Ecological Archives E083-057.
Authors
Data Files
Abstract
Metadata
Stephen S. Hale, Melissa M. Hughes, Charles J. Strobel, Henry W. Buffum,
Jane L. Copeland, and John F. Paul
Atlantic Ecology Division
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
27 Tarzwell Drive
Narragansett, Rhode Island 02882 USA
Email: hale.stephen@epa.gov
Data files are in ASCII format. Each data file is accompanied by a metadata file (in both ASCII and PDF formats). The structure for these metadata files is based on the NASA Directory Interchange Format (NASA 1991).
The file naming convention is vp(yr)_(type of data)_(details).(ext).
File extensions: ASCII - .txt; PDF - .pdf; compressed files - .zip
Data and metadata files have been compressed with PKZIP. Each logical file group contains from 17 to 41 individual files, each of which is documented (e.g., name, size, physical structure, contents) in the metadata. The file vp90_93_stations.zip also contains an ArcInfo export file
(vp90-93_stations_coverage_e00.zip) of all the station locations.vp90_93_stations.zip
vp90_93_water_quality.zip
vp90_93_sediment.zip
vp90_93_benthic.zip
vp90_93_fish.zip
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP) assessed the ecological condition of estuaries, bays, and tidal rivers in the Virginian Biogeographic Province (Cape Cod, Massachusetts, to Cape Henry, Virginia) during July–September 1990–1993. Indicators measured at 425 probability-based stations included water quality (temperature, salinity, clarity, dissolved oxygen), contamination and toxicity of sediment, structure of benthic and fish communities, and gross external pathology of fishes. These data were used to quantify the condition of ecological resources in the entire province, as well as in three subgroups (small estuaries, large estuaries, major tidal rivers). Also characterized was the condition of ecological resources for four major estuarine systems within the province (Chesapeake Bay, Delaware Bay, Hudson–Raritan system, Long Island Sound) and three tidal rivers in the Chesapeake Bay watershed (Potomac, Rappahannock, James). The data provide an unbiased baseline estimate of estuarine conditions in this province in the early 1990s. They should be useful in assessing long-term and broadscale questions such as global climate change, biodiversity, and environmental impacts.
Key words: estuaries; coastal systems; marine monitoring; environmental assessments; water quality; sediment chemistry; benthic communities; demersal fish communities; estuarine pollution; biological indicators; Virginian Biogeographic Province, 1990–1993.
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