Continuous salinity observations within BEFmate experimental islands and saltmarsh enclosed plots at different elevation levels, Spiekeroog, Germany, 2017-04 to 2017-12

Data presented here were collected between April 2017 to December 2017 in the BEFmate project (Biodiversity - Ecosystem Functioning across marine and terrestrial ecosystems ) of the Universities of Oldenburg and Göttingen and the Nationalparkverwaltung Niedersächsisches Wattenmeer. Experimental islands and saltmarsh enclosed plots were established in the back-barrier tidal flat and in the saltmarsh zone of the island of Spiekeroog (Germany). Salinity at different elevation zones was measured using conductivity loggers deployed in dip wells within experimental islands as well as in the saltmarsh enclosed plots. Measurements were obtained using HOBO U24 Conductivity Logger U24-002-C (Onset Computer Corporation, Bourne, MA/USA). All devices were pre-calibrated by the manufacturer. Logged data were retrieved in the field using a Hobo Underwater Shuttle (U-DTW-1) and were read out with the HOBOware Pro (V3.7.28) software. Salinity was derived in HOBOware Pro using temperature-dependent, nonlinear seawater conductivity compensation following the Practical Salinity Scale (PSS-78). Subsequent data processing was done using MATLAB (R2024b). Post-processing and quality control included (a) the removal of data covering maintenance activities, (b) the removal of implausible values using fixe thresholds (salinity > 40 psu and < 5 psu; temperature > 35 °C and < -5 °C), c) an outlier detection using the Hampel filter method, and (d) visual checks. Identified outliers were removed and synchronously removed across all associated parameters (temperature and salinity).