Data Processing for a Small-Scale Long-Term Coastal Ocean Observing System Near Mobile Bay, Alabama

Abstract:

The oceanographic community routinely collects time-series data of hydrographic, current velocity, and other basic physical, chemical, and biological properties of the marine environment. Such data are essential for establishing baseline characteristics of marine and estuarine ecosystems. However, the task of taking the raw data files as downloaded from a variety of instruments from multiple manufacturers, and turning it into data in a form that can be used to answer specific research questions, can be highly complex and time-consuming. To illustrate some of these complexities, we have thoroughly documented the sequence of data processing steps for a small coastal ocean observing system 25 km southwest of the mouth of Mobile Bay, Alabama, that the Dauphin Island Sea Lab has been operating since 2004. The goal was to produce documentation in sufficient detail to achieve full science reproducibility for all studies that include data from this system.