Water Data for Nisqually River at Site NR2

Multiple sensors for measuring stage (water level), water temperature, specific conductivity, turbidity and water velocity were installed at site NR2 (N 47d 04' 46.1"/W 122d 42' 30.2"), located approximately 3.1 km upstream from the mouth of the Nisqually River and within the tidal prism. The sensors were connected to a cell-phone telemetered, data collection platform (DCP) used to program and power each sensor as well as synchronize the timing of 15-minute measurement intervals. A vented conductivity, temperature and depth sensor (CTD, InSitu Aqua Troll) measured water temperature, water depth, specific conductance, and salinity from May 11, 2016 to August 3, 2016 (85 days) and from September 8, 2016 to March 16, 2017 (190 days). Water temperature measurements ranged from 1.8 to 19.9 degrees C. Water depth of the the sensor ranged from 0.08 to 4.73 meters. Water surface elevation (NAVD88) was surveyed with RTN-GPS at the same time as water level was measured and recorded by sensors and was used to determine an offset (-0.44 m) for converting water depth to water surface elevation (NAVD88). Specific conductance measurements ranged from 48 to 43,217 microSiemens per centimeter (uS/cm) and salinity ranged from 0 to 27.81 practical salinity units (PSU). Data gaps of 15-minutes or more were reported an “NA”. Missing data from May 24, 2016 to June 1, 2016 was the result of DCP failure. The deployment pipe was hit by debris on March 16,2017 which ended the deployment. An acoustic Doppler velocity meter (ADVM, SonTek-SL 500) measured water temperature, stream velocity and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) from May 11, 2016 to August 3, 2016 (85 days) and from September 8, 2016 to March 16, 2017 (190 days). Water temperature measurements ranged from 2.0 to 19.7 degrees C. Due to hardware mounting constraints at the channel edge, the ADVM was deployed at an oblique angle relative to the primary direction of flow and x-y components of stream velocity were measured relative to the sensor housing. The x-component of stream velocity (Vx) ranged from -0.70 to 1.68 m/s and the y-direction component (Vy) ranged from -0.47 to 1.12 m/s. The stream velocity magnitude (Vmag) is the sum of Vx and Vy vector components and ranged from -0.77 to 2.02 m/s, where positive values indicate flow in the downstream direction and negative values indicate flow in the upstream direction as a result of flood tide conditions. Signal to noise ratio ranged from 0.6 to 76.3 dB. Data gaps of 15-minutes or more were reported as “NA”. Missing data from May 24, 2016 to June 1, 2016 was the result of DCP failure. Data gaps of 15-minutes or more were reported an “NA”. The data record ended on March 16, 2017 after a beam check indicated ADVM acoustic beam alignment changed due to debris strike. A digital turbidity sensor (DTS-12) measured turbidity and temperature from May 11, 2016 to August 4, 2016 (86 days) and from September 8, 2016 to September 18, 2017 (375 days). Turbidity ranged from 0.01 to 883.17 NTUs. Temperature ranged from 1.8 to 20.0 degrees C. This site is also referenced as "USGS 12090250 Nisqually River at Estuary Trail near Nisqually, WA". Suspended sediment sample and discrete discharge data at this site are available at: https://nwis.waterdata.usgs.gov/wa/nwis/inventory/?site_no=12090250&amp;agency_cd=USGS. A summary of suspended-sediment sample data are provided with this data release in the file NR2_SSC_summary.csv.

Tags: billy-frank-jr-nisqually-national-wildlife-refuge, hydrodynamics, salinity, sediment, specific-conductance, stream-stage, temperature, thurston-county, time-series-data, usgs-59f8d4cce4b063d5d309f1ec
Organization: Department of the Interior