CATALOG DOCUMENTATION EMAP-GREAT LAKES PROGRAM LEVEL DATABASE 1994 LAKE MICHIGAN NEARSHORE STATION LOCATION DATA TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. DATA SET IDENTIFICATION 2. INVESTIGATOR INFORMATION 3. DATA SET ABSTRACT 4. OBJECTIVES AND INTRODUCTION 5. DATA ACQUISITION AND PROCESSING METHODS 6. DATA MANIPULATIONS 7. DATA DESCRIPTION 8. GEOGRAPHIC AND SPATIAL INFORMATION 9. QUALITY CONTROL/QUALITY ASSURANCE 10. DATA ACCESS 11. REFERENCES 12. TABLE OF ACRONYMS 13. PERSONNEL INFORMATION 1. DATA SET IDENTIFICATION 1.1 Title of Catalog document EMAP-Great Lakes Program Level Database 1994 Lake Michigan Nearshore Station Location Data 1.2 Authors of the Catalog entry Jenny Kysely, ILS 1.3 Catalog revision date 28 July 1998 1.4 Data set name LMSTA94 1.5 Task Group Great Lakes 1.6 Data set identification code 500 ------- 1.7 Version 001 1.8 Requested Acknowledgment These data were produced as part of the U.S. EPA's Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP). If you plan to publish these data in any way, EPA requires a standard statement for work it has supported: "Although the data described in this article has been funded wholly or in part by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency through its EMAP-Great Lakes Program, it has not been subjected to Agency review, and therefore does not necessarily reflect the views of the Agency and no official endorsement should be inferred." 2. INVESTIGATOR INFORMATION 2.1 Principal Investigator Tom Nalepa Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab NOAA Ann Arbor, Michigan 2.2 Investigation Participant - Sample Collection Tom Nalepa Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab NOAA Ann Arbor, Michigan 3. DATA SET ABSTRACT 3.1 Abstract of the Data Set The EMAP-Great Lakes STATIONS data set contains geographic information on stations in the nearshore resource class of Lake Michigan. These stations were randomly located, based on a nationwide grid. The geographic coordinates of a site are given in latitude and longitude. 3.2 Keywords for the Data Set Sampling stations, geographic, nearshore, Lake Michigan, latitude, longi tude 4. OBJECTIVES AND INTRODUCTION 4.1 Program Objective The Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP) was designed to periodically estimate the status and trends of the Nation's ecological resources on a regional basis. EMAP provides a strategy to identify and bound the extent, magnitude and location of environmental degradation and improvement on a regional scale based on station sites randomly located in the Great Lakes. Three-fold enhanced sampling sites from nearshore Lake Michigan are included in this data set. 4.2 Data Set Objective The STATIONS data set provides geographical characterization of three-fold enhancement sampling sites from the nearshore region of Lake Mi chigan. ------- 4.3 Background Discussion A probability-based sampling design has been used in the EMAP-Great Lakes region so that the Great Lakes resources and characteristics were sampled in proportion to their areal distribution. This sampling design makes it possible to estimate, with known confidence, the proportion or amount of area having defined environmental characteristics. A series of indicators that were representative of the overall health of freshwater resources were measured at each site. These indicators were designed to address three major attributes of concern to freshwater scientists, environmental managers, and the public: 1) biotic integrity or the existence of healthy, diverse, and sustainable communities; 2) pollutant exposure or the condition of the physico-chemical environment in which biota live and 3) societal values or indicators related to public use of freshwater resources. 4.4 Summary of Data Set Parameters STATIONS data set values were based on the geographic location of the station, independent of the station visit. 5. DATA ACQUISITION AND PROCESSING METHODS 5.1 Data Acqui si ti on 5.1.1 Sampling Objective The primary goal was to be within the assigned latitude and longitude of a sampling site. This objective was set forth so the sample would be collected as true to the exact location selected during the random selection process. 5.1.2 Sample Collection Methods Summary The primary resource classes for the Great Lakes include the offshore, nearshore, harbor and embayment areas, and coastal wetlands. The definition of the offshore and nearshore zones is the boundary between offshore and nearshore areas is the depth contour equal to the mean depth of the lake. The nearshore resource class was sampled for this study, and the nearshore resource class consists of water adjacent to the shoreline and no more than 85 meters in depth, and the offshore is the remaining portion of the lake. The EMAP sampling strategy uses a global grid to identify sampling sites. This grid is divided into sub-grids in accordance with the needs of the ecosystem type. The baseline grid used in EMAP is an hexagonal plate containing a triangular grid approximately 12,600 grid points distributed randomly over the conterminous United States. These grid points are about 27 km equidistant and large, contiguous hexagons can be scribed around each grid point, each with an area of 635 sq. km. Initial randomization of the grid on the United States establishes the systematic sample (i.e., uniform and regular grid point and small hexagons) as a probability sample. The grid structure reflects the importance of achieving geographic coverage of ecological resources. The uniformity of spatial coverage provided by a grid ensures that each ecological resource can be sampled in proportion to its geographic presence in the United States and that all ecological resources can be included in the monitoring program. The grid density also can be increased to sample rare resources, or resource classes (e.g., offshore, nearshore, harbors and embayments, and wetlands for the Great Lakes ecological resource). The grid arrangement also makes it easy to either increase or decrease the grid density by multiple factors of three-, four-, and sevenfold and retain the basic ------- triangular structure important for consistent spatial coverage and sampling design requirements. The triangular nature of the grid allows greater flexibility in these enhancement factors than a square or rectangular grid. As the frame of the nearshore resource class for Lake Michigan, bathymetric maps from NOAA have been digitized on a 2 km grid and are available in a Geographic Information System (GIS) format. A three-fold enhancement was used to characterize the condition of the nearshore resource class of Lake Michigan, and for determining the number and spatial extent of the sample sites in this zone. The nearshore zone consists of water contiguous to the shoreline and no more than 85 meters in depth. Thirty-nine sites were sampled in 1994. 5.1.3 Beginning Sampling Date 18 July, 1994 5.1.4 Ending Sampling Date 5 August, 1994 5.1.5 Platform Sampling was conducted from the R/V Shanahan. 5.1.6 Sampling Equipment The sampling equipment used was a Magellan Nav 5200 DX. 5.1.7 Manufacturer of Instrument Magellan Systems Corporation, 9600 Overland Ct., San Dimas, CA. 5.1.8 Key Variables The latitude and longitude of the station location were determined at the time of sampling. 5.1.9 Collection Method Calibration NA 5.1.10 Collection Quality Control NA 5.1.11 Sample Collection Method Reference Strobel, C.J. and S.C. Schimmel, 1991. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program-Near Coastal. 1991 Virginian Province, Field Operations and Safety Manual. U.S. EPA, NHEERL-AED, Narragansett, RI. June 1991. 5.2 Data Processing and Sample Processing 5.2.1 Sample Processing Objective Sample processing methods not applicable for station location information. ------- 5.2.2 Sample Processing Methods Summary Not applicable. 5.2.3 Sample Processing Method Calibration Not applicable. 5.2.4 Sample Processing Quality Control Not applicable. 5.2.5 Sample Processing Method Reference 5.2.6 Sample Processing Method Deviations 6. DATA ANALYSIS AND MANIPULATIONS Most values in the Stations data set were assigned, based on geographic locati on. 6.1 Name of New or Modified Values None 6.2 Data Manipulation Description None 6.3 Data Manipulation Examples Not applicable. 7. DATA DESCRIPTION 7.1 Description of Parameters # Name Type Length Format Parameter Label 1 STA NAME Char 10 10. Station Name 2 DEPTH Num 2 2. Station Depth (m) 3 LAT STD Num 9 2.6 Latitude (decimal degrees) 4 LNG STD Num 9 2.6 Longitude (-decimal degrees) 7.1.1 Precision to which values are reported Latitude and longitude were measured in decimal degrees. 7.1.2 Minimum Value in Data Set Not applicable. 7.1.3 Maximum Value in Data Set Not applicable. 7.2 Data Record Example 7.2.1 Column Names for Example Records STA NAME DEPTH LAT STD LNG STD ------- 7.2.2 Example Data Records LM94-73452 17 45.835 -86.246333 LM94-73492 17 41.8995 -86.649333 8. GEOGRAPHIC AND SPATIAL INFORMATION 8.1 Minimum Longitude -87.922667 8.2 Maximum Longitude -85.025 8.3. Minimum Latitude 40.666667 8.4 Maximum Latitude 46.000667 8.5 Name of Area or Region Nearshore Lake Michigan Stations were located within the Nearshore resource class of Lake Michigan. The nearshore sites were located within the 85 meter depth contour. 9. QUALITY CONTROL/QUALITY ASSURANCE 9.1 Measurement Quality Objectives Not applicable. 9.2. Data Quality Assurance Procedures NA 9.3 Actual Measurement Quality Not applicable. 10. DATA ACCESS 10.1 Data Access Procedures Data can be downloaded from the EMAP Website. 10.2 Data Access Restrictions Not applicable. 10.3 Data Access Contact Persons Stephen J. Lozano U.S. E.P.A. NHEERL-MED (218)529-5205 (218)529-5003 (FAX) lozano.stephen@epa.gov ------- 10.4 Data Set Format Data from the Website are in ASCII fixed format. 10.5 Information Concerning Anonymous FTP Not accessible. 10.6 Information Concerning WWW Data can be downloaded from the EMAP Website. 10.7 EMAP CD-ROM Containing the Data Set Data are not available on CD-ROM. 11. REFERENCES Hedtke, S., A. Pilli, D. Dolan, G. McRae, B. Goodno, R. Kreis, G. Warren, D. Swackhamer, and M. Henry. 1992. Great Lakes Monitoring and Research Strategy: Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program. USEPA, Office Research and Development, ERL-Duluth, Duluth, Minnesota. EPA/602/R-92/001 204 p. 12. TABLE OF ACRONYMS NA 13. PERSONNEL INFORMATION Stephen J. Lozano U.S. E.P.A. NHEERL-MED 6201 Congdon Blvd. Duluth, MN 55804 (218)529-5205 (218)529-5003 (FAX) lozano.stephen@epa.gov ------- |