Description of sediment data collected by the U.S. Geological Survey in small watersheds in coal-mining areas of the eastern United States, 1980-84

Hydrologic data were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey from 20 small watersheds in the surface-mining areas of the eastern United States from 1980 through 1984 as part of the Survey1 s coal-hydrology program. Each data set includes sediment-concentration, streamflow, and precipitation data collected at 5- or 15-minute intervals. One reason for collecting the data was to test the sediment component of a watershed model. However, adequate testing requires reliable calibration data collected at several points during the rise and fall of hydrographs of several storms. Therefore, the quantity and quality of the data sets needed to be described to determine which sets could be used to test a model adequately. The data sets are described in a table that presents information about watershed characteristics, period of record, and amount of useful sediment data. Also, similar data sets collected by 10 Survey project offices during other Survey programs are described in a similar table.