A concatenated data file for each variable and nominal depth was created from individual files to provide a simplified mechanism of accessing the data for the entire study period.  For each variable (i.e., temperature, salinity, current, etc.), individual files were selected within the nominal depth bins of instrumentation at LT-A and LT-B.  Excel spreadsheets list all the individual data files containing a particular variable (including start and stop dates, data types available, etc); those files selected for concatenation are indicated with a “1” in the concatenate column.  A MATLAB m-file reads the Excel tables, pulls the data from the selected files, and then constructs both hour-averaged and low-pass-filtered time series for each variable at each depth. The data are low-pass-filtered before concatenation.

Variables within the file are named according to the following structure:  SITE_VARIABLE_DEPTH_data (concatenated data), and SITE_VARIABLE_DEPTH_time (corresponding concatenated time base).  Low-pass filtered data are delineated with a “_LP” extension.  Note that no interpolation is performed prior to or following concatenation.  “SITE” is either “A” or “B”, and depth is “S” (shallow, 4-10 m, LT-A only), “M”, (mid-depth, ~10 m above bottom), or “D” (deep, ~1-2 m above bottom).

Concatenated data files using other choices for the individual file selections can be accomplished by changing which files are marked in the Excel tables (noting that the file names of these tables should not be altered to preserve functionality of the program). The m-file takes as inputs the directory containing the individual data files and the directory containing the concatenated lists; help comments within the code provide the specific command structure for the m-file.

MATLAB concatenate_files.m

Concatenated data