Data Set Citation
McKnight D.McMurdo Dry Valley Stream Gauge and Outlet Locations.
knb-lter-mcm.0002.1 (http://metacat.lternet.edu:8080/knb/metacat/knb-lter-mcm.0002.1/mcm).
Data Tables, Images, and Other Entities:
Metadata download:Ecological Metadata Language (EML) File
Data Table:strmgage.dat
View Table Metadata
Short Name:strmgage.dat
Online Distribution Info:
Download File:
http://www.mcmlter.org/data/streams/locations/strmgage.dat
Data Set Owner(s):
Individual: Diane McKnight
Address:
INSTAAR,
1560 30th Street,
Campus Box 450 ,
Boulder, CO 80309-0450 USA
Phone:
(303)492-4687 (voice)
Email Address:
Diane.Mcknight@colorado.edu
Metadata Provider(s):
Organization:McMurdo Dry Valleys LTER
Address:
Byrd Polar Research Center ,
108 Scott Hall,
1090 Carmack Rd,
Columbus, OH 43210-1002 USA
Phone:
614-292-3229 (voice)
Phone:
(614) 292-4697 (fax)
Email Address:
mcmlter@bprc.mps.ohio-state.edu
Associated Party:
Individual: Mike Gooseff
Address:
Department of Geology and Geological Engineering,
Colorado School of Mines ,
Golden, CO 80401 USA
Phone:
(303)384-2181 (voice)
Email Address:
mgooseff@mines.edu
Role:
Associated Researcher
Abstract:
 
As part of the Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) project in the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica, a systematic sampling program has been undertaken to monitor the the glacial meltwater streams in the region. Measurements are regularly made to examine water quality, quantity, and chemical properties. The stream gauge and outlet locations table serves as an index of the sampling points used to collect hydrological and stream chemistry data in the McMurdo Dry Valley network of streams. It documents the latitude, longitude and elevation of all the stream sample points used for hydrological and/or chemical analysis.
Keywords:
 
  • stream (theme)
  • latitude (theme)
  • longitude (theme)
  • streamflow (theme)
  • hydrology (theme)
  • stream chemistry (theme)
Additional Information:
 
Citations
None.
Notes
Data contained in these files has been subjected to quality control standards imposed by the investigator. The user of this data should be aware that, while efforts have been taken to ensure that these data are of the highest quality, there is no guarantee of perfection for the data contained herein and the possibility of errors exists. If you encounter questionable data, please contact the MCM LTER data manager corrected or qualified. Thus, these data may be modified and future data will be appended.
License and Usage Rights:
 
MCM LTER data may be used freely with the following restrictions:
The Principal Investigator be sent a notice stating reasons for acquiring any data and a description of the publication intentions. 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. A copy of any resultant publications should be sent to the McMurdo data manager and principal investigator. The end-user follow the guidelines set forth in the LTER Network Data Access Policy, Data Access Requirements, and General Data Use Agreement found at http://www.mcmlter.org/data_guidelines.htm
Geographic Coverage:
Geographic Description: Study areas are located in the McMurdo Dry Valleys of southern Victoria Land, Antarctica (on the western coast of the Ross Sea at 77oS). Although the majority of the streams in the study are found in Taylor Valley, data has also been collected from streams in the nearby Miers, Alph, Wright, Pearse, Garwood, and Victoria Valleys.
Bounding Coordinates:
West:  162  degrees
East:  163.6  degrees
North:  -77.2  degrees
South:  -77.8  degrees
Mimimum Altitude:0  meter
Maximum Altitude:1000  meter
Maintenance:
Description:
A 'locations' table was created by Harry House (USGS - Wisconsin office) in early 1994. It was first stored in an INGRES database, but was converted to ORACLE format in early 1996. Modifications were generally made each year after the initial creation in the early part of the year. It was transferred to INSTAAR in late 1997. In 1998, Denise Steigerwald (the McMurdo LTER data manager) received a report of "1996-97 MCM LTER GPS Coordinate Locations". This contained coordinates measured in the 1996-97 season that were accurate to about a meter. Records for stations that had less precise coordinates were therefore replaced. Comments were added to the 'descriptions' field where this occurred, and 'GPS96-97.DOC' was added to the 'file name' field (to show the file in which the values originated). In March, 2000, Denise Steigerwald added some variables to this file in order to make the dataset more useful in Oracle and GIS. These variables included dataset code, strmgageid, and stream.
Frequency:
Contact:
Organization:McMurdo Dry Valleys LTER
Position:Data Manager
Address:
Byrd Polar Research Center ,
108 Scott Hall,
1090 Carmack Rd,
Columbus, OH 43210-1002 USA
Phone:
614-292-3229 (voice)
Email Address:
mcmlter@bprc.mps.ohio-state.edu
Publisher:
Organization:McMurdo Dry Valleys LTER
Address:
Byrd Polar Research Center ,
108 Scott Hall,
1090 Carmack Rd,
Columbus,
Columbus, OH 43210-1002 USA
Phone:
(614) 292-4697 (fax)
Methods Info:
Step 1:  
Description:
Since streams are a critical link in the trophic interactions and biogeochemical cycles of the McMurdo Dry Valleys, streams located throughout the area were chosen for the long-term ecological research (LTER) study. To monitor stream hydrology, an extensive network of gauging stations was set up to continuously measure streamflow throughout the austral summers. Some streams are intermittently gauged to monitor water quality and quantity. While the researchers are in the field to collect hydrology data, stream water samples to be used for chemical analysis are also gathered. Sample locations for hydrology data thus coincides with those for stream chemistry samples. Locations also remain consistent from season to season. The coordinates (latitude, longitude and elevation) for many of these sites were measured with a GPS (global positioning system) gauge. Records based on the 1996-97 GPS measurements are accurate to about a meter. (They contain a value of "GPS96-97.DOC" for the 'file name' field). Other records may not have coordinates as precise as this. Most of them were obtained from a locations table created by Harry House (U.S. Geological Survey). However, it is unknown what was initially used to measure these latitudes, longitudes and elevations. From time to time, samples are taken from sites that are not regularly monitored. When that occurs, the field team uses a GPS gauge, accurate to about 10 meters, to obtain the coordinates for the sample. The coordinates are then added to this dataset.