Dataset: Nitrate and phosphate from various depths throughout the water column inside and outside a kelp forest near the Monterey Peninsula, California, USA from June to August 2018 and 2019

Sampling Locations:
Sampling was conducted near the Monterey Peninsula near Pacific Grove and Monterey, California, USA. Kelp sites ranged from 8.8 to 10.3 meters deep and offshore sites ranged from 13.1 to 16.5 m deep.

Instrument moorings were deployed in 2018 in the following areas: a wave-protected kelp forest, ~100 meters offshore of the protected site, in a wave-exposed site devoid of kelp (historically has had kelp), and ~100 meters offshore of the exposed site.

Instrument moorings were deployed in 2019 in the following areas: a wave-protected kelp forest, ~175 meters offshore of the protected site, in a wave-exposed kelp site, and ~180 meters offshore of the exposed site.

Sampling Depths:
1B = 1 meter above the bottom,
4B = 4 meters above the bottom,
10B = 10 meters above the bottom,
1T = 1 meter below the sea surface,
S = Sea surface.

Methodology:
Discrete water samples were collected bi-weekly at various depths at instrument mooring sites using Niskin bottles. Each sample collection was accompanied by a CTD cast at the time of collection. 60 mL samples were taken at the depths listed above using Niskin bottles. Samples were kept in a dark cooler and transported to the lab to be frozen until analysis. A WestCo SmartChem 200 discrete auto-analyzer was used to obtain nitrate and phosphate concentrations. Internal control seawater was used on each run sequence and was run after approximately every 10 unknowns with a precision of ± 0.022. Partial results of this data are reported in Traiger et al. (In review).