Dataset: Water quality data in surface waters in the Upper Newport Back Bay estuary in California from May 2021 to July 2022

Upper Newport Back Bay near-shore surface waters at inlet, mid-estuary and outlet. Site 1 (33.650327, -117.8671967), located at the San Diego creek inlet; site 2 (33.6302266, -117.8859726), located mid-estuary; and site 3 (33.6181867, -117.9051099), located near the Newport Beach marina and Pacific Ocean outlet. 

Surface water (<5 cm) was sampled in the morning from the shore using a 6-foot sampling scoop. Samples were collected in amber glass bottles and immediately transported to the laboratory where they were filtered through 0.2-mm Durapore filters.  After filtering, samples were stored at 4 oC until analysis if necessary.  A range of water quality measurements were made in-situ with a Hanna Instruments HI 9829 multiparameter probe equipped with a double junction pH/oxidation reduction potential (ORP) sensor (HI7609829-1), galvanic dissolved oxygen (DO) sensor (HI7609829-2), and a conductivity/turbidity sensor (HI7609829-4). The probe also has a temperature sensor.  To measure DOC, filtered samples were placed in 50 mL glass DOC vials with Teflon-lined caps and acidified to pH <2 using a few drops of hydrochloric acid (6 M). Prepared samples were stored at 4ºC for less than 30 days prior to analysis. DOC concentrations (in units of mg/L) were measured using a Shimadzu TOC analyzer with a 0.20 mg C L-1 method detection limit and a 0.34 mg C L-1 minimum reporting level.

This is a summary of methods from W. J. De Bruyn, D. Manickam, A. Harrison, C. D. Clark. “Time-resolved fluorescence lifetimes of dissolved organic matter (DOM) as a function of environmental parameters in estuarine waters”. Environmental Science and Pollution Research (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-024-35777-3