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dataRetrieval

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Retrieval functions for USGS and EPA hydrologic and water quality data.

Function Overview

Web service retrieval functions:

Function Inputs Description
readNWISdata ..., service NWIS data using user-specified queries
readNWISdv Common 3, parameter code, statCd NWIS daily data with Common query
readNWISqw Common 3, parameter code, expanded NWIS water quality data with Common query
readNWISuv Common 3, parameter code NWIS instantaneous data with Common query
readNWISpCode parameterCd NWIS parameter code information
readNWISgwl Common 3 NWIS groundwater level data with Common query
readNWISpeak Common 3 NWIS peak flow data with Common query
readNWISmeas Common 3 NWIS surface-water measurement data with Common query
readNWISrating siteNumber, type NWIS rating table for an active USGS streamgage
readNWISsite siteNumber NWIS site information
whatNWISsites ... NWIS site search using user-specified queries
whatNWISdata siteNumber, service NWIS data availability, including period of record and count
readWQPdata ... WQP data using user-specified queries
readWQPqw Common 3 WQP data with Common 3 query and either parameter code or characteristic name
whatWQPsites ... WQP site search using user-specified queries
  • Common 3 = siteNumber, startDate, endDate

Moving EGRET specific functions to EGRET (version 2.0.0 and greater):

|Information Source | Meta Data | Data | | -------------| -------------| ------------- |:-------------| |NWIS | getNWISInfo | getNWISSample | | | | getNWISDaily | | Water Quality Portal | getWQPInfo| getWQPSample | | User-supplied files | getUserInfo | getUserDaily| | | | getUserSample |

##Subscribe Please email questions, comments, and feedback to: egret_comments@usgs.gov

Additionally, to subscribe to an email list concerning updates to these R packages, please send a request to egret_comments@usgs.gov.

##Package Installation To install the dataRetrieval package, you must be using R 3.0 or greater and run the following command:

install.packages("dataRetrieval", 
  repos=c("http://usgs-r.github.com",
           "http://cran.us.r-project.org"),
  dependencies=TRUE)

##Version updates

###dataRetrieval 1.5.0

  • Changing naming convention one last time. Migrating dataRetrieval specific retrievals to dataRetrieval.
  • Added back WaterML2 parsing tool
  • Added specific groundwater, rating, peak, and surfacewater measurement functions

###dataRetrieval 1.4.0 Changed naming convention:

Original Name New Name
getDVData getNWISDaily
getSampleData getNWISSample
getSTORETData* getWQPSample
getSampleDataFromFile getUserSample
getDailyDataFromFile getUserDaily
getMetaData splits into getNWISInfo and getUserInfo
getSiteFileData getNWISSiteInfo
getParameterInfo getNWISPcodeInfo
getDataAvailability getNWISDataAvailability
'retrieve' functions 'get'

*Changed WaterML2 rbind fill from plyr function to dplyr. Removed plyr import, added dplyr. *Removing WaterML2 until fixed.

###dataRetrieval 1.3.3

  • Updated getNWISSiteInfo to retrieve multiple site file datasets at once using a vector of siteNumbers as input argument.
  • Updated error-handling for Web service calls. More information is returned when errors happen
  • Added some basic processing to Water Quality Portal raw data retrievals. Date columns are returned as Date objects, value columns are numeric, and a column is created from the date/time/timezone columns that is POSIXct.
  • Added very generalized NWIS and WQP retrieval functions (getNWISData, getNWISSites, getGeneralWQPData, and whatWQPsites) which allow the user to use any argument available on the Web service platform.

###dataRetrieval 1.3.2

  • Deprecated getQWData, updated readWQPdata to take either parameter code or characteristic name.
  • Changed the name of raw data retrievals to: readNWISqw, getNWISunitData, getNWISdvData, and getWQPqwData (from: readNWISqw, retrieveUnitNWISData, retrieveNWISData, getRawQWData)
  • Added NA warning to getDVData function
  • Updated mergeReport to allow for Sample data with different measurements taken on the same day

##Sample Workflow

Load data from web services:

library(dataRetrieval)
Daily <- getNWISDaily("06934500","00060","1979-10-01","2010-09-30")
Sample <-getNWISSample("06934500","00631","1970-10-01","2011-09-30")
INFO <-getNWISInfo("06934500","00631", interactive=FALSE)
Sample <-mergeReport(Daily, Sample)

##Disclaimer This software is in the public domain because it contains materials that originally came from the U.S. Geological Survey, an agency of the United States Department of Interior. For more information, see the official USGS copyright policy

Although this software program has been used by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), no warranty, expressed or implied, is made by the USGS or the U.S. Government as to the accuracy and functioning of the program and related program material nor shall the fact of distribution constitute any such warranty, and no responsibility is assumed by the USGS in connection therewith.

This software is provided "AS IS."