transect (Fraser only) S number of sample series at that location/tidal stage E event number (sequence) within that series (an 'E' or 'F' may follow this number indicating and ebb or flood tide sampling NN two (or three) digits indicate CTD cast number that corresponds to the pump cast * an asterisk after the code indicates CTD data taken from the downcast immediately prior to the pump cast Other data notes: *** OBS units are linearly related to suspended particulate material as measured in mg/L. *** The AC-3 unit was used beginning in 1995; data sets since then will have a column for this variable. The voltage reading from the AC-3 is transformed into a chlorophyll a value using the factory calibration coefficients. The voltage signal is proportional to chlorophyll absorption after light passage through a series of filters contained within the AC-3 unit. *** In 1995, missing density data is denoted by a value of -10 *** In 1995 and 1996, there was a malfunction in the AC-3 unit on the CTD. This resulted in no chlorophyll or transmissometer readings. Furthermore, temperature readings were affected at low salinities (< 1.0) and may be inaccurate by as much as +/- 0.2 degrees C. It is unknown if/when these data can be reconstructed. No chlorophyll sensor was employed in 1990 and 1991. *** In 1999, up to a 50cm offset may exist in the depth data. The CTD's pressure offset varies slightly from cruise to cruise, and is typically less than 50cm. Superimposed on this relatively constant offset, the effect of ordinary atmospheric pressure fluctuations is small, and varies from -10cm to 10cm (except perhaps in very strong low pressure systems.) The pressure offset was not accounted for in the 1999 cruise data. File format: comma-delineated ASCII with header; maximum number of records = 1447; maximum number of data columns = 16 References: Simenstad, CA, DJ Reed, DA Jay, JA Baross, FG Prahl, and LF Small. 1994. Land-Margin Ecosystem Research in the Columbia River Estuary: an interdisciplinary approach to investigating couplings between hydrological, geochemical and ecological processes within estuarine turbidity maxima. In: KR Dyer and RJ Orth, eds., Changes in fluxes in estuaries: Implications from science to management (ECSA22/ERF, Plymouth, September 1992). pp 437-444. Olsen and Olsen, Fredensborg, Denmark. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------