Lagrangian drifter data from the mouth of the Columbia River, Oregon and Washington, 2013

Dates

Start Date: 2013-05-25
End Date: 2013-06-08
Publication Date: 2017

Citation

Stevens, A.W., Gelfenbaum, G., MacMahan, J., Reniers, A.J.H.M., Elias, E.P., Sherwood, C.R., Carlson, E.M., 2017, Oceanographic measurements and hydrodynamic modeling of the mouth of the Columbia River, Oregon and Washington, 2013: U.S. Geological Survey data release, http://dx.doi.org/10.5066/F7NG4NS1.

Summary

This portion of the data release contains Lagrangian drifter data collected in the Mouth of the Columbia River (MCR), Oregon and Washington, in 2013. Lagrangian surface currents were measured using drifters equipped with global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receivers. A total of eight drifter deployments were performed between May 25 and June 8, 2013 (USGS Field Activity S-03-13-WO; Table 1). For each deployment, drifters were released within the MCR and their positions were recorded until the drifters were recovered. The average duration of the drifter deployments varied between 1.6 hr and 17.2 hr, and the number of drifters released in a deployment ranged between 11 and 84. The initial positions and timing of the release of [...]

Summary

This portion of the data release contains Lagrangian drifter data collected in the Mouth of the Columbia River (MCR), Oregon and Washington, in 2013. Lagrangian surface currents were measured using drifters equipped with global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receivers. A total of eight drifter deployments were performed between May 25 and June 8, 2013 (USGS Field Activity S-03-13-WO; Table 1). For each deployment, drifters were released within the MCR and their positions were recorded until the drifters were recovered. The average duration of the drifter deployments varied between 1.6 hr and 17.2 hr, and the number of drifters released in a deployment ranged between 11 and 84. The initial positions and timing of the release of the drifters relative to the tidal cycle varied throughout the drifter deployments (figs. 1 and 2). Digital files containing the drifter data from each deployment are available in netCDF format.

The drifters were each constructed with a 0.5-m section of standard dimension ratio 35 polyvinyl chloride pipe capped at both ends. Holes were drilled into the end caps and a 2.27 kg weight was attached to the bottom of the drifter. Foam collars were attached around the outer diameter of the top caps to provide buoyancy for the drifters. Water-proof cases attached to the top of the drifters housed two types of GNSS receivers. Positions of the drifters were recorded at 1 Hz intervals using an internally-logging Genie GT-31 L/1 GNSS receiver. Each drifter was also equipped with a SPOT GNSS device that reported drifter positions at 5-min intervals via satellite. The positions from the SPOT GNSS were used in the event that the drifter was not recovered. The deployment and recovery operations were primarily carried out using the R/V Parke Snavely and two personal watercraft.

Table 1. List containing information about Lagrangian drifter deployments including deployment number, date and time, number of drifters released, tide information, average duration of data collection, and filename.
Deployment	Date (yyyy-mm-dd)	Start Time (HH:MM:SS)	Num. Drifters Released	Deployment Type	Mean Drifter Duration (h)	Filename
1	2013-05-25	19:40:00	19	Flood	1.6	drift_052513.nc
2	2013-05-26	18:44:00	23	Flood	2.5	drift_052613.nc
3	2013-05-28	20:41:23	30	Flood	2.1	drift_052813.nc
4	2013-05-29	15:07:45	29	Ebb	8.2	drift_052913.nc
5	2013-05-31	14:00:46	38	Ebb	4.9	drift_053113.nc
6	2013-06-01	18:26:01	11	Ebb	6.3	drift_060113.nc
7	2013-06-06	15:45:14	84	Flood + Ebb	17.2	drift_060613.nc
8	2013-06-08	12:48:18	19	Ebb	2.1	drift_060813.nc

Figure 1. Maps showing the locations of Lagrangian drifter data collected in the mouth of the Columbia River on A, May 25, 2013, B, May 26, 2013, C, May 28, 2013, and D, May 29, 2013. The drifter tracks are color coded according to the elapsed time during the drifter deployments. Inset panels show the water levels relative to mean sea level recorded at Astoria (NOAA site 9439040) during the drifter deployments.

Figure 2. Maps showing the locations of Lagrangian drifter data collected in the mouth of the Columbia River on A, May 31, 2013, B, June 1, 2013, C, June 6, 2013, and D, June 8, 2013. The drifter tracks are color coded according to the elapsed time during the drifter deployments. Inset panels show the water levels relative to mean sea level recorded at Astoria (NOAA site 9439040) during the drifter deployments.

Contacts

Point of Contact :: PCMSC Science Data Coordinator
Originator :: Andrew Stevens, Guy R Gelfenbaum, Jamie MacMahan, Ad Reniers, Edwin P Elias, Christopher R Sherwood, Emily Carlson
Metadata Contact :: PCMSC Science Data Coordinator
Publisher :: U.S. Geological Survey
USGS Mission Area :: Natural Hazards
SDC Data Owner :: Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
Distributor :: U.S. Geological Survey - ScienceBase

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mcr13_drifter_metadata.xml Original FGDC Metadata	View	15.32 KB	application/fgdc+xml
drifter_overview_1.png “PNG image showing drifter tracks for deployments 1-4”		1.21 MB	image/png
drifter_overview_2.png “PNG image showing drifter tracks for deployments 5-8”		1.93 MB	image/png
mcr13_drifter_data.zip “NetCDF files containing drifter data”		189.16 MB	application/zip

Purpose

Characterize surface currents in the mouth of the Columbia River.

Lagrangian drifter data from the mouth of the Columbia River, Oregon and Washington, 2013

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