The United States Geological Survey (USGS) Reservoir dataset is one of various hydrological datasets provided for the Southern Great Plains 1997 (SGP97) project. This dataset contains reservoir data from stations in SGP97 domain. The data collected at USGS gaging stations consist of records of stage and measurements of discharge of streams or canals, and stage, surface area, and contents of lakes or reservoirs. This dataset contains only the USGS reservoir data. For a lake or reservoir, capacity tables giving the contents for any stage are prepared from stage-area relation curves defined by surveys. The application of the stage to the capacity table gives the contents, from which the daily, monthly, or yearly change in contents is computed. If the stage-capacity curve is subject to changes because of deposition of sediment in the reservoir, periodic resurveys of the reservoir are necessary to define new stage-capacity curves. During the period between reservoir surveys, the computed contents may be increasingly in error due to the gradual accumulation of sediments. For some gaging stations there are periods when no gage-height record is obtained or the recorded gage height is so faulty that it cannot be used to compute daily discharge or contents. This happens when the recorder stops or otherwise fails to operate properly, intakes are plugged, the float is frozen in the well, or for various other reasons. For such periods, the daily contents may be estimated on the basis of operator's log, prior and subsequent records, inflow-outflow studies, and other information. The USGS reservoir data are provided in a single file and are provided "as is" in their original card image format. There are six different types of "cards images" which appear in the USGS reservoir dataset. Each card has a unique format, but the first character of a card image always indicates the card type. Depending upon the card type, the card image may contain metadata and/or data. No additional quality control was performed by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research/Joint Office for Science Support (UCAR/JOSS).
- HTMLGeoData catalog record