"This file contains benthic grab data for sites that were sampled for the National Coastal Condition Assessment in 2020, 2021 and 2022."		

Data have been thoroughly reviewed, however they are not considered final until the NCCA Report is published. Data may be updated at any time. The changelog for the associated file may be found below the column name definitions.           
                                                                    		
End-users are responsible for reviewing the suitability of these data for their purposes.  
                                            		
"""Please bring any questions about the data to the attention of Hugh Sullivan, NCCA Lead at sullivan.hugh@epa.gov. ""  

Please note: Station information (sampling coordinates, site depth, etc.) may be imported from the Site Information files.	 
                                                		
                                           		
		
		
COLUMN_HEADING		DESCRIPTION
PUBLICATION_DATE		Date the dataset was published by NARS IM         
UID		Unique identifier for a single sampling event at a site/visit. Use the UID to associate data in the NCCA site info files with  information included in this file.

UNIQUE_ID		 Unique site ID based on location. Does not depend on year sampled or any other factor. Follows a unique site through multiple survey designs.  Form is NCA_ss_nnnnn  where ss is state/territory and nnnnn is number that starts at 10001.  No missing values allowed. Text          
SITE_ID		"NCCA Site ID for the study and year sampled. Preferred form is NCAnn_MM-xxxxx  where  nn is survey cycle year (05, 10, 15, 20, etc), MM is two letter state code, and xxxxx is between 10001 and 99999.  No missing values allowed.  No missing values allowed."
VISIT_NO	1|2	sequential visit identifier for sites visited twice in a sampling season
DATE_COL	mm/dd/yyyy	date sample was collected
PSTL_CODE		"State two letter postal code for site sampled. 50 state postal codes plus (if applicable) AS, MP, GU, PR, VI for American Samoa, Commonwealth of Northern Marianas, Guam, Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands.  No missing values allowed."
WTBDY_TYPE	marine|Great Lakes	type of water that sample was collected in
NCCA_REG		NCCA Region	
FINAL_GRAB_AREA		Adjusted grab area     
GRAB_DEPTH		Depth of grab(s)        
GRAB_TYPE		grab sampling equipment used to collect sample
GRABS		Number of grabs taken
SIEVE_SIZE		Sieve size  
NOT_COLLECTED		identifies samples not collected due to collection issues.
SALINITY		Bottom water salinity measurement at estuarine/marine sites only
BENT_COMMENT		Comment describing sampling issues. Applied by field crew
SHIP_COMMENT		comment describing shipping issues. Applied by field crew
		
		
Changelog		
		
Publication Date 
Of Most recent
File Posted to
NARS Data Page 
        		Change
05/03/2024		Initial publication
05/09/2024		Rev_1 inserted NCCA_REG, LAT_DD, LON_DD
05/20/2024		ncca20_bentgrab_data_Rev_2.csv: Moved LAT_DD and LON_DD to Site Info
08/23/2024		file refresh to update values for multiple variables including grab and density calculations