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Open-File Report 2014-1040


Polygons of Global Undersea Features for Geographic Searches


Data Attributes

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Click on figure for larger image.
Screen capture of ArcMapTM Identify dialog showing attributes (described in text) for one county equivalent in Alaska.

Figure 2. Screen capture of ArcMapTM Identify dialog showing attributes (described in text) for one undersea feature in the Caribbean Sea.

The USGS shapefile of undersea features (undersea_features.shp) includes eight attributes (fig. 2), two of which are adopted from the GEOnet Names Server (GNS). These attributes are defined below.

UFI   Unique Feature Identifier (from GNS): a number that uniquely identifies the undersea feature (UF). A null value indicates that the feature is not listed in GNS (as noted in the COMMENTS attribute field).

CENT_LAT  Latitude of the UF centroid in decimal degrees: north latitudes are positive; south latitudes are negative.

CENT_LONG  Longitude of the UF centroid in decimal degrees: east longitudes are positive; west longitudes are negative.

DSG  Feature Designation Code (from GNS): a three- or four-character code that indicates the type of undersea feature represented (see United States Board on Geographic Names, 2005). A null value indicates that the feature is not listed in GNS (as noted in the COMMENTS attribute field).

UF_NAME  Name of the undersea feature, without diacritics: the BGN standard name is used (unless the feature is not listed in GNS, as noted in the COMMENTS attribute field).

VAR_NAME  This attribute field indicates any variant name used by GEBCO or USGS.

COMMENTS  The COMMENTS attribute field includes notes and abbreviated references recorded by the USGS project team. (Full references are provided in the formal metadata.) For some features, the notes include a depth range that was used to define the spatial extent.

AREA_SQKM  Area of the UF polygon: areas are given in square kilometers (as calculated in sinusoidal projection).

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