UMRBPP USGS Stage Only Dataset 1.0 General Description The United States Geological Survey (USGS) Stage Only dataset is one of various hydrological datasets provided for the Upper Missouri River Basin Pilot Project (UMRBPP). This dataset contains Stage Only data from USGS stations in the UMRBPP domain. This dataset covers the complete UMRBPP time period (05 April 1999 through 5 May 1999) and for the UMRBPP domain. The UMRBPP domain is approximately 90W to 115W longitude and 36N to 51N latitude. No additional quality control was performed by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research/ Joint Office for Science Support (UCAR/JOSS). 2.0 Detailed Data Description The data collected at USGS gaging stations consist of records of stage and measurements of discharge of streams or canals, and stage, surface area, and contents of lakes or reservoirs. This dataset contains only the USGS Stage Only data. For a lake or reservoir, capacity tables giving the contents for any stage are prepared from stage-area relation curves defined by surveys. The application of the stage to the capacity table gives the contents, from which the daily, monthly, or yearly change in contents is computed. If the stage-capacity curve is subject to changes because of deposition of sediment in the reservoir, periodic resurveys of the reservoir are necessary to define new stage-capacity curves. During the period between reservoir surveys, the computed contents may be increasingly in error due to the gradual accumulation of sediments. For some gaging stations there are periods when no gage-height record is obtained or the recorded gage height is so faulty that it cannot be used to compute daily discharge or contents. This happens when the recorder stops or otherwise fails to operate properly, intakes are plugged, the float is frozen in the well, or for various other reasons. For such periods, the daily contents may be estimated on the basis of operator's log, prior and subsequent records, inflow-outflow studies, and other information. These methods are discussed in the "U.S. Geological Survey Water-Data Report MO-97-1". Further information regarding USGS data description can be found in the USGS Water Resources Data publications (by state) for water year 1998. These documents are available from the National Technical Information Service, Springfield, VA. 2.1 Detailed Format Description The USGS reservoir dataset is provided "as is" in a card image format. There are six different types of "cards images" which appear in the USGS reservoir dataset. Each card has a unique format, but the first character of a card image always indicates the card type. Depending upon the card type, the card image may contain metadata and/or data. Tables 1 through 6 below describe these six different types of "cards images". For more information on this card image format, refer to "Data Formats for U.S. Geological Survey Computer Files Containing Daily Values for Water Parameters" by C.R. Showen. Table 1 - Card Types Card Type Description --------- ----------- Z Marks the beginning of the data with the agency code of "USGS". H Station Header Card. (See Table 2.) N Station Name Card. (See Table 3.) Y Base Discharge Card. May be missing for some states. (See Table 4.) 2 Parameter/Statistic Code Card. (See Table 5.) 3 Data Card. (See Table 6.) Table 2 - Station Header Card Column Description ------ ----------- 1 Card type -- always H 2-16 Station identification number (right justified) 17-22 Latitude in degrees, minutes, and seconds 23-29 Longitude in degrees, minutes, and seconds 30-31 Sequence number--used to differentiate between stations with the same lat/lon. 32-33 State code for this station. 34-35 State code for USGS office operating this station. 36-38 County code for this station. 39-40 Site code. (Refer to Showen for list of site codes.) 41-48 Hydrologic unit code. 49-55 Drainage area of site in square miles. 56-62 Contributing drainage area of site in square miles. 63-70 Datum of gage site to nearest hundredth of a foot. 71-79 Depth of well. 80 Blank. Table 3 - Station Name Card Column Description ------ ----------- 1 Card type -- always N 2-16 Station identification number (right justified). 17-64 Station name. 65-72 Geologic unit code. 73 Aquifer type. (See Showen for a complete list of codes.) 74-80 Blank. Table 4 - Base Discharge Card Column Description ------ ----------- 1 Card type -- always Y 2-16 Station identification number (right justified). 17-23 Base discharge in cubic feet per second. 24-80 Blank. Table 5 - Parameter/Statistic Card Column Description ------ ----------- 1 Card type -- always 2 2-16 Station identification number (right justified). 17-22 Cross-section locator. 23-28 Sampling depth. Depth at which sample was collected. 29-33 Parameter code. (e.g., 00062= reservoir surface elevation,ft; 00065= Stage (Ft. above Datum); 72020= elevation, ft NGVD; 72021= reservoir storage, cfs-days; 00054= reservoir storage, ac-ft, etc.) (See Showen for a complete list of codes.) 34-38 Statistic code. (e.g., 00003= mean, 30800= 8 A.M. value; 32400= midnight value, etc.) (See Shown for a complete list of codes.) 39-54 Blank. 55-57 Always "ENT" 58-80 Blank. Table 6 - Data Card Column Description ------ ----------- 1 Card type -- always 3 2-16 Station identification number (right justified). 17-20 Calendar year date. 21-22 Month designation. "01" is January; "12" is December. 23-24 A two-digit number representing the segment of the month that the daily values represent (i.e., 01 for days 1-8, 02 for days 9-16, 03 for days 17-24, 04 for days 25-31). 25-80 Daily values data. Blank fields indicate that there are no data available for that particular day. 2.2 Data Remarks The USGS Stage Only data are provided in a single file and are provided "as is" in their original card image format. 3.0 Quality Control Processing No additional Quality Control (QC) was performed on this dataset by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research/Joint Office for Science Support (UCAR/JOSS). 4.0 References Hauck, H.S., Huber, L.G. and Nagel, C.D., 1997: Water Resources Data Missouri Water Year 1997, U.S. Geological Survey Water- Data Report MO-97-1, National Technical Information Service, Springfield, Virginia, 318pp. Showen, C.R., 1980; Data Formats For U.S. Geological Survey Computer Files Containing Daily Values for Water Parameters. U.S. Geological Survey, Open-File Report 76-563 (Revised), Reston, IP.