Dataset: Kelp tracking drifter data
Deployment: Dugan_UCSB_2015-2017

Principal Investigator:

Carter Ohlmann (University of California-Santa Barbara, UCSB-ERI)

BCO-DMO Data Manager:

Amber D. York (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, WHOI BCO-DMO)

Project:

Linking nearshore kelp forest dynamics to sandy beach ecosystems (Linking Kelp to Beaches)

Data URL:

https://www.bco-dmo.org/dataset-deployment/739117/data

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Description

Various tabular formats of these data are available by clicking the "Get Data" button on this page and then selecting "Downloads & Other Options."

These data are also available as a Matlab struct data type containing data for each drift deployment.
Download: kelp_drifter_data.mat (865 KB)

Methods & Sampling

Dataset acquisition description

GPS positions were sampled every 10 minutes. Velocities were computed as centered differences in position (first differences at endpoints).

The instruments were deployed by finding kelp plants near the edges of the three study forests that had been detached from the bottom and were freely drifting, and then attaching gps buoys to the plants with 1/4” polypropylene line. The line was generally attached to part of the kelp plant nearest the surface. The instruments were then left to record their position every 10 minutes. The buoys were retrieved when they reached the shoreline or when it appeared they were leaving the Santa Barbara Channel and would thus become unrecoverable.

More information about Microstar drifters (manufactured by Pacific Gyre Corp.) can be found in Ohlmann et al., 2005.

Data Processing Description

Dataset Processing Description

Velocities were computed as centered differences in position (first differences at endpoints). Matlab serial time (UTC) is computed from the recorded GPS time.

BCO-DMO Data Manager Processing Notes:
* added a conventional header with dataset name, PI name, version date
* modified parameter names to conform with BCO-DMO naming conventions
* Originally submitted data as matlab structs "day" and "readme" combined into one .mat file and made available for download as "kelp_drifter_data.mat"
* the "day" matlab struct converted to a tabular format (matlab Table). Date in format yyyy-mm-dd, time (HH:MM) and ISO timestamp in format yyyy-mm-ddTHH:MMZ were added as columns. Column "vel" was removed as it contained only NaN values. The .csv was imported into the BCO-DMO data system. Blank values are displayed as the default "nd" value for "no data" in the BCO-DMO system.

More information about this dataset deployment

Funding

Award Number	Funding Source
OCE-1458845	NSF Division of Ocean Sciences

Instruments

Drifter Buoy

Supplied Name: Microstar drifter

Supplied Description:

More information about Microstar drifters (manufactured by Pacific Gyre Corp.) can be found in Ohlmann et al., 2005.

Instrument Type

Generic Name: Drifter Buoy

Generic Description:

Drifting buoys are free drifting platforms with a float or buoy that keep the drifter at the surface and underwater sails or socks that catch the current. These instruments sit at the surface of the ocean and are transported via near-surface ocean currents. They are not fixed to the ocean bottom, therefore they "drift" with the currents. For this reason, these instruments are referred to as drifters, or drifting buoys.

The surface float contains sensors that measure different parameters, such as sea surface temperature, barometric pressure, salinity, wave height, etc. Data collected from these sensors are transmitted to satellites passing overhead, which are then relayed to land-based data centers.

definition sources: https://mmisw.org/ont/ioos/platform/drifting_buoy and https://www.aoml.noaa.gov/phod/gdp/faq.php#drifter1

Parameters

Supplied Name	Supplied description	Supplied Units	Standard Name
id	drifter id	unitless	Sensor_Id
lat	Latitude	decimal degrees	lat
lon	Longitude	decimal degrees	lon
matime	Matlab datenum data type	unitless	DateTime
u	u velocity	centimeters per second (cm/s)	u
v	v velocity	centimeters per second (cm/s)	v
z	water depth interpolated from bathymetry data to each drifter position (negative values are beneath the sea surface)	meters (m)	depth
date	date in format yyyy-mm-dd	unitlesss	date
time	time in format HH:MM	unitless	time
ISO_DateTime_UTC	timestamp (UTC) in standard ISO 8601:2004(E) format YYYY-mm-ddTHH:MMZ	unitless	ISO_DateTime_UTC

Database

Contribute Data

Dataset: Kelp tracking drifter data
Deployment: Dugan_UCSB_2015-2017

Dataset acquisition description

Dataset Processing Description

Database

Contribute Data

Dataset: Kelp tracking drifter dataDeployment: Dugan_UCSB_2015-2017

Dataset acquisition description

Dataset Processing Description

Dataset: Kelp tracking drifter data
Deployment: Dugan_UCSB_2015-2017