uid=HFR,o=lter,dc=ecoinformatics,dc=org
all
public
read
doi:10.6073/pasta/8cd773bd8046f42e5d4bb8826fce6f24
Prospect Hill Hydrological Stations at Harvard Forest since 2005
Emery
Boose
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4820-0231
Mark
VanScoy
Paul
Barten
Researcher
Elizabeth
Colburn
Researcher
William
Sobczak
Researcher
2024
English
To better understand the critical role of headwater streams and wetlands in our forest ecosystem, long-term measurements were initiated in 2005 on two small watersheds in the Prospect Hill Tract of the Harvard Forest. On Nelson Brook, weirs were installed on outlet streams of an 11-ha spruce-hemlock wetland (watershed area = 44 ha). On Arthur Brook (formerly Bigelow Brook), pipes were installed to measure flow above (watershed = 24 ha) and below (watershed = 65 ha) a 3-ha shrub-dominated beaver swamp. The gaged watersheds, though adjacent and comparable in size, differ significantly in topography, soils, wetlands, stream chemistry, stream biota, land-use history, and forest vegetation, and provide an extraordinary opportunity to study the impacts of these factors on small watershed hydrology and ecology.
Weekly manual measurements were initiated in April 2005. Continuous automated measurements were initiated at the stream gages in December 2007 and at the wetland gages in October 2008. Data for the current month are available online, updated every 15 minutes, with out-of-range values replaced by NA but values not otherwise checked. Earlier data are checked and archived monthly with missing, questionable, and estimated values flagged, following methods of the LTER ClimbDB project. A log of events affecting station measurements is also posted.
For current data, please see: https://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/met-hydro-stations.
hydrology
stream discharge
water balance
water temperature
wetlands
LTER controlled vocabulary
inorganic nutrients
disturbance
LTER core area
Harvard Forest
HFR
LTER
USA
HFR default
This dataset is released to the public under Creative Commons CC0 1.0 (No Rights Reserved). Please keep the dataset creators informed of any plans to use the dataset. Consultation with the original investigators is strongly encouraged. Publications and data products that make use of the dataset should include proper acknowledgement.
Creative Commons Zero v1.0 Universal
https://spdx.org/licenses/CC0-1.0.html
CC0-1.0
https://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/exist/apps/datasets/showData.html?id=HF070
Prospect Hill Tract (Harvard Forest). Coordinates based on WGS84 datum.
-72.20
-72.17
+42.55
+42.53
280
420
meter
2005
2023
ongoing. Data updated monthly
Information Manager
Harvard Forest
324 North Main Street
Petersham
MA
01366
USA
(978) 724-3302
hf-im@lists.fas.harvard.edu
Harvard Forest
324 North Main Street
Petersham
MA
01366
USA
(978) 724-3302
(978) 724-3595
https://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu
Experimental Design
See online map for locations of gages and watershed boundaries. Note that the two Nelson Brook gages measure discharge from the same watershed (parallel outlets), while the Arthur Brook gages measure discharge from nested watersheds. Nelson Brook flows northwest to the Millers River and Connecticut River. Arthur Brook flows southeast to the Swift River, Quabbin Reservoir, Chicopee River, and Connecticut River.
Nelson Brook Big Weir (NB). 120-degree V-notch weir with rectangular spillway. V-notch height = 10 in (25.4 cm). Spillway width = 13 ft (3.96 m). Watershed area = 44 ha. Gage location = 42.53478 N, 72.18655 W.
Nelson Brook Little Weir (NL). 120-degree V-notch weir with rectangular spillway. V-notch height = 4 in (10.2 cm). Spillway width = 5 ft (1.52 m). Watershed area = 44 ha. Gage location = 42.53363 N, 72.18602 W.
Arthur Brook Lower Pipe (AL). Corrugated polyethylene pipe with smooth interior. Diameter = 30 in (76.2 cm). Length = 16 ft (4.88 m). Slope = 0.01087. Manning coefficient = 0.012. Watershed area = 65 ha. Gage location = 42.53909 N, 72.17213 W.
Arthur Brook Upper Pipe (AU). Corrugated polyethylene pipe with smooth interior. Diameter = 24 in (61.0 cm). Length = 10 ft (3.05 m). Slope = 0.01969. Manning coefficient = 0.012. Watershed area = 24 ha. Gage location = 42.54295 N, 72.17659 W.
Black Gum Swamp (BGS). Nelson Brook watershed. Wetland area = 11 ha. Gage location = 42.53527 N, 72.18398 W.
Beaver Swamp (BVS). Arthur Brook watershed. Wetland area = 3 ha. Gage location = 42.54032 N, 72.17445 W.
Manual Measurements
Water levels at the weirs were measured with metal rulers attached to the weirs (values relative to the notch). Water levels inside pipes were measured with ruler and chalk 40 cm from the downstream end. Water levels in the BGS and BVS wetlands were originally measured in an existing well (relative to the soil surface) and at an existing gage (relative to 3.28 feet), respectively. In fall 2008 new gages for automated measurements were installed at new locations in each wetland. The Arthur Brook Lower Pipe was replaced on 16-Oct-2006. Before that date, the pipe was corrugated steel with a partial asphalt liner, diameter = 36 in (91.4 cm), length = 16 ft (4.88 m), slope = 0.01087, manning coefficient = 0.019.
Automated Measurements
Water level: Pressure transducers have included Druck 1830 2.5 psig, Campbell 450, and Keller America Acculevel SDI-12 models. Water temperature: Campbell 107 temperature probes. At weir sites, instruments are mounted on steel brackets attached to the weirs. At pipe sites, instruments are mounted in wells 30 cm below the bottom of the stream channel and 1 m upstream from the pipe intake. At wetland sites, instruments are mounted on vertical pipes 60 cm below average water level. At each site a permanent manual gage may be used to check instrument readings. Instruments are scanned every 10 seconds and 15-minute average values are retained. All times are Eastern Standard Time.
Data analysis
Stream discharge is calculated from water level (stage) using standard flow equations. At pipe sites, water depth in the pipe is estimated from measured stage using empirical rating curves. Daily values are calculated from 15-minute measurements. Data are checked and posted with missing, questionable, and estimated values flagged, following methods of the LTER ClimDB project. A log of events affecting station measurements is also posted.
Ice effects
In very cold weather, ice damming may result in artificially high stage and discharge values. If ice damming is prolonged, daily values may be adjusted and marked as estimated and a note added to the log. 15-minute values are not adjusted.
Operational notes
Gages are not heated. Ice is removed regularly in winter to ensure proper flow through the gages. At Nelson Little Weir, the pressure transducer is removed in mid-winter to prevent ice damage and discharge is modeled from measured flow at Nelson Big Weir.
Harvard Forest Long-Term Ecological Research
Harvard Forest
324 North Main Street
Petersham
MA
01366
USA
(978) 724-3302
(978) 724-3595
https://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu
https://ror.org/059cpzx98
pointOfContact
The Harvard Forest Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) program examines ecological dynamics in the New England region resulting from natural disturbances, environmental change, and human impacts.
National Science Foundation LTER grants: DEB-8811764, DEB-9411975, DEB-0080592, DEB-0620443, DEB-1237491, DEB-1832210.
hf070-01-station-log.csv
station log
hf070-01-station-log.csv
7069
2c69d41596ceb20566df86ae85b9ef03
1
\r\n
column
,
https://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/data/p07/hf070/hf070-01-station-log.csv
date
date
YYYY-MM-DD
notes
notes on station maintenance, repairs, and other issues affecting measurements
notes
87
hf070-02-manual.csv
manual
hf070-02-manual.csv
21950
9cf7a2f51813d5d59149e656274a7e1d
1
\r\n
column
,
https://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/data/p07/hf070/hf070-02-manual.csv
date
date
YYYY-MM-DD
nb.time
Julian day and fraction of a day
nominalDay
0.0001
real
NA
missing value
nb.stg
measured stage at Nelson Big Weir
centimeter
0.1
real
NA
missing value
nb.dis
calculated discharge at Nelson Big Weir
litersPerSecond
0.1
real
NA
missing value
nl.time
Julian day and fraction of a day
nominalDay
0.0001
real
NA
missing value
nl.stg
measured stage at Nelson Little Weir
centimeter
0.1
real
NA
missing value
nl.dis
calculated discharge at Nelson Little Weir
litersPerSecond
0.1
real
NA
missing value
al.time
Julian day and fraction of a day
nominalDay
0.0001
real
NA
missing value
al.stg
measured stage at Arthur Lower Pipe
centimeter
0.1
real
NA
missing value
al.dis
calculated discharge Arthur Lower Pipe
litersPerSecond
0.1
real
NA
missing value
au.time
Julian day and fraction of a day
nominalDay
0.0001
real
NA
missing value
au.stg
measured stage at Arthur Upper Pipe
centimeter
0.1
real
NA
missing value
au.dis
calculated discharge at Arthur Upper Pipe
litersPerSecond
0.1
real
NA
missing value
bgs.time
Julian day and fraction of a day
nominalDay
0.0001
real
NA
missing value
bgs.stg
measured stage at Black Gum Swamp
centimeter
0.1
real
NA
missing value
bvs.time
Julian day and fraction of a day
nominalDay
0.0001
real
NA
missing value
bvs.stg
measured stage at Beaver Swamp
centimeter
0.1
real
NA
missing value
209
hf070-03-daily.csv
daily
hf070-03-daily.csv
323037
b2c97e3e2ec3c64db796b609d9f08c6f
1
\r\n
column
,
https://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/data/p07/hf070/hf070-03-daily.csv
date
date
YYYY-MM-DD
jd
Julian day
nominalDay
1
whole
nt.dis
total discharge from Nelson Weirs
litersPerSecond
0.01
real
NA
missing value
f.nt.dis
flag for nt.dis
E
Missing. Instrument not installed, instrument not working correctly, or measured value out of range.
M
Estimated. Value estimated from incomplete measurements or from other sources.
al.dis
discharge from Arthur Lower Pipe
litersPerSecond
0.01
real
NA
missing value
f.al.dis
flag for al.dis
M
Missing. Instrument not installed, instrument not working correctly, or measured value out of range.
E
Estimated. Value estimated from incomplete measurements or from other sources.
au.dis
discharge from Arthur Upper Pipe
litersPerSecond
0.01
real
NA
missing value
f.au.dis
flag for au.dis
M
Missing. Instrument not installed, instrument not working correctly, or measured value out of range.
E
Estimated. Value estimated from incomplete measurements or from other sources.
nb.wt
water temperature at Nelson Big Weir
celsius
0.01
real
NA
missing value
f.nb.wt
flag for nb.wt
M
Missing. Instrument not installed, instrument not working correctly, or measured value out of range.
E
Estimated. Value estimated from incomplete measurements or from other sources.
al.wt
water temperature at Arthur Lower Pipe
celsius
0.01
real
NA
missing value
f.al.wt
flag for al.wt
M
Missing. Instrument not installed, instrument not working correctly, or measured value out of range.
E
Estimated. Value estimated from incomplete measurements or from other sources.
au.wt
water temperature at Arthur Upper Pipe
celsius
0.01
real
NA
missing value
f.au.wt
flag for au.wt
M
Missing. Instrument not installed, instrument not working correctly, or measured value out of range.
E
Estimated. Value estimated from incomplete measurements or from other sources.
5886
hf070-04-15min.csv
15-minute
hf070-04-15min.csv
70233669
ba94ca820f94f9e06d717f4ba4a849af
1
\r\n
column
,
https://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/data/p07/hf070/hf070-04-15min.csv
datetime
date and time at end of sampling period
YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm
jd
Julian day
nominalDay
1
whole
nb.stg
stage at Nelson Big Weir
centimeter
0.01
real
NA
missing value
f.nb.stg
flag for nb.stg
M
Missing. Instrument not installed, instrument not working correctly, or measured value out of range.
E
Estimated. Value estimated from incomplete measurements or from other sources.
nl.stg
stage at Nelson Little Weir
centimeter
0.01
real
NA
missing value
f.nl.stg
flag for nl.stg
M
Missing. Instrument not installed, instrument not working correctly, or measured value out of range.
E
Estimated. Value estimated from incomplete measurements or from other sources.
al.stg
stage at Arthur Lower Pipe
centimeter
0.01
real
NA
missing value
f.al.stg
flag for al.stg
M
Missing. Instrument not installed, instrument not working correctly, or measured value out of range.
E
Estimated. Value estimated from incomplete measurements or from other sources.
au.stg
stage at Arthur Upper Pipe
centimeter
0.01
real
NA
missing value
f.au.stg
flag for au.stg
M
Missing. Instrument not installed, instrument not working correctly, or measured value out of range.
E
Estimated. Value estimated from incomplete measurements or from other sources.
bgs.stg
stage at Black Gum Swamp
centimeter
0.01
real
NA
missing value
f.bgs.stg
flag for bgs.stg
M
Missing. Instrument not installed, instrument not working correctly, or measured value out of range.
E
Estimated. Value estimated from incomplete measurements or from other sources.
bvs.stg
stage at Beaver Swamp
centimeter
0.01
real
NA
missing value
f.bvs.stg
flag for bvs.stg
M
Missing. Instrument not installed, instrument not working correctly, or measured value out of range.
E
Estimated. Value estimated from incomplete measurements or from other sources.
nb.dis
discharge at Nelson Big Weir
litersPerSecond
0.01
real
NA
missing value
f.nb.dis
flag for nb.dis
M
Missing. Instrument not installed, instrument not working correctly, or measured value out of range.
E
Estimated. Value estimated from incomplete measurements or from other sources.
nl.dis
discharge at Nelson Little Weir
litersPerSecond
0.01
real
NA
missing value
f.nl.dis
flag for nl.dis
M
Missing. Instrument not installed, instrument not working correctly, or measured value out of range.
E
Estimated. Value estimated from incomplete measurements or from other sources.
nt.dis
total discharge from Nelson Weirs
litersPerSecond
0.01
real
NA
missing value
f.nt.dis
flag for nt.dis
M
Missing. Instrument not installed, instrument not working correctly, or measured value out of range.
E
Estimated. Value estimated from incomplete measurements or from other sources.
al.dis
discharge from Arthur Lower Pipe
litersPerSecond
0.01
real
NA
missing value
f.al.dis
flag for al.dis
M
Missing. Instrument not installed, instrument not working correctly, or measured value out of range.
E
Estimated. Value estimated from incomplete measurements or from other sources.
au.dis
discharge from Arthur Upper Pipe
litersPerSecond
0.01
real
NA
missing value
f.au.dis
flag for au.dis
M
Missing. Instrument not installed, instrument not working correctly, or measured value out of range.
E
Estimated. Value estimated from incomplete measurements or from other sources.
nb.wt
water temperature at Nelson Big Weir
celsius
0.01
real
NA
missing value
f.nb.wt
flag for nb.wt
M
Missing. Instrument not installed, instrument not working correctly, or measured value out of range.
E
Estimated. Value estimated from incomplete measurements or from other sources.
nl.wt
water temperature at Nelson Little Weir
celsius
0.01
real
NA
missing value
f.nl.wt
flag for nl.wt
M
Missing. Instrument not installed, instrument not working correctly, or measured value out of range.
E
Estimated. Value estimated from incomplete measurements or from other sources.
al.wt
water temperature at Arthur Lower Pipe
celsius
0.01
real
NA
missing value
f.al.wt
flag for al.wt
M
Missing. Instrument not installed, instrument not working correctly, or measured value out of range.
E
Estimated. Value estimated from incomplete measurements or from other sources.
au.wt
water temperature at Arthur Upper Pipe
celsius
0.01
real
NA
missing value
f.au.wt
flag for au.wt
M
Missing. Instrument not installed, instrument not working correctly, or measured value out of range.
E
Estimated. Value estimated from incomplete measurements or from other sources.
bgs.wt
water temperature at Black Gum Swamp
celsius
0.01
real
NA
missing value
f.bgs.wt
flag for bgs.wt
M
Missing. Instrument not installed, instrument not working correctly, or measured value out of range.
E
Estimated. Value estimated from incomplete measurements or from other sources.
bvs.wt
water temperature at Beaver Swamp
celsius
0.01
real
NA
missing value
f.bvs.wt
flag for bvs.wt
M
Missing. Instrument not installed, instrument not working correctly, or measured value out of range.
E
Estimated. Value estimated from incomplete measurements or from other sources.
565056
watershed
long-term measurement
3,4
https://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/harvard-forest-weather-station
https://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/data/p07/hf070/site-map.jpg
https://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/hf070-photos
https://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/exist/apps/datasets/showData.html?id=HF001
https://harvardforest.fas.harvard.edu/exist/apps/datasets/showData.html?id=HF155