DATADAY!!!!

Today was a data-crunching day.

Sunburned and exhausted, I figured it was a better idea not to go out in the field and instead stay back and rest while getting some work done. I spent a good chunk of the day overlaying soil and wetland data over my salinity points and the LiDAR data to see if there were any trends. I’m still not entirely sure what I’m seeing or what it means, but I’m beginning to suspect that the reason the oceanic influence goes so little into the valley is because most of the saltwater is sitting on the bottom and draining into the soil at the edges of the pond/marsh area. Though the data I found show that the soil in that area is well-draining, there is still sitting water and the LiDAR data puts the area at or below sea level, which could mean that it is below the water table. When the land elevation increases, then, the water table would remain the same, with only the fresher water is left sitting on top. This is a trend which appears in the data I collected, and I’m hoping I’ll be able to find some research to tell me whether this is a valid hypothesis or not.

Besides that, I haven’t done much today. I experimented with interpolating my conductivity data, and did it about 15 times before I settled on a method and set of parameters that gave me the accuracy of results I wanted. Even with that, I’m still not sure about the viability of the results, but maybe with a little more experimentation I’ll be able to get it to match better with what’s actually there.

The last progress in data I made tonight was the analysis of the level logger data from one of the marshy areas. Unfortunately, the data I got from it wasn’t all that interesting, and the only fluctuations in conductivity and temperature came from day and night, and the tide didn’t change at all. It may be too early to definitely declare that the ocean does or doesn’t reach that far, but I think I’m going to put in one more level logger tomorrow in a more natural marsh area to see if there’s any last minute clues to collect.

And now, before I keel over from staring at a computer screen for 12 hours, it’s time for bed. Goodnight!

The view from yesterday...

Overlay of conductivity (salinity) interpolation on LiDAR imagery. It looks a bit like a cow to me...