Terry, N., Briggs, M.A, Kushner, D., Dickerson, H., Baldwin, A., Trottier, B., Haynes, A., Besteder, C., Glas, R., Doctor, D., Gazoorian, C., Odom, W., and Benton, J., 2022, Stream temperature, dissolved radon, and stable water isotope data collected along headwater streams in the upper Neversink River watershed, NY, USA (ver. 2.0, April 2023): U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9R3TYOZ.
The Neversink River watershed (above the Neversink Reservoir) has been a focus of U.S. Geological Survey research for decades regarding stream geochemistry, acidification, and ecology dynamics. In 2019, the Water Mission Area Next Generation Water Observing Systems Program (NGWOS) augmented the existing stream gage network to include multiscale instrumentation aimed at characterizing various aspects of groundwater discharge to streams. Groundwater discharge from hillslopes and underlying aquifers acts as an important component of stream baseflow, and influences stream thermal regimes. Headwater stream temperature data can be collected for a variety of reasons ranging from basic habitat monitoring to hydrologic model training, calibration, and validation. Stream temperature can also be used as an indicator of physical hydrologic process. For example, if local streambank air temperature data are also collected, relations between air and water temperature over time can indicate spatial patterns in stream temperature ‘sensitivity’ and relative groundwater discharge processes. For specific guidance regarding how the air-water temperature metrics calculated in this data release might be interpreted, please refer to the Related External Resources.
