This dataset includes water temperature and water salinity data from continuous hydrology loggers and spot checks from a handheld water quality meter at restoration and reference sites at Willapa National Wildlife Refuge, from March 2014 to August 2015.

Salinity and variability of salinity in shallow waters shape living resources and habitat within Gulf of Mexico estuaries. The salinity gradient is widely recognized as foundational in maintaining biological diversity and productivity of estuaries. A clear understanding of the factors controlling salinity and variability of salinity in estuarine surface waters is essential for proper stewardship and for sustaining ecological structure and function. Salinity data are collected by numerous Federal, State, and local agencies and universities as part of routine data collection programs. We used online databases to compile salinity data in Gulf of Mexico estuaries. The primary criteria for inclusion in the compilation were a lengthy record of continuous collection with data sondes of at least hourly intervals. Stations that represented full estuarine gradients, from fresh to saline, were prioritized. Data were compiled in separate spreadsheets for each State using comma-delimited formatting. For each State, a second spreadsheet provides information on each station. A few stations started collecting salinity as early as the mid-1980s. More stations came on line by the mid- to late 1990s. Starting in the late 2000s many more stations came on line.

The presence of salinity in shallow waters influences living resources and habitats within Gulf of Mexico estuaries. The salinity gradient is widely recognized as foundational in maintaining biological diversity and productivity of estuaries. A clear understanding of the factors controlling salinity and its variability in estuarine surface waters is essential for proper stewardship and for sustaining ecological structure and function. Salinity data are collected by numerous Federal, State, and local agencies and universities as part of routine data-collection programs. The U.S. Geological Survey compiled salinity data from existing online databases – all water samples were collected in Gulf of Mexico estuaries. The primary criterion for data from a station to be included in the compilation was a lengthy record of continuous collection using a data sonde programmed to at least hourly intervals. Stations that represented full estuarine gradients, from fresh to saline, were prioritized. Data were compiled from salinity stations in the five Gulf states and combined into one .txt file and one .feather file. Continuous data collection of salinity concentrations began at a few stations in the mid-1980s, and the number of stations with data sondes has increased over time for a total of 532,076 observations at 92 stations provided in this data release.

The presence of salinity in shallow waters influences living resources and habitats within Gulf of Mexico estuaries. The salinity gradient is widely recognized as foundational in maintaining biological diversity and productivity of estuaries. A clear understanding of the factors controlling salinity and its variability in estuarine surface waters is essential for proper stewardship and for sustaining ecological structure and function. Salinity data are collected by numerous Federal, State, and local agencies and universities as part of routine data-collection programs. The U.S. Geological Survey compiled salinity data from existing online databases – all water samples were collected in Gulf of Mexico estuaries. The primary criterion for data from a station to be included in the compilation was a lengthy record of continuous collection using a data sonde programmed to at least hourly intervals. Stations that represented full estuarine gradients, from fresh to saline, were prioritized. Data were compiled from salinity stations in the five Gulf states and combined into one .txt file and one .feather file. Continuous data collection of salinity concentrations began at a few stations in the mid-1980s, and the number of stations with data sondes has increased over time for a total of 532,076 observations at 92 stations provided in this data release.

The Coastal Salinity Index was applied to salinity data obtained from sites in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, and Puerto Rico. This data release will provide all the salinity data and Coastal Salinity Index results for many coastal salinity gages.

The ongoing restoration of more than 200 hectares of estuarine habitat at Willapa National Wildlife Refuge, southwestern Washington, is expected to benefit a variety of species, including salmonids that use estuarine and tidal marshes as rearing and feeding areas as well as migratory waterbirds. During March through June 2014 and 2015, this study was initiated to assess aquatic prey resources. We collected data on environmental variables and invertebrate community structure, and the taskforce provided salmonid diet data at restored (Lewis Stream and Porter Point) and reference (Greenhead Slough and Ellsworth Creek) sites. We analyzed these data to determine the functional capacity of the estuary for supporting invertebrate prey resources for fish following restoration.

To understand sediment deposition in marsh environments, scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center (USGS-SPCMSC) selected four study sites in the Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Mississippi (GNDNERR). Each site consisted of four plots located along a transect perpendicular to the marsh-estuary shoreline at 5-meter (m) increments (5, 10, 15, and 20 m from the shoreline). Each plot contained four net sedimentation tiles (NST) that were secured flush to the marsh surface using polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipe. NST are an inexpensive and simple tool to assess short- and long-term deposition that can be deployed in highly dynamic environments without the compaction associated with traditional coring methods. The NST were deployed for three months, measuring quarterly sediment deposition for one year from October 2016 to October 2017. In addition, three NST were deployed at the 10-m plot on October 5th prior to the landfall of Hurricane Nate (October 8, 2017) and retrieved after 12 days, providing measurements of storm deposition. Sediment deposited on the NST were processed to determine physical characteristics, such as deposition thickness, volume, wet weight/dry weight, and organic content (loss-on-ignition [LOI]). When available, additional data collected at each site including water level, elevation, and turbidity data are provided in this data release. Data were collected during Field Activities Numbers (FAN) 2017-303-FA, 2017-315-FA, 2017-333-FA, 2017-346-FA, and 2017-363-FA (also known as subFANs 17CCT01, 17CCT02, 17CCT03, 17CCT04, and 17CCT05, respectively). Additional survey and data details are available from the U.S. Geological Survey Coastal and Marine Geoscience Data System (CMGDS) at, https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/. Please read the full metadata for details on data collection, dataset variables, and data quality.

Continuous Temperature Data. Raw Hobo data files collected at Willapa NWR (Omeara Creek) and compiled at a regular frequency into a annual (cleaned) dataset (Excel). Omeara Creek had five locations monitored during the pilot project and these data are included in this dataset. Each location could have multiple loggers deployed (planned redundancy in case of logger failure). See the CURRENT-TL-Logger Log for details at https://ecos.fws.gov/ServCat/Reference/Profile/132469. OMEDSA02W: 46.4021548, -123.9490759 OMEDSA01W: 46.4021189, -123.9487788 OMETSC01W: 46.4019155, -123.9474488 OMEUSK02W: 46.4002542, -123.9445530 OMEUSK03A: 46.4002542, -123.9445530

Continuous water temperature data were collected at multiple sites along the Middle Fork and mainstem Willamette Rivers between Jasper and Newberg, Oregon, to support effectiveness monitoring for a large-scale channel and floodplain restoration program (Willamette Focused Investment Partnership, WFIP). Continuous water temperature loggers were deployed at a subset of WFIP restoration sites where river restoration activities were implemented to improve habitat conditions for native fish species. Data from water temperature monitoring will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of restoration activities at improving habitat conditions for Endangered Species Act (ESA)-listed salmonids and other native fish in the Willamette River. Additionally, water temperature monitoring in summer and early fall months at restoration sites is useful for determining whether thermal conditions at these sites are optimal, sub-optimal, or lethal for cold-water adapted fish species like spring Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha). Water temperature monitoring for this study spans 2019 through 2022. Water temperature loggers were suspended in the water column on a wire between a concrete block and a buoy as part of a monitoring arrays installed at multiple off-channel location throughout the study area. This document describes data collected at the Minto-Brown Island Park monitoring site between 07/30/2020 and 10/19/2021 and associated data quality files. The monitoring site is within Willamette Slough, an alcove perennially connected to the Willamette River, and includes two monitoring arrays consisting of one water temperature logger suspended in the water column per array from 07/30/2020 to 05/14/2021 and one monitoring array consisting of two water temperature loggers suspended at different elevations in the water column from 05/14/2021 to 10/19/2021. These data and metadata have been added to the data release originally published in 2021.

Continuous water-temperature data were collected at multiple sites along the Middle Fork and mainstem Willamette Rivers between Jasper and Newberg, Oregon, to support effectiveness monitoring for a large-scale channel and floodplain restoration program (Willamette Focused Investment Partnership, WFIP). Continuous water temperature loggers were deployed at a subset of WFIP restoration sites where river restoration activities were implemented to improve habitat conditions for native fish species. Data from water-temperature monitoring will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of restoration activities at improving habitat conditions for ESA-listed salmonids and other native fish in the Willamette River. Additionally, water temperature monitoring in summer and early fall months at restoration sites is useful for determining whether thermal conditions at these sites are optimal, sub-optimal, or lethal for cold-water adapted fish species like spring Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha). Temperature monitoring for this study spans 2019 through 2022. Water-temperature loggers were suspended in the water column on a wire between a concrete block and a buoy as part of a monitoring arrays installed at multiple off-channel location throughout the study area. This document describes data collected at the Collins Bay monitoring site between 06/27/2019 and 10/21/2020. The monitoring site is within an alcove perennially connected to the Willamette River and includes one monitoring array consisting of two water-temperature loggers suspended in the water column from 06/27/2019 to 07/30/2020 and then one-logger from 07/30/2020 to 10/21/2020.