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We monitored water level and water quality in Beaverdam Reservoir (Vinton, Virginia, USA, 37.31288, -79.8159) with visual observations and high-frequency (10-minute and 15-minute) sensors in 2009-2023. All variables were measured at the deepest site of the reservoir adjacent to the dam. Beaverdam Reservoir is owned and managed by the Western Virginia Water Authority as a secondary drinking water source for Roanoke, Virginia. This data package is comprised of three datasets: 1) BVR_WaterLevel_2009_2023.csv, 2) BVRSensorString_2016_2020.csv, and 3) BVRPlatform_2020_2023.csv. 1) BVR_WaterLevel_2009_2023.csv contains water level observations of the staff gauge by both the Western Virginia Water Authority and the Virginia Tech Reservoir Group LTREB field crew. This dataset spans 2009 to 2023, with data collection still ongoing. 2) BVRSensorString_2016_2020.csv consists of a water temperature profile at ~1-meter intervals from the surface of the reservoir to 10.5 m below the water, complemented by a dissolved oxygen logger at 5 m or 10 m, depending on the time of year. A sonde measuring water temperature, conductivity, specific conductance, chlorophyll a, phycocyanin, total dissolved solids, dissolved oxygen, fluorescent dissolved organic matter, and turbidity was additionally deployed at ~1.5 m depth. This dataset spans 2016 to 2020, with no additional data collection beyond the last observation. The third dataset is BVRPlatform_2020_2023.csv, with data collection still ongoing. This dataset contains: a) a temperature string with 13 temperature sensors deployed ~1 m apart from the surface to 0.5 m above the sediments of the reservoir; b) two dissolved oxygen sensors, one in the middle of the string and one sensor above the sediments; and c) a pressure sensor just above the sediments. The same sonde from the first 2016-2020 dataset is also included in this 2020-2023 dataset, deployed at 1.5 m below the surface. The sensors on the temperature string (thermistors, dissolved oxygen sensors, and pressure sensor) are permanently fixed to the platform and do not change with the water level. In the methods, we describe how to add a depth measurement to each observation. 

Surface samples and depth profiles of carbon dioxide and methane concentrations were sampled from 2015 to 2023 in two drinking water reservoirs in southwestern Virginia, USA: Beaverdam Reservoir (Vinton, Virginia) and Falling Creek Reservoir (Vinton, Virginia). Both reservoirs are owned and operated by the Western Virginia Water Authority as primary or secondary drinking water sources for Roanoke, Virginia. The dataset consists of depth profiles of dissolved greenhouse gas (carbon dioxide, methane) samples measured at the deepest site of each reservoir adjacent to the dam. Additional surface samples were collected at a gauged weir on Falling Creek Reservoir's primary inflow tributary, from a wetland adjacent to Falling Creek Reservoir, and from the reservoir outflow. At Beaverdam Reservoir, additional samples were collected at three outflow points below the dam and at the mid-reservoir outflow. Samples were collected approximately fortnightly from March-April, weekly from May-October, and monthly in November-February at Falling Creek Reservoir and Beaverdam Reservoir. In 2019, surface samples along the stream and reservoir continuum from both Falling Creek Reservoir and Beaverdam Reservoir were collected monthly during the summer stratified period (see site descriptions file for geographic coordinates of sampling sites). 

Working with ecological data often involves ethical considerations, particularly when data are applied to address societal needs. However, data science ethics are rarely included as part of undergraduate and graduate training programs. Here, we present four modules for teaching ethics in data science, with real-world case studies related to ecological forecasting.