Standard Units
- Thushara Gunda (Unlicensed)
This table captures common units used within water datasets. A brief description of the columns is provided below:
Category: Describes the general type of data being discussed. The entries coincide with those used for organizing Standards Development content.
Measurement Type: Describes the general phenomenon being measured.
Units: Captures the common units used for the measurements. Where relevant, common conversion units are also provides (e.g., parts per million = milligrams per liter)
Data Types: Contains a list of water data entries that are usually measured for a given measurement type and unit
Notes: Additional nuances worth being mindful of for a given measurement or data type
Category | Measurement Type | Units | Data Types | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Quantity | Depth | feet (ft) | Lake/Reservoir levels GW levels | GW levels are usually below measuring point accompanied by elevation of measuring point and elevation above ground of measuring point-could look at the parameters in USGS NWIS to spell out every last detail |
Quantity | Depth | inches (in) millimeters (mm) | Precipitation Evapotranspiration |
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Quantity | Area | acres (ac) | Lake/Reservoirs | Consistent with court adjudication documents as well |
Quantity | Volume | acre-Feet (af-ct) | Reservoir volume | accompanied by area-capacity table |
Quantity | Volume | volumetric moisture content | Soil moisture |
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Quantity | Rate | cubic feet per second (CFS; ft^3/sec) | streamflow (instantaneous) |
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Quantity | Rate | millimeters per day (mm/day) feet/year (ft/yr) | Evapotranspiration |
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Quantity | Rate | watts per square meter (W/m^2) | Potential Evapotranspiration |
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Quantity | Rate | acre-feet per year (ac-ft/yr) | Water use | Rights, diversions, withdrawals, consumptive use, return flows, discharges, point of diversions, transfers, … |
Quality | pH | standard units (S.U.) |
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Quality | Temperature | degree C (deg C) |
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Quality | Dissolved Oxygen | milligrams per liter (mg/L) percentage (%) |
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Quality | Conductance | uS/cm (microSiemens/centimeter) at degrees 25 C for specific conductance | Conductance Specific Conductance | can be converted to specific conductance if you have temperature info |
Quality | Turbidity | Nephelometric turbidity unit (NTU) percentage (%) | DWStds will capture percentage of time turbidity is below the thresholds |
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Quality | Concentration | parts per billion (ppb) or micrograms per liter (ug/l) parts per million (ppm) or milligrams per liter (mg/l) | Trace metals Major Ions Organics |
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Quality | Concentration | binary (presence = 1, absence = 0) | Biological parameters |
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Quality | Concentration | percentage (%) |
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Quality | Concentration | picocuries per Liter (pCi/L) | Radionuclides: Radium, Gross Alpha, and Gross Beta Particle Activity |
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Quality | Concentration | million fibers per Liter (MFL) | Asbestos |
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Quality | Concentration | colony forming units (cfu) most probable number (mpn) | Coliform |
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Metadata | Biological/Habitat Parameters |
| Slope | Can add others to this list |
Metadata | Biological/Habitat Parameters |
| Shade |
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Metadata | Age - Dating |
| Carbon-14 |
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Metadata | Location | UTM easting and Northing (UTM Zone 13, NAD83) | Latitude Longitude |
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Metadata | Well Status | Categorical Information (e.g., Permitted, active, capped, plugged, etc.) |
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