I. Data Set Descriptors A. Title: Richard N. Peterson. 2017. Radon Surveys in the Duplin River near Sapelo Island, Georgia from July 2016. Georgia Coastal Ecosystems LTER Data Catalog (data set GND-GCED-1708; http://gce-lter.marsci.uga.edu/public/app/dataset_details.asp?accession=GND-GCED-1708) B. Accession Number: GND-GCED-1708 C. Description 1. Originator(s): Name: Richard N. Peterson Address: Center for Marine and Wetland Studies 1270 Atlantic Avenue, Room 111 Conway, South Carolina 29526 Country: USA Email: rpeters2@coastal.edu 2. Abstract: This study measured dissolved radon-222 in transects upstream throughout the Duplin River. Radon counts were integrated over 10 minute counting cycles, so lateral resolution of the survey is determined by the boat speed. Transects were begun at high tide and at low tide during both spring and neap tide. 3. Study Type: Directed Study 4. Study Themes: Groundwater Hydrology 5. LTER Core Areas: Disturbance Patterns 6. Georeferences: none 7. Submission Date: Aug 05, 2017 D. Keywords: Disturbance Patterns, Duplin River, GCE, Georgia, Georgia Coastal Ecosystems, groundwater, LTER, radon, Sapelo Island, USA II. Research Origin Descriptors A. Overall Project Description 1. Project Title: Georgia Coastal Ecosystems LTER Project III 2. Principal Investigators: Name: Merryl Alber Address: Dept. of Marine Sciences University of Georgia Athens, Georgia 30602-3636 Country: USA Email: malber@uga.edu 3. Funding Period: Nov 01, 2012 to Nov 01, 2018 4. Objectives: The research proposed for GCE-III is designed to address how variations in salinity and inundation, driven by climate change and anthropogenic factors, affect biotic and ecosystem responses at different spatial and temporal scales, and to predict the consequences of these changes for habitat provisioning and carbon (C) sequestration across the coastal landscape. 5. Abstract: The Georgia Coastal Ecosystems (GCE) LTER is located along three adjacent sounds on the Atlantic coast and includes both intertidal marshes and estuaries. Long-term drivers of climate change, sea level rise and human alterations of the landscape will cause transitions in dominant habitat types (state changes) within the GCE domain by changing the amounts and patterns of water delivery across the landscape. These changes in water delivery can be conceptualized as presses and pulses in river inflow, local runoff, groundwater input, and tidal inundation, which will in turn manifest themselves as changes in salinity and inundation patterns in the domain. The research proposed for GCE-III is designed to address how variations in salinity and inundation, driven by climate change and anthropogenic factors, affect biotic and ecosystem responses at different spatial and temporal scales, and to predict the consequences of these changes for habitat provisioning and carbon (C) sequestration across the coastal landscape. The goals are to: 1) Track long-term changes in climate and human actions in the watershed and adjacent uplands, and evaluate the effects of these drivers on domain boundary conditions. 2) Describe temporal and spatial variability in physical, chemical, geological and biological, and to evaluate how they are affected by variations in river inflow and other boundary conditions. 3) Characterize the responses of three dominant habitats in the domain to pulses and presses in salinity and inundation. 4) Describe patterns of habitat provisioning and C sequestration and export in the GCE domain, and to evaluate how these might be affected by changes in salinity and inundation. These efforts will be synthesized into a synoptic understanding of both biotic and ecosystem responses to variations in salinity and inundation driven by climate change and human activities, which will be used to assess thresholds between habitats and the potential for state changes in the domain. 6. Funding Source: NSF OCE 1237140 B. Sub-project Description 1. Site Description a. Geographic Location: GCE-DP -- Duplin River, Georgia, USA Coordinates: GCE-DP -- NW: 081 18 07.15 W, 31 29 11.37 N NE: 081 15 47.25 W, 31 29 11.37 N SE: 081 15 47.25 W, 31 24 39.08 N SW: 081 18 07.15 W, 31 24 39.08 N b. Physiographic Region: GCE-DP -- Myxohaline tidal creek and marsh c. Landform Components: GCE-DP -- Intertidal marsh bordering tidal channels and creeks d. Hydrographic Characteristics: GCE-DP -- Site includes the Duplin River and various smaller tidal creeks and channels e. Topographic Attributes: GCE-DP -- Flat, with elevations ranging from 0-3.4m above mean low tide f. Geology, Lithology and Soils: GCE-DP -- unspecified g. Vegetation Communities: GCE-DP -- unspecified h. History of Land Use and Disturbance: none recorded i. Climate: Climate summary for Sapelo Island, Georgia, based on NWS data from 1980-2010: Daily-aggregated Values: Mean (sample standard deviation) mean air temperature: 20.09°C (7.28°C) minimum air temperature: 15.02°C (7.96°C) maximum air temperature: 24.82°C (6.98°C) total precipitation: 3.26mm (10.3mm) Yearly-aggregated Daily Values: Mean (sample standard deviation) total precipitation (1980-2010): 1124mm (266mm) 2. Experimental or Sampling Design a. Design Characteristics: Continuous surveys of dissolved radon-222 activities in near surface waters of the Duplin River. b. Permanent Plots: none c. Data Collection Duration and Frequency: We use a Rule 3700 GPH bilge pump powered by a marine deep cycle battery. The bilge pump provides a continuous stream of water to the RAD-Aqua, which is connected in a closed air-loop to a RAD7 via a desiccant column. Water temperature and latitude/longitude were likewise integrated over 10 minute counting cycles. Beginning of Observations: Jul 05, 2016 End of Observations: Jul 12, 2016 3. Research Methods a. Field and Laboratory Methods: Radon Monitoring -- We use a Rule 3700 GPH bilge pump powered by a marine deep cycle battery. The bilge pump provides a continuous stream of water to the RAD-Aqua, which is connected in a closed air-loop to a RAD7 via a desiccant column. Water temperature was measured with a HOBO logger connected to the loop. Latitude/Longitude were recorded with a Garmin GPSmap 62s. Water temperature and latitude/longitude were likewise integrated over 10 minute counting cycles. b. Protocols: none c. Instrumentation: HOBO data logger, Garmin GPSmap 62s RAD 7 Radon Gas Monitor Manufacturer: Durridge Compnay Inc. (Model: RAD7) Last Calibration: Jan 20, 2012 Parameter: Dissolved Radon-222 Concentration (pCi/L) (Accuracy: +/- 5%, Range: 0.1 - 20,000 pCi/L) Protocol: Burnett et al. (2001) A continuous monitor for assessment of 222Rn in the coastal ocean, Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry, Vol. 249, No. 1 (2001) 167–172 d. Taxonomy and Systematics: not applicable e. Speclies List: f. Permit History: not applicable 4. Project Personnel a. Personnel: 1: Richard N. Peterson 2: Austin Waldorf 3: Leigha Peterson b. Affiliations: 1: Coastal Carolina University, Conway, South Carolina 2: Coastal Carolina University, Conway, South Carolina 3: Coastal Carolina University, Conway, South Carolina III. Data Set Status and Accessibility A. Status 1. Latest Update: 15-Sep-2017 2. Latest Archive Date: 15-Sep-2017 3. Latest Metadata Update: 15-Sep-2017 4. Data Verification Status: New Submission B. Accessibility 1. Storage Location and Medium: Stored at GCE-LTER Data Management Office Dept. of Marine Sciences Univ. of Georgia Athens, GA 30602-3636 USA on media: electronic data download (WWW) or compact disk 2. Contact Person: Name: Wade M. Sheldon, Jr. Address: Dept. of Marine Sciences University of Georgia Athens, Georgia 30602-3636 Country: USA Email: sheldon@uga.edu 3. Copyright Restrictions: not copyrighted 4. Restrictions: All publications based on this data set must cite the contributor and Georgia Coastal Ecosystems LTER project, and two copies of the manuscript must be submitted to the GCE-LTER Information Management Office. a. Release Date: Affiliates: Aug 05, 2017, Public: Aug 05, 2019 b. Citation: Data provided by the Georgia Coastal Ecosystems Long Term Ecological Research Project, supported by funds from NSF OCE 1237140 (data set GND-GCED-1708) c. Disclaimer: The user assumes all responsibility for errors in judgement based on interpretation of data and analyses presented in this data set. 5. Costs: free electronic data download via WWW, distribution on CD may be subject to nominal processing and handling fee IV. Data Structural Descriptors A. Data Set File 1. File Name: GND-GCED-1708_1_0.CSV 2. Size: 75 records 3. File Format: ASCII text (comma-separated value format) 3a. Delimiters: single comma 4. Header Information: 5 lines of ASCII text 5. Alphanumeric Attributes: 6. Quality Control Flag Codes: Q = questionable value, I = invalid value, E = estimated value 7. Authentication Procedures: 8. Calculations: 9. Processing History: Software version: GCE Data Toolbox Version 3.9.6b (27-Aug-2016) Data structure version: GCE Data Structure 1.1 (29-Mar-2001) Original data file processed: GND-GCED-1708.txt (75 records) Data processing history: 17-Aug-2017: new GCE Data Structure 1.1 created ('newstruct') 17-Aug-2017: 75 rows imported from ASCII data file 'GND-GCED-1708.txt' ('imp_ascii') 17-Aug-2017: 83 metadata fields in file header parsed ('parse_header') 17-Aug-2017: data structure validated ('gce_valid') 17-Aug-2017: Q/C flagging criteria applied, 'flags' field updated ('dataflag') 17-Aug-2017: added column 'DateTime_1' at position 2 ('addcol') 17-Aug-2017: added column 'DateTime_2' at position 3 ('addcol') 17-Aug-2017: Descriptions of columns DateTime and DateTime_1 edited; Name of column DateTime_1 changed to Date; Name of column DateTime_2 changed to Time;Units of column Date changed from '' to 'YYYY-MM-DD'; Units of column Time changed from '' to 'hh:mm:ss';deleted column DateTime from data structure ('ui_editor') 17-Aug-2017: copied/reordered columns Date, Time, Survey_Number, Latitude, Longitude, Water_Temperature, Rn-222_Activity and Rn-222_Activity_Uncertainty ('copycols') 17-Aug-2017: updated 1 metadata fields in the Dataset sections ('addmeta') 17-Aug-2017: imported Dataset, Project, Site, Study, Status, Supplement metadata descriptors from the GCE Metabase ('imp_gcemetadata') 17-Aug-2017: updated 57 metadata fields in the Dataset, Project, Site, Status, Study, Supplement sections ('addmeta') 17-Aug-2017: Description of column Time edited; Units of column Water_Temperature changed from 'deg. C' to 'C';Q/C Criteria of column Rn-222_Activity changed from 'x<0='I';x<0.3='Q'' to 'x<0='I';x<0.2='Q' ('ui_editor') 17-Aug-2017: Q/C flagging criteria applied for column(s) Rn-222_Activity, 'flags' field updated ('dataflag') 15-Sep-2017: updated 1 metadata fields in the Dataset sections ('addmeta') 15-Sep-2017: imported Dataset, Project, Site, Study, Status, Supplement metadata descriptors from the GCE Metabase ('imp_gcemetadata') 15-Sep-2017: updated 57 metadata fields in the Dataset, Project, Site, Status, Study, Supplement sections ('addmeta') 15-Sep-2017: updated 6 metadata fields in the Data sections ('addmeta') 15-Sep-2017: updated 15 metadata fields in the Status, Data sections to reflect attribute metadata ('updatecols') 15-Sep-2017: parsed and formatted metadata ('listmeta') B. Variable Information 1. Variable Name: column 1. Date column 2. Time column 3. Survey_Number column 4. Latitude column 5. Longitude column 6. Water_Temperature column 7. Rn-222_Activity column 8. Rn-222_Activity_Uncertainty 2. Variable Definition: column 1. Date of Observation column 2. Time of Obsersvation (EDT) column 3. Ordinal survey number column 4. Latitude of sampling location in degrees N column 5. Longitude of sampling location in degrees W column 6. Water Temperature column 7. Dissolved gas activity column 8. 1-sigma analytical uncertainty 3. Units of Measurement: column 1. YYYY-MM-DD column 2. hh:mm:ss column 3. none column 4. degrees column 5. degrees column 6. C column 7. dpm/L column 8. dpm/L 4. Data Type a. Storage Type: column 1. string column 2. string column 3. integer column 4. floating-point column 5. floating-point column 6. floating-point column 7. floating-point column 8. floating-point b. Variable Codes: c. Numeric Range: column 1. (none) column 2. (none) column 3. 1 to 4 column 4. 31.4178 to 31.4889 column 5. -81.2968 to -81.2678 column 6. 28.8 to 32.23 column 7. 0.25575 to 4.6353 column 8. 0.10419 to 0.44369 d. Missing Value Code: 5. Data Format a. Column Type: column 1. text column 2. text column 3. numerical column 4. numerical column 5. numerical column 6. numerical column 7. numerical column 8. numerical b. Number of Columns: 8 c. Decimal Places: column 1. 0 column 2. 0 column 3. 0 column 4. 6 column 5. 6 column 6. 2 column 7. 1 column 8. 1 6. Logical Variable Type: column 1. datetime (none) column 2. datetime (none) column 3. ordinal (discrete) column 4. geographic coordinate (continuous) column 5. geographic coordinate (continuous) column 6. data (continuous) column 7. data (continuous) column 8. data (continuous) 7. Flagging Criteria: column 1. none column 2. none column 3. none column 4. none column 5. none column 6. none column 7. x<0="I";x<0.2="Q" column 8. x<0="I" C. Data Anomalies: V. Supplemental Descriptors A. Data Acquisition 1. Data Forms: 2. Form Location: 3. Data Entry Validation: B. Quality Assurance/Quality Control Procedures: C. Supplemental Materials: D. Computer Programs: E. Archival Practices: F. Publications: not specified G. History of Data Set Usage 1. Data Request History: not specified 2. Data Set Update History: none 3. Review History: none 4. Questions and Comments from Users: none