The V-throated flume and standpipes used at the LTER weirs operated on the principle that the height of the water level in a standpipe at a specific location within a weir of known dimensions can be converted to volume of water in the stream. The change of this instantaneous volume with time could then be used to compute volumetric stream flow. The stilling pipe installation at the USGS stations operates on the principle that the height of the water level in a standpipe at a specific location within a streambed can be converted to volume of water in the stream. The tracking of the change in stream height with time then enables the calculation of stream flow.
Stream Flow Daily Data: USGS (FIFE)
(Daily Stream Flow Amounts).
The Daily Stream Flow Amounts Data Set contains daily measurements of stream flow for the four LTER stations and for the USGS stream-flow station located on tributaries to Kings Creek. Daily minimum, maximum and mean stream flow, and total volume of water flow in the stream are included in the data set.
The purpose of this data set was to provide accurate measurements of the stream-flow from tributaries within the FIFE study area, thereby enabling the study of the hydrology of streams that drain from a tallgrass prairie.
Daily minimum, maximum and mean stream flow, and total volume of water flow in the stream.
Five stream-flow gauges were placed across creeks in the Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) section of the FIFE study area. Four of these five stations were maintained and monitored by the LTER staff while the fifth was part of the USGS network of stream flow gauges.
Daily measurements of stream flow are available for the 4 LTER stations and for the USGS stream-flow station located on tributaries to Kings Creek. This data sets contains measurements from April 1979 to September 1988 for the USGS station, and from June 1985 to December 1987 for the 4 LTER stations.
STREAM_FLOW_DAILY_DATA.
Staff Science.
Staff Science Soil Moisture and Hydrology Data Acquisition Program.
Contact 1:
Dr. John Briggs
Kansas State University
Manhattan, KS 66506
Tel.: (913) 532-6629
Email: jmb@andro.konza.ksu.edu
The daily stream flow amounts were provided by the staff of the Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) site at Kansas State University (KSU) and the U.S. Geological Survey, Kansas. The data collected by the LTER staff were collected under the Konza Prairie LTER grant BSR 8514327 awarded to KSU by the National Science Foundation.
The V-throated flume and standpipes used at the LTER weirs operated on the principle that the height of the water level in a standpipe at a specific location within a weir of known dimensions can be converted to volume of water in the stream. The change of this instantaneous volume with time could then be used to compute volumetric stream flow. See Replogle 1978 for a more in-depth discussion of the theory associated with this type of weir.
The stilling pipe installation at the USGS stations operates on the principle that the height of the water level in a standpipe at a specific location within a streambed can be converted to volume of water in the stream. The tracking of the change in stream height with time then enables the calculation of stream flow.
At the LTER sites the weir used created a V-throated flume. There was a standpipe associated with the weir through which the gauge height was measured.
Ground-based.
The LTER weir and stilling pipe intake is built into the streambed. The stilling pipe intake at the USGS station is built into the bottom of the streambed.
To measure the volume of stream flow.
Average, minimum and maximum daily stream-flow and daily total volume of stream-flow.
The LTER weirs were constructed in the streambed with a specific configuration so that the height of the water as it flows through the weir could be measured using a pressure transducer. The gauge height is measured as the pressure of the water in a standpipe associated with the V-throated weir. This height is then converted to a volumetric flow knowing the geometry of the weir.
For a description of the operating principles for the USGS station see the Principles of Operation Section in Fifteen Minute Stream Flow Rates from USGS on FIFE CD-ROM Volume 1.
The LTER weirs were V-throated flumes.
A weir was not installed into Kings Creek at the USGS station.
The LTER weirs were built by the staff of the Konza LTER site using a design described in Replogle et al., 1978.
Pressure transducers: Model No. PDCR 10/D
Data logger: Model No. CR-21X
Data recorder: Model PC201
For a description of the instruments used at the USGS station see the Manufacturer of Sensor/Instrument Section in the Fifteen Minute Stream Flow Rates from USGS document on FIFE CD-ROM Volume 1.
During normal events the LTER weirs are calibrated by making direct measurements of actual gauge height which are measured at predetermined reference points within each weir. These actual heights are used to correct the pressure measured gauge heights to the actual values on the data logger. This change is noted in the logbook which is kept by the LTER site at KSU.
See the Calibration Section in the Fifteen Minute Stream Flow Rates from USGS on FIFE CD-ROM Volume 1 for a description of the calibration methodology for the USGS station.
The LTER weirs were calibrated at different discharge volumes. These calibrations indicate that the conversion from gauge height to volumetric flow employs different geometric relationships at gauge heights less than 18.25 cm and at heights above 18.25 cm.
This information is not available at this revision for the USGS station.
The tolerance of the LTER sites is not available at this revision.
Accuracy of the stilling well is about (+/-) 0.3048 E-3 meters.
Gauge height for the LTER weirs is calibrated at least weekly by making actual measurements of the gauge height.
Discharge measurements for the USGS station are checked monthly.
Stage height for the USGS station is checked when the station is visited by an engineer or at a minimum every 2 - 3 years.
None available at this revision.
The stream gauge height on the LTER weirs is automatically measured every 1 minute with the Druck pressure transducers. These one minute values are recorded and averaged every five minutes into 5 minute averages. The data is then dumped from the data logger to a cassette tape. These data are then dumped from tape to an IBM PC where they are then converted to volumetric stream flow.
The USGS data were obtained from the USGS by the staff of LTER site at Kansas State University.
Not available.
None available at this revision.
The FIFE site with areal extent of 15 km by 15 km, is located south of the Tuttle Reservoir and Kansas River, and about 10 km from Manhattan, Kansas, USA. The northwest corner of the area has UTM coordinates of 4,334,000 Northing and 705,000 Easting in UTM zone 14.
Data were collected from four LTER stations on watersheds N4D, NUB, N1B, and N2B in the Konza Prairie Natural Research Area in the northwest quadrant of the FIFE study area, and from one USGS station 2.9 miles upstream from the mouth of Kings Creek.
Sitegrid ID Station ID Watershed Northing Easting ----------- ----------- ------------ -------- ------- 1715-STG 650 KINGS CREEK 4330650 707973 2422-STV 651 N1B 4329110 709380 2421-STV 652 N2B 4329140 709260 2323-STV 653 N4D 4329380 709560 2423-STV 654 NUB 4329230 709620 Latitude Longitude -------- --------- 39 06 07 -96 35 42 39 05 16 -96 34 45 39 05 17 -96 34 50 39 05 25 -96 34 37 39 05 20 -96 34 35
Not available.
These data were collected at point locations, however, they represent the integrated value of the runoff into the creek and stream above the location of the wier or stilling gauge.
Not available.
Not available.
Generally data are available from April, 1979 through December, 1987.
Watershed Sitegrid ID Station ID Start Stop ------------ ----------- ---------- --------- --------- KINGS CREEK 1715-STG 650 01-APR-79 02-SEP-88 N1B 2422-STV 651 14-JUN-85 31-DEC-87 N2B 2421-STV 652 14-JUN-85 31-DEC-87 N4D 2323-STV 653 14-JUN-85 31-DEC-87 NUB 2423-STV 654 10-JUN-86 31-DEC-87
Not available.
Data are available every day.
The SQL definition for this table is found in the STRM_DAY.TDF file located on FIFE CD-ROM Volume 1.
Parameter/Variable Name
Parameter/Variable Description Range Units Source
SITEGRID_ID This is a FIS grid location FIS code. Site grid codes (SSEE-III) give the south (SS) and east (EE) cell number in a 100 x 100 array of 200 m square cells. The last 3 characters (III) are an instrument identifier.
STATION_ID The station ID designating the min = 650, KANSAS location of the observations. max = 654 STATE UNIVERSITY
OBS_DATE The date of the observations. min = 01-APR-79, KANSAS max = 02-SEP-88 STATE UNIVERSITY
AVG_FLOW The average water flow for the min = 0, [meters^3] WEIR day. max = 6.11644, [sec^-1] missing = -9.999
MAX_FLOW The maximum water flow for the min = 0, [meters^3] WEIR day. max = 2.6, [sec^-1] missing = -9.999
MAX_FLOW_TIME The time of the maximum water min = 0, [GMT] WEIR flow, modified from CDT. max = 2855, missing = 9999
MIN_FLOW The minimum water flow for the min = 0, [meters^3] WEIR day. max = .1, [sec^-1] missing = -9.999
MIN_FLOW_TIME The time of the minimum water min = 0, [GMT] KANSAS flow, modified from CDT. max = 2855, STATE missing = 9999 UNIVERSITY
TOTAL_VOL The total volume of water which min = -10, [meters^3] WEIR flowed through the observation max = 23020 point during this day.
FIFE_DATA_CRTFCN_CODE The FIFE Certification Code for * CPI=checked FIS the data, in the following format: by principal CPI (Certified by PI), CPI-??? investigator, (CPI - questionable data). CPI-MRG=merged data
LAST_REVISION_DATE data, in the format (DD-MMM-YY). max = 17-OCT-89
Footnote:
* Valid levels
The primary certification codes are:
EXM Example or Test data (not for release) PRE Preliminary (unchecked, use at your own risk) CPI Checked by Principal Investigator (reviewed for quality) CGR Checked by a group and reconciled (data comparisons and cross checks)
The certification code modifiers are:
PRE-NFP Preliminary - Not for publication, at the request of investigator. CPI-MRG PAMS data which is "merged" from two separate receiving stations to eliminate transmission errors. CPI-??? Investigator thinks data item may be questionable.
SITEGRID_ID STATION_ID OBS_DATE AVG_FLOW MAX_FLOW MAX_FLOW_TIME ----------- ---------- ---------- --------- --------- ------------- 1715-STG 650 01-APR-79 .339800 1715-STG 650 02-APR-79 .368120 1715-STG 650 03-APR-79 .339800 1715-STG 650 02-MAY-79 .127430 MIN_FLOW MIN_FLOW_TIME TOT_VOL FIFE_DATA_CRTFCN_CODE --------- ------------- ----------- --------------------- CPI CPI CPI CPI LAST_REVISION_DATE ------------------ 22-JUN-88 22-JUN-88 22-JUN-88 22-JUN-88
These data were collected at point locations, however, they represent the integrated value of the runoff into the creek and stream above the location of the wier or stilling gauge. The stream gauge height on the LTER weirs was automatically measured every 1 minute interval. These one minute values were recorded and into 5 minute averages. Generally data are available from April, 1979 through December, 1987.
A general description of data granularity as it applies to the IMS appears in the EOSDIS Glossary.
The CD-ROM file format consists of numerical and character fields of varying length separated by commas. The character fields are enclosed with a single apostrophe. There are no spaces between the fields. Each file begins with five header records. Header records contain the following information:
Record 1 Name of this file, its table name, number of records in this file, path and name of the document that describes the data in this file, and name of principal investigator for these data.
Record 2 Path and filename of the previous data set, and path and filename of the next data set. (Path and filenames for files that contain another set of data taken at the same site on the same day.)
Record 3 Path and filename of the previous site, and path and filename of the next site. (Path and filenames for files of the same data set taken on the same day for the previous and next sites (sequentially numbered by SITEGRID_ID)).
Record 4 Path and filename of the previous date, and path and filename of the next date. (Path and filenames for files of the same data set taken at the same site for the previous and next date.)
Record 5 Column names for the data within the file, delimited by commas.
Record 6 Data records begin.
Each field represents one of the attributes listed in the chart in the Data Characteristics Section and described in detail in the TDF file. These fields are in the same order as in the chart.
Gauge height measurements made by the LTER staff at SITEGRID IDs 2422-STV, 2421-STV, 2323-STV, 2423-STV are converted to stream discharge using the following rating curves (Replogle et. al., 1978);
Use the following equation when gauge height is > 18.25 cm:
Use the following equation when gauge height is between 0-18.25 cm:
where:
Not available at this revision for the LTER stations.
For a description of the formulas and derivation techniques used at the USGS station see the Derivation Techniques and Algorithms Section in the Fifteen Minute Stream Flow Rates from USGS document on FIFE CD-ROM Volume 1.
The data collected at the 4 LTER stations are processed using the following steps:
a) When all values are off by the same amount a value is added or subtracted from all entries.
b) When values are wrong on both ends of a time period or at one end and not the other, a linear regression derived from the actual stage height recorded on the log sheets is performed.
c) When there is no flow observed yet there is a indication of flow on the data logger all values are changed to 0.
d) When there is no drift, the data is not altered.
See the Data Processing Sequence Section in the Fifteen Minute Stream Flow Rates from USGS document on FIFE CD-ROM Volume 1 for a description of the data processing sequence for data from the USGS station.
See the Data Processing Sequence Section above.
None known at this revision.
See the Formulae Section above.
None known at this revision.
Steam discharge.
None.
Errors in the data collected by the LTER site staff may arise from several sources:
Errors in the data from the USGS station originate from the instability of the relationship between stage height and discharge. This relationship varies temporally. It is effected by changes in the streambed that result from the flow of water over the bed, such as scour and fill, aquatic growth, ice, debris, or bed roughness.
The intakes to the stilling well at the USGS station can become plugged with debris or overgrown with plant or animal material, and the float can malfunction.
The LTER site staff make spot checks of the stage height during storm events. These spot checks "calibrations" are used to create a calibration for the stage height during the storm event.
The discharge curves for the USGS station are routinely checked for accuracy. The stage height within the stilling well is checked against that measured using a manual gauge.
The quality of the data collected by the staff of the LTER site is thought to range from poor to excellent, generally it is considered to be excellent data. No formal quality assurance is done, however, missing values are inserted when the data is known to be very poor. A coarse check is routinely made of these data.
See the Confidence Level/Accuracy Judgment Section in the Fifteen Minute Stream Flow Rates from USGS document for accuracy information for the USGS station.
The measurement error for the data collected by the staff of the LTER site is unknown.
See the Measurement Error for Parameters Section in the Fifteen Minute Stream Flow Rates from USGS document for accuracy information for the USGS station.
FIS staff applied a general Quality Assessment (QA) procedure to the data to identify inconsistencies and problems for potential users. As a general procedure, the FIS QA consisted of examining the maximum, minimum, average, and standard deviation for each numerical field in the data table. An attempt was made to find an explanation for unexpected high or low values, values outside of the normal physical range for a variable, or standard deviations that appeared inconsistent with the mean. In some cases, histograms were examined to determine whether outliers were consistent with the shape of the data distribution.
The discrepancies, which were identified, are reported as problems in the Known Problems with the Data Section.
The data verification performed by the ORNL DAAC deals with the quality of the data format, media, and readability. The ORNL DAAC does not make an assessment of the quality of the data itself except during the course of performing other QA procedures as described below.
The FIFE data were transferred to the ORNL DAAC via CD-ROM. These CD-ROMs are distributed by the ORNL DAAC unmodified as a set or in individual volumes, as requested. In addition, the DAAC has incorporated each of the 98 FIFE tabular datasets from the CD-ROMs into its online data holdings. Incorporation of these data involved the following steps:
Each distinct type of data (i.e. "data set" on the CD-ROM), is accompanied by a documentation file (i.e., .doc file) and a data format/structure definition file (i.e., .tdf file). The data format files on the CD-ROM are Oracle SQL commands (e.g., "create table") that can be used to set up a relational database table structure. This file provides column/variable names, character/numeric type, length, and format, and labels/comments. These SQL commands were converted to SAS code and were used to create SAS data sets and subsequently to input data files directly from the CD-ROM into a SAS dataset. During this process, file names and directory paths were captured and metadata was extracted to the extent possible electronically. No files were found to be corrupted or unreadable during the conversion process.
Additional Quality Assurance procedures were performed as follows:
As errors are discovered in the online tabular data by investigators, users, or DAAC staff, corrections are made in cooperation with the principal investigators. These corrections are then distributed to users. CD-ROM data are corrected when re-mastering occurs for replenishment of CD-ROM stock.
Not available.
During the general QA performed by the FIS staff the following 26 days were found to have mean flow less than the minimum flow rates:
OBS_DATE OBS_DATE --------- --------- 27-JUN-85 30-SEP-85 28-JUN-85 02-OCT-85 28-JUN-85 04-OCT-85 03-JUL-85 25-OCT-85 03-JUL-85 30-DEC-85 03-JUL-85 28-JAN-86 07-JUL-85 03-FEB-86 07-JUL-85 10-APR-86 08-JUL-85 22-MAY-86 26-AUG-85 03-JUN-86 23-SEP-85 28-AUG-86 23-SEP-85 11-SEP-86 23-SEP-85 24-SEP-86
The data on these days should be used with caution.
The data collected by the LTER site staff should be used with caution. It should be checked against the spot measurements which are available from the LTER site at Kansas State University (KSU). See the Contact Information Section for contact information.
None available for the data collected at the USGS station.
More detailed information on the USGS gauging stations, such as discharge measurements, gauge-height records, and rating tables, is on file in the USGS Kansas District office in Lawrence, Kansas. The USGS keeps most of this information in computer-usable form along with the statistical analysis which have been performed on the data.
This data set can be used to study the hydrology of streams that drain from a tallgrass prairie.
The FIFE field campaigns were held in 1987 and 1989 and there are no plans for new data collection. Field work continues near the FIFE site at the Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) Network Konza research site (i.e., LTER continues to monitor the site). The FIFE investigators are continuing to analyze and model the data from the field campaigns to produce new data products.
Software to access the data set is available on the all volumes of the FIFE CD-ROM set. For a detailed description of the available software see the Software Description Document.
ORNL DAAC User Services
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Telephone: (865) 241-3952
FAX: (865) 574-4665
Email: ornldaac@ornl.gov
ORNL Distributed Active Archive Center
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
USA
Telephone: (865) 241-3952
FAX: (865) 574-4665
Email: ornldaac@ornl.gov
Users may place requests by telephone, electronic mail, or FAX. Data is also available via the World Wide Web at http://daac.ornl.gov.
FIFE data are available from the ORNL DAAC. Please contact the ORNL DAAC User Services Office for the most current information about these data.
Daily Stream Flow Amounts are available on FIFE CD-ROM Volume 1. The CD-ROM filename is as follows: \DATA\HYDROLGY\STRM_DAY\GRIDxxxx\yyyygrid.SDY
Where xxxx is the four digit code for the location within the FIFE site grid. Note: capital letters indicate fixed values that appear on the CD-ROM exactly as shown here, lower case indicates characters (values) that change for each path and file. The format used for the filenames is: yyyygrid.sfx, where yyyy are the four digits of the century and year (e.g., 1987 or 1989). The filename extension (.sfx), identifies the data set content for the file (see the Data Characteristics Section) and is equal to .SDY for this data set.
Anonymous. 1993. Methods Manual for Konza Prairie Research Natural Area. Konza LTER publication.
Replogle, J.A., H. Reikert, B. F. Swindel. 1978. Water Monitoring in Coastal Forest Watershed Studies. IMPAC Report 2, Vol. 3, No. 2. Southwestern Forest Expt. Station. USDA. Gainesville, Florida.
U.S. Geological Survey Water-Data Report KS-79-1 Through KS-89-1, Water Resources Data Kansas, Water Year 1979-, Prepared in cooperation with the State of Kansas and with other agencies.
Engman, E.T., W. Kustas, T.J. Schmugge, and J.R. Wang. 1987. Relationship among the remotely sensed soil moisture, streamflow, and evapotranspiration. AGU Fall Meeting. San Francisco.
Engman, E.T., G. Angus, and W. Kustas. 1989. Relationships between the hydrologic balance of a small watershed and remotely sensed soil moisture. Remote Sensing and Large Scale Processes. IAHS Publ. No. 186, Proc. IAHS, 3rd Int. Assoc. Baltimore, MD.
Sellers, P.J., F.G. Hall, G. Asrar, D.E. Strebel, and R.E. Murphy. 1988. The First ISLSCP Field Experiment (FIFE). Am. Meteor. Soc. 69:22-27.
Wood, E.F. 1990. Water balance model for Kings Creek. Symposium on FIFE. Am. Meteorol. Soc. Boston, Massachusetts, p 163-166.
Contact the EOS Distributed Active Archive Center (DAAC) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, Tennessee (see the Data Center Identification Section). Documentation about using the archive and/or online access to the data at the ORNL DAAC is not available at this revision.
A general glossary for the DAAC is located at Glossary.
A general list of acronyms for the DAAC is available at Acronyms.
April 26, 1994 (citation revised on October 14, 2002).
This document has been reviewed by the FIFE Information Scientist to eliminate technical and editorial inaccuracies. Previous versions of this document have been reviewed by the Principal Investigator, the person who transmitted the data to FIS, a FIS staff member, or a FIFE scientist generally familiar with the data. It is believed that the document accurately describes the data as collected and as archived on the FIFE CD-ROM series.
September 19, 1996.
ORNL- FIFE_STRM_DAY
Briggs, J. 1994. Stream Flow Daily Data: USGS (FIFE). Data set. Available on-line [http://www.daac.ornl.gov] from Oak Ridge National Laboratory Distributed Active Archive Center, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, U.S.A. doi:10.3334/ORNLDAAC/119. Also published in D. E. Strebel, D. R. Landis, K. F. Huemmrich, and B. W. Meeson (eds.), Collected Data of the First ISLSCP Field Experiment, Vol. 1: Surface Observations and Non-Image Data Sets. CD-ROM. National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland, U.S.A. (available from http://www.daac.ornl.gov).