Management efforts of the tidally-restricted Herring River in Wellfleet, MA include research to understand pre-restoration sediment conditions. Submerged multiparameter sondes that measure optical turbidity were deployed at one site landward and three sites seaward of the Herring River restriction. Periodically, the sites were visited and additional turbidity measurements were collected with a handheld multiparameter sonde, and water samples were collected for determination of suspended-sediment concentration (SSC). The handheld turbidity measurements were regressed against SSC using a repeated median regression to determine a calibration curve for calibrating the turbidity time-series data to SSC. The SSC derived from the turbidity time-series measurements can then be used to estimate the sediment budget and sediment availability after removal of the tidal restriction. The data collected with the handheld multiparameter sonde are presented here.

Management efforts of the tidally-restricted Herring River in Wellfleet, MA include research to understand pre-restoration sediment conditions. Submerged multiparameter sondes that measure optical turbidity were deployed at one site landward and three sites seaward of the Herring River restriction. Periodically, the sites were visited and additional turbidity measurements were collected with a handheld multiparameter sonde, and water samples were collected for determination of suspended-sediment concentration (SSC). The handheld turbidity measurements were regressed against SSC using a repeated median regression to determine a calibration curve for calibrating the turbidity time-series data to SSC. The SSC derived from the turbidity time-series measurements can then be used to estimate the sediment budget and sediment availability after removal of the tidal restriction. The data collected with the handheld multiparameter sonde are presented here.

Staff from the Cape Cod National Seashore, National Park Service (CACO NPS) began limited water-quality data collection in the Herring River Estuary as early as 1984. In 2006 a monthly sampling program was established for 14 sites to monitor nutrient concentrations, dissolved oxygen, and other constituents. This monitoring program is ongoing and has been supplemented with data from other CACO NPS projects and cooperative monitoring with the U.S. Geological Survey. With the anticipated restoration of the estuary, which has been diked off from the ocean for over 100 years, these data are critical in supporting the characterization of pre-restoration water quality. The data collected in the estuary from 1984-2017 have not been published and disseminated in one place to date. This data release is intended to address this issue and create a framework in which future data can be published. In preparation for publication, the data were compiled from several CACO NPS internal sources and were reviewed using very preliminary quality checks. The related USGS water-quality data are available in the National Water Information System (NWIS).

Staff from the Cape Cod National Seashore, National Park Service (CACO NPS) began limited water-quality data collection in the Herring River Estuary as early as 1984. In 2006 a monthly sampling program was established for 14 sites to monitor nutrient concentrations, dissolved oxygen, and other constituents. This monitoring program is ongoing and has been supplemented with data from other CACO NPS projects and cooperative monitoring with the U.S. Geological Survey. With the anticipated restoration of the estuary, which has been diked off from the ocean for over 100 years, these data are critical in supporting the characterization of pre-restoration water quality. The data collected in the estuary from 1984-2017 have not been published and disseminated in one place to date. This data release is intended to address this issue and create a framework in which future data can be published. In preparation for publication, the data were compiled from several CACO NPS internal sources and were reviewed using very preliminary quality checks. The related USGS water-quality data are available in the National Water Information System (NWIS).

This data release provides data in support of an assessment of water quality and discharge in the Herring River at the Chequessett Neck Road dike in Wellfleet, Massachusetts, from November 2015 to September 2017. The assessment was a cooperative project among the U.S. Geological Survey, National Park Service, Cape Cod National Seashore, and the Friends of Herring River to characterize environmental conditions prior to a future removal of the dike. It is described in U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Scientific Investigations Report "Assessment of Water Quality and Discharge in the Herring River, Wellfleet, Massachusetts, November 2015 – September 2017." This data release is structured as a set of comma-separated values (CSV) files, each of which contains information on data source (or laboratory used for analysis), USGS site identification (ID) number, beginning date of time of observation or sampling, ending date and time of observation or sampling and data such as flow rate and analytical results. The CSV files include calculated tidal daily flows (Flood_Tide_Tidal_Day.csv and Ebb_Tide_Tidal_Day.csv) that were used in Huntington and others (2020) for estimation of nutrient loads. Tidal daily flows are the estimated mean daily discharges for two consecutive flood and ebb tide cycles (average duration: 24 hours, 48 minutes). The associated date is the day on which most of the flow occurred. CSV files contain quality assurance data for water-quality samples including blanks (Blanks.csv), replicates (Replicates.csv), standard reference materials (Standard_Reference_Material.csv), and atmospheric ammonium contamination (NH4_Atmospheric_Contamination.csv). One CSV file (EWI_vs_ISCO.csv) contains data comparing composite samples collected by an automatic sampler (ISCO) at a fixed point with depth-integrated samples collected at equal width increments (EWI). One CSV file (Cross_Section_Field_Parameters.csv) contains field parameter data (specific conductance, temperature, pH, and dissolved oxygen) collected at a fixed location and data collected along the cross sections at variable water depths and horizontal distances across the openings of the culverts at the Chequessett Neck Road dike. One CSV file (LOADEST_Bias_Statistics.csv) contains data that include estimated natural log of load, model residuals, Z-scores, and seasonal model residuals for winter (December, January, and February); spring (March, April and May); summer (June, July and August); and fall (September, October, and November). The data release also includes a data dictionary (Data_Dictionary.csv) that provides detailed descriptions of each field in each CSV file, including: data filename; laboratory or data source; U.S. Geological Survey site ID numbers; data types; constituent (analyte) U.S. Geological Survey parameter codes; descriptions of parameters; units; methods; minimum reporting limits; limits of quantitation, if appropriate; method reference citations; and minimum, maximum, median, and average values for each analyte. The data release also includes an abbreviations file (Abbreviations.pdf) that defines all the abbreviations in the data dictionary and CSV files. Note that the USGS site ID includes a leading zero (011058798) and some of the parameter codes contain leading zeros, so care must be taken in opening and subsequently saving these files in other formats where leading zeros may be dropped.

This data release provides data in support of an assessment of water quality and discharge in the Herring River at the Chequessett Neck Road dike in Wellfleet, Massachusetts, from November 2015 to September 2017. The assessment was a cooperative project among the U.S. Geological Survey, National Park Service, Cape Cod National Seashore, and the Friends of Herring River to characterize environmental conditions prior to a future removal of the dike. It is described in U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Scientific Investigations Report "Assessment of Water Quality and Discharge in the Herring River, Wellfleet, Massachusetts, November 2015 – September 2017." This data release is structured as a set of comma-separated values (CSV) files, each of which contains information on data source (or laboratory used for analysis), USGS site identification (ID) number, beginning date of time of observation or sampling, ending date and time of observation or sampling and data such as flow rate and analytical results. The CSV files include calculated tidal daily flows (Flood_Tide_Tidal_Day.csv and Ebb_Tide_Tidal_Day.csv) that were used in Huntington and others (2020) for estimation of nutrient loads. Tidal daily flows are the estimated mean daily discharges for two consecutive flood and ebb tide cycles (average duration: 24 hours, 48 minutes). The associated date is the day on which most of the flow occurred. CSV files contain quality assurance data for water-quality samples including blanks (Blanks.csv), replicates (Replicates.csv), standard reference materials (Standard_Reference_Material.csv), and atmospheric ammonium contamination (NH4_Atmospheric_Contamination.csv). One CSV file (EWI_vs_ISCO.csv) contains data comparing composite samples collected by an automatic sampler (ISCO) at a fixed point with depth-integrated samples collected at equal width increments (EWI). One CSV file (Cross_Section_Field_Parameters.csv) contains field parameter data (specific conductance, temperature, pH, and dissolved oxygen) collected at a fixed location and data collected along the cross sections at variable water depths and horizontal distances across the openings of the culverts at the Chequessett Neck Road dike. One CSV file (LOADEST_Bias_Statistics.csv) contains data that include estimated natural log of load, model residuals, Z-scores, and seasonal model residuals for winter (December, January, and February); spring (March, April and May); summer (June, July and August); and fall (September, October, and November). The data release also includes a data dictionary (Data_Dictionary.csv) that provides detailed descriptions of each field in each CSV file, including: data filename; laboratory or data source; U.S. Geological Survey site ID numbers; data types; constituent (analyte) U.S. Geological Survey parameter codes; descriptions of parameters; units; methods; minimum reporting limits; limits of quantitation, if appropriate; method reference citations; and minimum, maximum, median, and average values for each analyte. The data release also includes an abbreviations file (Abbreviations.pdf) that defines all the abbreviations in the data dictionary and CSV files. Note that the USGS site ID includes a leading zero (011058798) and some of the parameter codes contain leading zeros, so care must be taken in opening and subsequently saving these files in other formats where leading zeros may be dropped.

Environmental parameters affecting plant productivity and microbial respiration, such as water level, salinity, and groundwater temperature included in these datasets, are key components of wetland carbon cycling, carbon storage, and capacity to maintain elevation. Data were collected to (1) provide background data to evaluate potential differences in water level and carbon flux between wetland sites with differing elevation and tidal inundation and (2) facilitate applications of Blue Carbon projects in coastal wetlands. Associated child pages include continuous water level, salinity, and temperature from shallow wells installed in coastal wetland sites on Cape Cod, Massachusetts. These datasets are grouped by the project they support or by study site. Project study sites include salt marshes with natural tidal flow, salt marshes that were previously tidally restricted and have been restored, impounded coastal wetlands with restricted tidal flow inclusive of various vegetation types, and Phragmites dominated areas fringing natural salt marshes.

These data were collected under a cooperative agreement with the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management (CZM) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Coastal and Marine Geology Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center (WHCMSC). Initiated in 2003, the primary objective of this program is to develop regional geologic framework information for the management of coastal and marine resources. Accurate data and maps of sea-floor geology are important first steps toward protecting fish habitat, delineating marine resources, and assessing environmental changes due to natural or human impacts. The project is focused on the inshore waters of coastal Massachusetts, primarily in water depths of 3-30 meters deep. Data collected for the mapping cooperative have been released in a series of USGS Open-File Reports (http://woodshole.er.usgs.gov/project-pages/coastal_mass/html/current_map.html). The data collected in the study area located in Northern Cape Cod Bay Massachusetts includes high-resolution geophysics (bathymetry, backscatter intensity, and seismic reflection), and ground validation (sediment samples, video tracklines, and bottom photographs). The data were collected during five separate surveys conducted between 2006 and 2008 and cover 480 square kilometers of the inner continental shelf. More information about the individual USGS surveys conducted as part of the northern Cape Cod Bay project can be found on the Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center Field Activity webpage: 06012: http://quashnet.er.usgs.gov/data/2006/06012/ 07001: http://quashnet.er.usgs.gov/data/2007/07001/ 07002: http://quashnet.er.usgs.gov/data/2007/07002/ 07003: http://quashnet.er.usgs.gov/data/2007/07003/ 08002: http://quashnet.er.usgs.gov/data/2008/08002/

The Herring River estuary (Wellfleet, Cape Cod, Massachusetts) has been tidally restricted for over a century by a dike constructed near the mouth of the river. Behind the dike, the tidal restriction has caused the conversion of salt marsh wetlands to various other ecosystems including impounded freshwater marshes, flooded shrub land, drained forested upland, and wetlands dominated by Phragmites australis. This estuary is now managed by the National Park Service, which has plans to replace the dike and restore tidal flow to the estuary. To assist National Park Service land managers with restoration planning, study collaborators have been investigating differences in soil properties, carbon accumulation, and greenhouse gas fluxes across differing ecosystems within the Herring River Estuary. The U.S. Geological Survey collected continuous monitoring data (including water level, soil temperature, air temperature, and meteorological parameters). These datasets can help evaluate key ecosystem drivers to make predictions about potential changes as restoration commences.

This data release supports analyses of the relations between monthly average nutrient concentrations in the Herring River on the ebb tide near Wellfleet Massachusetts and monthly average precipitation, temperature, runoff, solar radiation, ocean water temperature, mean sea level, nutrient concentrations in Wellfleet Harbor, and atmospheric deposition of nitrogen 2015-2021. The Environmental_Variables.csv file contains the monthly average precipitation, temperature, runoff, solar radiation, ocean water temperature, mean sea level, nutrient concentrations in Wellfleet Harbor, and atmospheric deposition of nitrogen data. The Velocity_andgage_height.csv file contains the data on surface water velocity that were used to determine the time of the beginning of flood and ebb tides from June 2020 through December 2021. The gage height data were used as a backup to the velocity data for determining the time of the beginning of flood and ebb tides.