1999 West EMAP Chemistry

Metadata:

• Identification_Information
• Data_Quality_Information
• Spatial_Data_Organization_Information
• Spatial_Reference_Information
• Entity_and_Attribute_Information
• Distribution_Information
• Metadata_Reference_Information

Identification_Information:

Citation:

Citation_Information:

Originator:

Southern California Coastal Water Research Project (SCCWRP)

Publication_Date: 20040402

Publication_Time: 20000402

Title: 1999 West EMAP Chemistry

Edition: 1.0

Publication_Information:

Publication_Place: Costa Mesa, California

Publisher:

Southern California Coastal Water Research Project (SCCWRP)

Online_Linkage: View a Map of this Data [html]

Download this Data as an Excel Friendly File [csv]

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Description:

Abstract:

The presence of contaminants in estuaries has been identified in both the scientific and popular press as a major problem contributing to degraded ecological resources and restricted harvest of fish and shell fish resources due to human health concerns. Reducing contaminant inputs and concentrations , therefore, is often a major focus of regulatory programs for estuaries. Contaminants include both inorganic (primarily metals) and organic forms originating from many sources, including atmospheric depostion, freshwater inputs, land runoff and point sources. These sources are poorly characterized , except in the most well-studied estuaries. Most contaminants that are potentially toxic to indigenous biological resources tend to bind to particles , which ultimaltely are deposited at he bottom of estuaries. This binding changes the form of contaminants and removes them from the water column; consequently, contaminants accumulate in estuarine sediments. Sediment contaminant concentrations were measured to aid in interpretation of the spatial patterns observed in the condition of biolgical resources in the estuaries of the West Coast. EMAP monitoring efforts have focused on sediment contaminants rather than measurement of water column contaminants because concentrations of contaminants in sediments are less variable and the sediment integrates contaminant inputs to estuartis over time (i.e. months and years). Metals in the sediment are derived from anthropogenic sources or from natural geochemical processes of weathering and erosion of the earth's crust. The difficulty arises in identifying which portion of the total metal content of the sediment was due to natural processes and which was due to human activities. Several methods can be used to determine whether measured metal concentrations in estuarine sediments represent anthropogenically-enriched or natural conditions.

Purpose:

The purpose of this table is to contain all of the sediment and tissue chemistry data for all the collected sediment and tissue samples.

Supplemental_Information:

OVERVIEW: In 1999 the US EPA contracted the states of Washington, Oregon, and California to conduct a West Coast Estuary survey. There were 210 stations in the sample design, 18 of which were not able to be sampled for a total of 192 successful measurements. DATA TYPES: Grabs, Trawls, and Water Quality casts were conducted at each of the stations to yield Benthic infauna, Sediment Toxicity, Sediment Chemistry, Trawl Fish, Macro Invertebrate, Debris, water column characterization at one meter increments from surface to bottom, and sediment grain size data. These data types can be aggregated using the StationID variable in each table. Missing numerical values have been coded as -99 Missing text values have been coded as NR Missing date values have been coded as 01/Jan/1999 Missing time values have been coded as 23:00 Sediement PAH data was reported in ng/g (dry wt) from California and Washington, but Oregon reported the data in ug/g (dry wt) but converted it to ng/g (dry wt) before loading to the data set. The expression of units for this class of compounds is reported as a different level than called for in the QA plan. DATA QUALIFIERS The qualifier field in the chemistry table contains the values NA, ND, NS, and NR in the field. NA means the sample was not analyzed and that this is a place holder record. ND means not detected and the result should be -99. NS means the analyte was no sampled in the field and this is a place holder record. NR means not recorded and it is not known if this data exisits or not. Oregon Chemistry QA data: Quality Control (QC) values are missing for some preparation and analytical batches. Missing values resulted for a variety of reasons: failure to record preparation date, insufficient sample volume to complete all analyses, QC procedures not appropriate for particular analytes, and chemist oversight. Oregon Department of Environmental Quality Laboratory conducts additional QC measures not recorded in this database, such as continuing calibration verifications, internal standards for metals analyses, Tetrachloro-m-xylene and Dibutyl chlorendate surrogates for PCBs and pesticides, and 1-Fluoronaphthalene and 2-Fluorobiphenyl surrogates for PAHs.

Time_Period_of_Content:

Time_Period_Information:

Range_of_Dates/Times:

Beginning_Date: 19990701

Ending_Date: 19990831

Currentness_Reference: Sampling was conducted in the summer of 1999.

Status:

Progress: Complete

Maintenance_and_Update_Frequency: As needed

Spatial_Domain:

Description_of_Geographic_Extent: The west coast of the continental United States

Bounding_Coordinates:

West_Bounding_Coordinate: -124.70778

East_Bounding_Coordinate: -117.12895

North_Bounding_Coordinate: 48.31995

South_Bounding_Coordinate: 32.63867

Keywords:

Theme:

Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: None

Theme_Keyword: None

Access_Constraints: None

Use_Constraints: Dataset credit required

Point_of_Contact:

Contact_Information:

Contact_Person_Primary:

Contact_Person: Information Systems Manager

Contact_Organization: SCCWRP

Contact_Address:

Address_Type: mailing and physical address

Address: 3535 Harbor Blvd., Suite 110

City: Costa Mesa

State_or_Province: California

Postal_Code: 92626

Country: USA

Contact_Voice_Telephone: 714.755.3200

Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: 714.438.1016

Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: im_contact@sccwrp.org

Hours_of_Service: 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday Through Friday

Data_Set_Credit:

Moss Landing Marine Lab (California), CRG Laboratories, USGS

Native_Data_Set_Environment: Microsoft Access Version 97