Santee Experimental Forest, Watershed 79: streamflow and water chemistry data

This data publication contains streamflow and water chemistry data measured at Watershed 79 (WS79) on the Santee Experimental Forest near Huger, South Carolina starting in 1966. WS79 is a 500-hectare second-order watershed that was established in 1966 on the Santee Experimental Forest. It encompasses both of the paired first-order watersheds, Watershed 77 (WS77) and Watershed 80 (WS80). Daily streamflow data, monitored at the watershed outlet, are provided from January 1966 to October 1973 and November 1989 to October 1990 for the historic period, as well as hourly, 10-minute and daily data from 2002-2023. Approximately weekly water chemistry data obtained from grab samples collected upstream of the WS79 weir are included from 1989-1994. Water chemistry data from September 2006 to April 2007 obtained from grab samples collected upstream of the WS79 weir during periods of active flow when parts of the watershed were experiencing thinning and prescribed burning treatments, are also provided. In August 2010, a new water quality sampler was installed, and samples were collected upstream of the WS79 weir by the automated sampler during periods of active flow until May 2020, at which point sampling went back to weekly grab samples and continued as such through July 2021. Starting in May 2006 and continuing through 2023, additional water quality parameters (pH, temperature, conductivity, salinity and dissolved oxygen) were also measured in situ on an approximately weekly (later biweekly) basis.
The purpose of WS79 when established in 1966 was to expand the scale at which research on the effects of watershed size on precipitation-runoff relationships could be conducted, also using data from the smaller WS77 watershed established in 1963, on the Santee Experimental Forest. Hurricane Hugo devastated the Santee Experimental Forest in September 1989, and streamflow monitoring was resumed soon thereafter, and water quality sampling was also initiated on WS79 to document the effects of this disturbance on water quality during subsequent 1989-1994 watershed recovery.
Data from 1966-2021 were published on 01/10/2023. On 08/15/2024 we added 2022-2023 data and a made a few minor metadata updates. In addition, we added some precision to a few variables where data were available to the thousandths but only published to the hundredths (Br_mgL, SO4_mgL, PO4_mgL, Conductivi, and Salinity_P). This affected only 3% of these values, but the data have been corrected.