This readme file was first created on 2018-03-01 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TITLE OF DATASET Advancement of using portable free fall penetrometers in energetic sandy nearshore areas --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- KEYWORDS Free-fall penetrometer, nearshore site investigation, sediment classification, sand friction angle --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- INVESTIGATORS INFORMATION Principal Investigator Contact Information Name: Dr. Nina Stark Institution: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) Address: 216 Patton Hall, 750 Drillfield Dr, Blacksburg, VA 24061 Email: ninas@vt.edu Co-investigator Contact Information Name: Ali Albatal Institution: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) Address: 19 Patton Hall, 750 Drillfield Dr, Blacksburg, VA 24061 Email: ali2@vt.edu --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SHARING/ACCESS INFORMATION There are no restrictions on the datasets use and no license needed to use this datasets; however, proper citation is required when use this dataset. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION OF DATA COLLECTION The data was collected from three locations 1- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Field Research Facility (FRF) Beach in Duck, North Carolina. The Facility Coordinates are: Latitude 36.182,Longitude -75.750 2- Cannon Beach near Yakutat City. Yakutat City Coordinates are: Latitude 59.5470, Longitude -139.7273 3- Yakutat Bay near Yakutat City. Yakutat City Coordinates are: Latitude 59.5470, Longitude -139.7273 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FILES FORMAT AND CONTENT The data is divided as 3 main folder. Each folder contain the data belongs to one location from the three locations listed above. Inside each folder, there are two main subfolder. One folder contains the raw data extracted from the Free Fall Penetrometer while the other folder contains the data analysis final results. In the raw data subfolders, the raw data are grouped by the date of investigation. The raw data is mainly binary (.bin) files except the data collected on 2014-07-25 from Cannon Beach. For this day, the data is available as text files (.txt) In the data analysis subfolders, 3 file formats will be found: 1. Excel files that give a summary for the analysis results; 2. The results in a Matlab figures format (.fig); 3. The results in Tagged Image File Format (TIFF) The figures naming convention is DATE-FILE_NAME. Here, the DATE is in a form of Day Month Year while the FILE_NAME is in the form of bLogXXXX. The user can return to the data date and bLog number to reach the raw data file. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VARIABLES NAME AND DESCRIPTION Since each dataset is associated to a different location and that some the parameters sought were different as well, the variables are different for each dataset. The user is advised to return to the associated publications or the dissertation to know more details about the different variables. The commonly used variables in all the analyses are: 1. Name: [Drop name] Description: the name of the raw data point. The figures naming convention is in DATE-FILE_NAME format. 2. Name: [Latitude] Description: The latitude of the data point (WGS84 Datum) 3. Name: [Longitude] Description: The longitude of the data point (WGS84 Datum) 4. Name: [Water depth (m)] Description: The water depth at which the device was deployed in meters 4. Name: [qsbc (kPa)] Description: The quasi-static bearing capacity determined following Stark et al. (2012) approach 4. Name: [PWP (kPa)] Description: The pore water pressure measured by the free fall penetrometer pressure sensor --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- METHODOLOGY While the outputs vary from location to another based on the sediment type and the parameters under investigation, the main data analysis was conducted following Stark et al. (2012) approach. Reference: Stark, N., Wilkens, R., Ernstsen, V. B., Lambers-Huesmann, M., Stegmann, S., and Kopf, A. (2012). “Geotechnical Properties of Sandy Seafloors and the Consequences for Dynamic Penetrometer Interpretations: Quartz Sand Versus Carbonate Sand.” Geotechnical and Geological Engineering, 30(1), 1–14. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- EQUIPMENT AND SOFTWARE The raw data was collected using the free fall penetrometer BlueDrop. The data analysis was performed using Matlab (versions 8.5, 9.0 and 9.3). --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ASSOCIATED ABSTRACTS/MANUSCRIPTS/ARTICLES Albatal, A., and Stark, N. (2016). “In situ geotechnical early site assessment of a proposed wave energy converter site in Yakutat, Alaska, using a portable free-fall penetrometer.” Geo-Chicago 2016, Chicago, IL, 429–438. Albatal, A., McNinch, J. E., Wadman, H., and Stark, N. (2017). “In-situ geotechnical investigation of nearshore sediments with regard to cross-shore morphodynamics.” Geotechnical Frontiers 2017, ASCE, 398-408. Albatal, A., and Stark, N. (2017). “Rapid sediment mapping and in-situ geotechnical characterization in challenging aquatic areas.” Limnology and Oceanography: Methods. Albatal, A., Stark, N., and Castellanos, B. (n.d.). “Estimating in-situ friction angles of nearshore sand from free fall penetrometer tests.” Canadian Geotechnical Journal. (In review) Albatal, A., Bilici, C., Stark, N., McNinch, J. E., and Wadman, H. (2017). “Investigation of spatial and temporal nearshore sediment characteristics using portable free fall penetrometers” American Shore and Beach Preservation Association (ASBPA) Conference. (Abstract) Bilici, C., Stark, N., Albatal, A. (2018) “Quantifying the effect of wave action on the seabed surface sediment strength using a portable free fall penetrometer” 4th International Symposium CPT’18 - Cone Penetration Testing. (Abstract Subm.)