Coastal Water Properties from Columbia River Estuary Pump and CTD Casts

Coastal waters of Washington and Oregon, including the Columbia River estuary, were sampled for multiple oceanographic parameters. Data collection occurred from May 1995 to February 1998 using pump casts and CTD instruments deployed from ships. The dataset was compiled and archived by NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI).

Use Cases

• Modeling salinity gradients and freshwater influence in the Columbia River estuary using depth and salinity columns.
• Analyzing correlations between water temperature, depth, and nutrient concentrations to study seasonal upwelling.
• Investigating optical properties as proxies for dissolved organic matter or phytoplankton in coastal waters.
• Assessing trace metal distributions relative to depth and salinity to identify potential sources or sinks.

Strengths

• Multi-year temporal coverage from 1995 to 1998.
• Includes six core oceanographic parameter groups: depth, nutrients, optical properties, salinity, temperature, and trace metals.
• Data collected using two standardized oceanographic methods: pump casts and Conductivity-Temperature-Depth (CTD) profilers.

Limitations

• Specific row count, column details, and sample size are unknown.
• Data is over 25 years old, limiting analysis of current coastal conditions.
• Geographic scope is restricted to one specific coastal region, reducing generalizability.

Provenance

Source

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI).

Collection Method

Measurements collected by pump casts and Conductivity-Temperature-Depth (CTD) instruments from research ships.

Time Range

1995-05-01 to 1998-02-01.

Freshness

Data collection ended in February 1998; the archive was last updated on that date.

Geography

Coastal Waters of Washington/Oregon, Columbia River estuary - Washington/Oregon.