BACKGROUND

This report contains a compilation of available textural data and lithologic descriptions generated on surficial sediment samples from off the northeastern coast of the United States. Over 49,000 samples containing sediment grain size and lithology have been compiled as part of the U.S. Geological Survey's National Benthic Habitats and Marine Aggregate Resources and Processes Projects.  These data will be used to update the existent maps on surficial sediment distribution available for the Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank regions.

Many of these data layers were compiled from gray literature or unpublished sources and have not been available in digital form prior to this publication.  These data have been converted to Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc. (ESRI) "shapefile" format for use in the project Geographic Information System (GIS).  Data are also supplied with complete FGDC compliant metadata.  Sediment data and sample identifiers are also supplied in flat-file format and Microsoft Excel spreadsheet files for those users who may not have GIS access.

CD-ROM CONTENTS

There are three top-level files and three top-level directories contained on this CD-ROM.

The top-level files are:

1. readme.txt (the ASCII version of this file) - This file contains a description of this CD-ROM and may be viewed or printed by the user with any system program capable of opening an ASCII text file.

2. index.htm - This file is intended to be the starting point for CD-ROM access. It is written in the Hyper-Text Markup Language utilized by the World Wide Web (WWW) project and must be opened with a WWW browser. Once opened, the user may browse the CD-ROM's contents as they would browse pages from the WWW.

3. gome.apr - An ArcView 3.3 project file containing the GIS data layers. This file facilitates the viewing of the shapefiles and related image data sets. If the user does not have ArcView available, they may access the shapefiles by downloading ESRI's ArcExplorer software at no charge from the ESRI website

The three main directories include:

Directory htmldocs/

This directory contains five directories and sub-directories used to format the HTML files and supporting graphics to allow the user access to the report via any World Wide Web browser. The major sub-directories include the following:

css/ - this directory contains the cascading style sheet used to format the layout of the HTML pages

icons/ - this directory contains images used as icons in the layout of the various HTML pages

images/ - this directory contains images used in the HTML page layouts

samplers/ - this directory contains images used as "browse graphics" to illustrate the various sediment samplers

ships/ - this directory contains images used as "browse graphics" that depict the various research vessels used during the field activities and collection of the data presented in this report

Directory data/

This directory contains four subdirectories that contain the various GIS data layers and appropriate metadata. The sub-directories including the following data:

basemaps/ - basemap data used in the ArcView project file. Basemap data include a general US land and coastline shapefile, rivers, cities and urbanized areas for the Gulf of Maine surficial sediment GIS project area.

bathymetry/ - this directory contains the bathymetric contour file for the Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank area

images/ - this directory contains an image representation of the National Geophysical Data Center Coastal Relief Model bathymetry dataset for the Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank area.  This image may be used as a basemap data layer to illustrate the bathymetric relief of the Continental Shelf and Slope.

seddata/ - includes 42 individual directories, one for each of the sediment data layers presented in this publication.  Each data layer directory includes the individual ArcView shapefile components, supporting metadata and an archive zip file for simple retrieval of the data layer.

Directory maps/

This directory contains several sub-directories that include higher resolution browse maps of selected geographic areas from the project area.

TECHNICAL NOTES

This disk has been tested for use on computers having Windows 98/NT/2000/XP and Macintosh operating systems.

Access to the data and information contained in this report was developed using the HyperText Markup Language (HTML) utilized by the World Wide Web (WWW) project. This allows the user to access the information using WWW information browsers (i.e., Microsoft Internet Explorer, Netscape). To start, open the file 'index.htm' at the top-level directory of this disc with your browser.

There are Internet links to USGS collaborators and websites included in this report. These links are only accessible if access to the Internet is available when browsing the CD-ROM, and if those linked sites are operating.

DISCLAIMER

This report (published on CD-ROM) was prepared by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the U.S. Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, expressed or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed in this report, or represents that its use would not infringe on privately owned rights. Reference therein to any specific commercial product, process, or service, by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the U.S. Government or any agency thereof.

Although all data and software published in this report have been used by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), no warranty, expressed or implied, is made by the USGS as to the accuracy of the data and related materials and (or) the functioning of the software. The act of distribution shall not constitute any such warranty, and no responsibility is assumed by the USGS in the use of this data, software, or related materials.