A Coastal Water Quality Metadata Database for the Southeast U.S.A. Wade Sheldon, Christine Laporte, Travis Douce and Merryl Alber Georgia Coastal Research Council Dept. of Marine Sciences University of Georgia

Background NPS needed information on water quality monitoring in SE USA  Developing SE Coast Network monitoring program  Avoid duplication of effort  Identify comparable data to leverage  Discover data gaps for future expansion  Information proved very difficult for NPS to obtain GCRC funded to identify long-term monitoring activities  Workshop to gather input, info on regional activities  Developed database of long-term monitoring program metadata  Developed interactive web applications, services for querying database  Phase 1 completed in 2009 GCRC funded in 2010 to extend scope, functionality (Phase 2)

Rationale Numerous agencies and institutions collecting water quality data Information highly dispersed  Large federal databases (USGS, NOAA, EPA)  Program/project web pages (NERR, LTER, USFS, NPS, SAML,...)  State/municipal web pages  Offline sources (reports, brochures) Information diverse in scope, format, accessibility  Web pages, text files, XML, maps/visualizations  Online sources have radically-different interfaces, export capabilities Unified database needed to facilitate discovery

Monitoring Station Search Examples

Project Scope and Goals Targeted information  Programs monitoring water quality (and related measurements)  Sponsoring organization information  Description (mission, goals, policies)  Points of contact (web site, names, )  Time period  Monitoring locations/stations  Geographic location (state, county, HUC, latitude/longitude)  Parameters measured  Time period  Web links for information and data downloads Geographic Scope  Phase 1: coastal zone of NC, SC, GA, East FL  Phase 2: South Atlantic Landscape Conservation Cooperative (SALCC)

Geographic Coverage

Database Design Process Designed relational database to store content  Used SQL Server 2000/2005  Support for relevant metadata content standards (EDSC)  Support for adding new metadata fields, varying completeness  Support for varying granularity in searches (thematic & geospatial) Developed “middleware” for connecting to database  Standard queries (views) to abstract structure, simplify querying  Stored procedures for updates and programmatic queries  XML middleware for Google Maps, web services (SQLXML) Developed user interfaces for update/query  MS Access forms for GCRC staff  Web portal for public access (IIS/Active Server Pages)

Hierarchical design with strong referential integrity  Organizations  Monitoring Programs  Monitoring Stations  Measured Parameters Flexible content model for Organization/Program metadata  Fixed fields for critical content (name, acronym, web URL,...)  Controlled vocabularies of optional fields for descriptive metadata  Supports wide range of detail based on reporting practices Data Model

Monitoring station metadata  Site name, description  Lat/Lon  State/County/location  8-digit HUC  Probabilistic or long-term site  Dates of operation  Data download/request URL Measurement parameters  Linked to stations or programs  Linked to USGS NWIS STORET codes  Parameter groups for multiple levels of detail (nutrients > nitrogen > ammonium)

Populating the Database List of candidate organizations/programs from NPS, workshop input and local knowledge GCRC staff entered organization and program info from web Monitoring locations, dates, parameters entered multiple ways  Mined from program databases if online, queryable  Federal: USGS NWIS, NOAA NWS (NCDC),...  National Programs: NERR CDMO, LTER,...  Requested in spreadsheet form if not online  NPS, state agencies, municipalities,... Program reps asked to check entries

Targeted Organizations CAMA NE - Florida Department of Environmental Protection: Coastal and Aquatic Managed Areas CAMA SE - Florida Department of Environmental Protection: Coastal and Aquatic Managed Areas CAMA SFL - Florida Department of Environmental Protection: Coastal and Aquatic Managed Areas CCEHBR - NOAA Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, Coastal Environmental Health and Biomolecular Research FDEP NE - Florida Department of Environmental Protection: Northeast District FerryMon - University of North Carolina FerryMon GCE-LTER - Georgia Coastal Ecosystems Long Term Ecological Research GCRD - Georgia Department of Natural Resources: Georgia Coastal Resources Division JAX - Florida: City of Jacksonville MAREX - University of Georgia Marine Extension Service: MAREX Marine Advisory Services NC DENR DEH - North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources: Division of Environmental Health NC DENR DWQ - North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources: Division of Water Quality NERRS - NOAA National Estuarine Research Reserve System NOAA NWS - NOAA National Weather Service SC DNR - South Carolina Department of Natural Resources: Marine Division SC EQC - South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control SECN - National Park Service: Southeast Coast Network SECOORA - Southeast Coastal Ocean Observing Regional Association SERC - Florida International University: Southeast Environmental Research Center SFWMD - Florida Water Management Districts: South Florida Water Management District SJRWMD - Florida Water Management Districts: St. Johns River Water Management District USGS - U.S. Geological Survey

Data Entry Forms – MS Access

Data Entry Forms – Web (ASP)

Database Statistics (Apr 2011) Organizations: 22 Monitoring Programs: 42 Monitoring Locations: 44,057 Parameters Measured: 2266 Location-Parameter Records: 764,887

Accessing the Database Prototype web portal: Browseable lists of organizations, programs with links to info Search for monitoring locations by multiple criteria  Program name, site name, site type  Parameter name (or category, tag,...)  Date range  Hydrologic Unit (8-digit HUC)  Geographic bounding box (with map input) Multiple output formats  Paged web table with links to station details  Spreadsheet (CSV text)  Google Earth KML with informational balloons, time-span tags  XML text (web service)

Station Search

Search Results

Station Detail View

Google Earth KML

XML (Web Service Output)

Ongoing Work Continue adding programs, stations, parameters  US EPA STORET/WQX (?)  NADP, NPS, USFS Enhance web portal appearance and usability  Organization and program metadata search/retrieval  Geographic placename search (state, county, location)  Additional parameter search options (USGS NWIS code,...) Coordinate with other regional efforts  SE Coastal Ocean Observing Regional Association (SECOORA)  NPS OpenParks GRID

Conclusions Extensive effort is required to acquire comparable information about water quality monitoring programs Providing unified access to monitoring metadata on a web portal, with links to program contacts and data downloads, is a valuable service for researchers, resource managers

Questions?