Plum Island Ecosystems LTER Database

Acceptance and utilization of LTER data requires that:

(1) The Principal Investigator be sent a notice stating reasons for acquiring any data and a description of the publication intentions.
(2) The Principal Investigator of the data set be sent a copy of the report or manuscript prior to submission and be adequately cited in any resultant publications.
(3) A copy of any resultant publications should be sent to:

Principal Investigator
Ecosystems Center
Marine Biological Laboratory
7 MBL St.
Woods Hole, MA 02543

Dataset URLs:METADATA: HTML, Rich Text, XML(EML compliant) DATA: Comma Delimited, Excel file with Metadata and data
Dataset ID:MAR-RO-SET.02
Dataset Title:Surface elevation table (SET) raw data from 6 sites along the Rowley River.
Investigator 1: 
First Name:Charles
Last Name:Hopkinson
Address line 1:Ecosystems Center
Address line 2:MBL
Address line 3:7 MBL St
City:Woods Hole
State:MA
Zip Code:02543
Country:USA
Associate Investigators:Corey Lawrence, Joshua Goldstein, William Lee, Aaron Strong, Vinton Valentine
Keywords:Surface elevation table, SET, Sedimentation, Accretion, Marker Horizons
Abstract:Surface elevation table (SET) raw data from 6 sites along the Rowley River.
Contact: Plum Island Ecosystems LTER Information Manager
The Ecosystems Center
Marine Biological Lab
7 MBL St
Woods Hole, MA 02543
Phone (508) 289 7485
Email: pie_im@mbl.edu
Online URL: http://ecosystems.mbl.edu/PIE/
DATA FILE INFORMATION:
Data File URL http://ecosystems.mbl.edu/PIE/data/MAR/data/MAR-RO-SET.dat
Data File Name MAR-RO-SET
Beginning Date 9/23/2002
End Date 5/15/2007
Number of Data Records 1098
Other Files to Reference MAR-RO-Marker-Horizon.xls
Availability Status Type 1
Quality Control Information
Maintenance Description
Log of Changes: 01) 15Aug2007 updates to EML level 4-5
02) Updated data through Spring 2007, added new levine's and infilling pond sites to dataset. 9/24/2007
RESEARCH LOCATION: Site 1
Geographic Description Holy Island Set 1
Location Bounding Box
West Bounding Coordinate
East Bounding Coordinate
North Bounding Coordinate
South Bounding Coordinate
OR if single point location
Latitude 42.73118814
Longitude -70.82625404
Methods:SET sites are measured each spring and fall using a custom built surface elevation table. Measurement are made are of the height of brass pins above the table. Relative changes in the surface elevation of the marsh can be calculated from the change of pin height overtime.

Four transects of three SETs were established in 2002. These are Holy Island, Morris Island, Law's Point and Old Levine's. Two additional transects of 3-SETs were established in 2005, using a different custom built table that relies on a rebar base. These are New Levine's and Infilling Pond. The middle SET of the Old Levine's transect (Old Levine's 2) was re-established in 2005 using the newer, rebar based SET.

For the original transects (2002), each SET has 6 positions relative to the location of the marker horizon (A-F). At each position there are 9 pins dropped to the marsh surface. The bearing of each position in relation to magnetic north is also recorded. For the 2005 rebar SET transects, each SET has 8 positions relative to the location of the Marker Horizon (1-8). At each position, 9 pins are dropped to the marsh surface. The length of pin extending above the table is measured and reported in centimeters. (This enables calculation of the length of pin between the table and the marsh surface, thus the elevation change over time between the constant position of the table and the changing marsh surface.) For more information on SET and Marker Horizons see: http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/resshow/cahoon/

NOTES AND COMMENTS: This data is in a raw unprocessed format. Please note that the “SET position” in the data is a reference to the orientation of the SET table at each site. Position “A” refers to the orientation of the SET facing directly at the Marker Horizon plot, subsequent lettering continues in the clockwise direction.

Latitude and Longitude reported as decimal degrees in the NAD 83 Datum. Elevation is reported as NAVD 88, orthometric height (meters), and is measured at the top of the SET table from which pins are dropped. This raw elevation, taken from FastStatic measurements using a Trimble 4800 receiver and TSC-1 controller (from UNAVCO www.unavco.org), can be used directly with the SET pin measurements found in the dataset, to calculate the exact elevation of the marsh. Total pin length is 91.44cm. For example for Levine's SET 1 in Fall 2002, position A, pin 1 the value is 21.2cm (this is the height of the pin extending above the table). This means that between the measured top of the SET table at 2.100 m there are 70.24cm of pin (91.44cm -21.2cm). The marsh surface itself is therefore at 2.100m - 0.7024 m or 1.3976m elevation above mean sea level. For more information please contact Aaron Strong (astrong@mbl.edu).

Data Table

Variable Name Variable Description Units Measurement Scale Code Infomation Number Type DateTime Format Missing Value Code Missing Value Code Explanation
Site Location of transect   nominal         blank cell
SET SET # in transect   nominal         blank cell
Position Letter (A-F) denoting the orientation of SET Table   nominal         blank cell
Degree Orientation of SET, at each position, in relation to magnetic North degree interval   real     blank cell
Pin Identification of Pin # (1-9) and Corresponding Pin Hole # at each SET position   nominal         blank cell
Measurement Fall 2002 Measurement of pin height above SET table. Each additional column contains the same measurements on different dates centimeter ratio   real     blank cell
Measurement Spring 2003 Measurement of pin height above SET table. Each additional column contains the same measurements on different dates centimeter ratio   real     blank cell
Measurement Fall 2003 Measurement of pin height above SET table. Each additional column contains the same measurements on different dates centimeter ratio   real     blank cell
Comments Information pertaining to individual data points   nominal         blank cell