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Open-File Report 2013–1020

Prepared in cooperation with the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management

High-Resolution Geophysical Data Collected Aboard the U.S. Geological Survey Research Vessel Rafael to Supplement Existing Datasets From Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound, Massachusetts

By Elizabeth A. Pendleton, Brian D. Andrews, William W. Danforth, and David S. Foster

Thumbnail of and link to report PDF (10.4 MB)Abstract

Geophysical and geospatial data were collected in Buzzards Bay, in the shallow-water areas of Vineyard Sound, and in the nearshore areas off the eastern Elizabeth Islands and northern coast of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, on the U.S. Geological Survey research vessel Rafael between 2007 and 2011, in a collaborative effort between the U.S. Geological Survey and the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management. This report describes results of this collaborative effort, which include mapping the geology of the inner shelf zone of the Elizabeth Islands and the sand shoals of Vineyard Sound and studying geologic processes that contribute to the evolution of this area. Data collected during these surveys include: bathymetry, acoustic backscatter, seismic-reflection profiles, sound velocity profiles, and navigation. The long-term goals of this project are (1) to provide high-resolution geophysical data that will support research on the influence of sea-level change and sediment supply on coastal evolution and (2) to inventory subtidal marine habitats and their distribution within the coastal zone of Massachusetts.

First posted March 28, 2014

For additional information, contact:
Director, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center
U.S. Geological Survey
384 Woods Hole Road
Quissett Campus
Woods Hole, MA 02543
http://woodshole.er.usgs.gov/

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Suggested citation:

Pendleton, E.A., Andrews, B.D., Danforth, W.W., and Foster, D.S., 2014, High-resolution geophysical data collected aboard the U.S. Geological Survey research vessel Rafael to supplement existing datasets from Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound, Massachusetts: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2013–1020, 6 p., http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/ofr20131020.

ISSN 2331-1258 (online)



Contents

Abstract

Introduction

Data Collection and Processing

Acknowledgments

References Cited

Appendix


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