Salton Sea 2020-2023 Water Column Microbial Metabolic Rates

The following dataset includes water column microbial metabolic rates for the Salton Sea, a rapidly drying inland lake in California's Coachella Valley. These measurements were conducted to assess how rapid desiccation, a similar phenomenon happening to inland lakes globally, is affecting biogeochemical cycling in the lake (Yousavich et al., 2026). All measurements were conducted between 2020 and 2023, with samples collected aboard a small boat during four sampling campaigns (January 2020, August 2020, September 2021, and November 2023). Water column samples were collected with either a Niskin bottle (2020-2022) or a peristaltic pump (2023). Methane oxidation and denitrification rates were only measured in samples from the 2023 campaign.