Surface temperature variability in the Delaware Bay estuary system

This dataset includes in situ water property data collected from 8 along-estuary surveys in the Delaware Estuary from 2010-2011, led by Robert Chant (Rutgers University) and Chris Sommerfield (University of Delaware). The surveys spanned from the estuary mouth to about Trenton and consisted of CTD casts at fixed along-estuary sites. There were measurements of temperature, salinity, and pressure for every cruise, with additional measurements of nitrate, chlorophyll, optical backscatter, and Oxygen for some cruises. Data for each cruise has been binned to a uniform coordinate system, with dimensions of [depth x latitude/longitude position]. We've also included an example code to demonstrate how to plot the data.
, , # Surface temperature variability in the Delaware Bay estuary system

Dataset DOI: [10.5061/dryad.cz8w9gjgk](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.cz8w9gjgk)

## Description of the data and file structure

**Metadata for the 2010-2011 Along-Estuary Surveys in the Delaware Estuary**

There were 8 cruises total, all aboard the R/V Sharp. PIs were Bob Chant and Chris Sommerfield, with Eli Hunter, the main technician, heavily involved in data collection and processing. These metadata were compiled by Jack McSweeney in 2025.

For all cruises, we conducted a water sampling/CTD transect from Delaware Bay mouth to tidal freshwater just downriver of Trenton. Cast data have had a basic level of quality control and then were interpolated to uniform depth bins.

### Files and variables

In all of the files, NANs represent locations/times without data due to either 1) removal during quality control (ex: in case of instrument failure) or 2) because the data is gridded to a uniform depth coordinate system and...,