Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler Data Sets from Fixed Vessel

Land-Margin Ecosystem Research in the Columbia River Estuary is an interdisciplinary approach to investigating couplings between hydrological, geochemical and ecological processes within estuarine turbidity maxima. General hydrographic profiles indicate the nature of physical, biological, and particle stratification in the water column. From these data, the principle investigators determined depths to sample during pump casts. In addition, profiles of hydrographic and biophysical parameters may be used to explore potential links between or among these parameters and to verify instrument accuracy. The specific data set description is the following: The Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) acquires a fine-scale record of horizontal current flow through the water column. Data document the temporal change in degree of riverine versus marine influence and, thus, are important in understanding the transport of material in estuarine turbidity maxima (ETM) over time. These data are used to evaluate the hydrographic influences (e.g. tides, river flow) on the ETM and are used in conjunction with other data sets to model particle dynamics, biological production, and geochemical processing of organic material.