About the Data
GISlab: Water Quality and Watersheds Metadata
by Tania Siemens,
Data about the Data: Metadata
Water Quality and Watersheds: A GIS Investigation
All data are projected in UTM, NAD 83, Zone 18N
Data/Map / Metadata /Modifications Made
Cities / ESRI data provided with ArcView Program. The original Metadata is unavailable. / NoneNy_Roads / ESRI data provided with ArcView Program. The original Metadata is unavailable. / None
Streams / Data are originally from the Cornell University Geographic Information repository
But it is currently unavailable. / None
Big_Rivers_Lakes / This data was obtained at the Cornell University Geographic Information Repository and is called “NYS 1:100,000 Scale Hydrography”. Metadata can be downloaded at
Or, a Microsoft word file of the metadata is available to download on the CSIP website. / None
Forest_land / NYGAP land cover data. A Microsoft word file called NY_LC_metadata is available to download though the CSIP website. / NYGAP land cover data was used as base map to re-draw coarse polygons that approximately represented forestland. (Done for simplification purposes.)
Agricultural_land / NYGAP land cover data. A Microsoft word file called NY_LC_metadata is available to download though the CSIP website. / NYGAP land cover data was used as base map to re-draw coarse polygons that approximately represented agricultural land. (Done for simplification purposes.)
Data/Map / Metadata /
Modifications Made
Urban_land / NYGAP land cover data (see file NY_LC_metadata available to download from CSIP curriculum website) / NYGAP land cover data was used as base map to re-draw coarse polygons that approximately represented urban land. (Done for simplification purposes.)Precipitation / This data was obtained at the Cornell University Geographic Information Repository and is called “Average Annual Precipitation, 1961-1990, New YorkState (Shapefile : 2000)”. Meta data can be downloaded at:
Or, a Microsoft word file called NY_watersheds_metadata is available to download though the CSIP website. / Field “range” was renamed to read “cm_per_year” for simplification
NY_Watershed / This data was obtained at the Cornell University Geographic Information Repository and is called “8 Digit Hydrologic Unit Boundary, New YorkState (Shapefile : 2003)”. Metadata can be downloaded at:
Or, a Microsoft word file called NY_watersheds_metadata is available to download though the CSIP website. / All Fields except “name” and “area” were deleted for simplification
Land_regions / The “Bailey's Ecoregions” metadata can be found at the following website: Or, a Microsoft word file called NY_Land_Regions_metadata is available to download though the CSIP website. / Some Fields were deleted for simplification
Geology / None / Created in ArcView by drawing polygons to represent the “Generalized Bedrock Geology of New York State” map. This map is a modified version of the Geological Survey 1989 map and is included in Earth Science Reference Tables, which is used by East High in Rochester, NY.
Data/Map / Metadata /
Modifications Made
Kind_of_Pollution / Data regarding water pollution was integrated into the NY_watershed base map. (The base map is from the Cornell University Geographic Information RepositoryOr, a Microsoft word file called NY_watersheds_metadata is available to download though the CSIP website. / Data from the EPA website: were complied to display the numbers of TMDL exceeded in each watershed and organized by pollution type. Data fields reflecting pollution types were added to the NY_watershed base map using ArcView. Some simplifications of the data were made for educational purposes: 1. The pollution categories “oxygen demand”, “phosphorus” and “sludge sediment” were all classified as “nutrient” pollution. 2. The pollution categories “Priority Organics”, “PCBs”, and “Dioxins”, were all classified as “Toxic Chemicals”
Percent_Impaired_Waters / Data compiled from the Atlas of Americas Polluted Waters (EPA 2000) was integrated into the NY_watershed base map. (The base map is from the Cornell University Geographic Information Repository
A Microsoft word file called NY_watersheds with the metadata is available to download though CSIP website / A field was added to the NY_watershed map that reflected the percent impaired water bodies in each watershed. Data source: Atlas of Americas Polluted waters, EPA 2000.
This material was developed through the Cornell Science Inquiry Partnership program ( with support from the National Science Foundation’s Graduate Teaching Fellows in K-12 Education (GK-12) program (DUE # 0231913 and # 9979516) and CornellUniversity. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NSF.