Multi-year high-frequency physical and environmental observations at the Guadiana Estuary

Abstract

High-frequency data collected continuously over a multi-year time frame are required for investigating the various agents that drive ecological and hydrodynamic processes in estuaries. Here, we present water quality and current in situ observations from a fixed monitoring station operating from 2008 to 2014 in the lower Guadiana Estuary, southern Portugal (37° 11.30' N, 7° 24.67' W). The data were recorded by a multi-parametric probe providing hourly records (temperature, salinity, chlorophyll, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, and pH) at a water depth of ∼ 1 m, and by a bottom-mounted acoustic Doppler current profiler measuring the pressure, near-bottom temperature, and flow velocity through the water column every 15 min. The time series data, in particular the probe ones, present substantial gaps arising from equipment failure and maintenance, which are ineluctable with this type of observation in harsh environments. However, prolonged (months-long) periods of multi-parametric observations during contrasted external forcing conditions are available. The raw data are reported together with flags indicating the quality status of each record. River discharge data from two hydrographic stations located near the estuary head are also provided to support data analysis and interpretation. The data set is publicly available in machine-readable format at PANGAEA (doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.845750).