2014 Interpreted Sea Floor Character - Farallon Escarpment and Rittenburg Bank, Northern California

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Frequently anticipated questions:


What does this data set describe?

Title:
2014 Interpreted Sea Floor Character - Farallon Escarpment and Rittenburg Bank, Northern California
Abstract:
These metadata describe sea floor character data created in 2013 by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Coastal and Marine Geology Program. Bathymetry and acoustic-backscatter data acquired in 2011 along the upper slope of the Farallon Escarpment as well as Rittenburg Bank located within the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary offshore of the San Francisco Bay area were used to produce this interpretive raster. The project was funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Deep Sea Coral Research and Technology Program (DSCRTP) to identify potential Deep Sea Coral (DSC) habitat prior to planned sampling efforts. Interpretation was supervised using sea floor video data collected in 2013 by NOAA, and the USGS funded by the DSCRTP.
Supplemental_Information:
Information for the related USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center data collection field activities, F-01-11-NC, online at <http://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/infobank/f/f0111nc/html/f-01-11-nc.meta.html>, and F-03-12-NC online at <http://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/infobank/f/f0312nc/html/f-03-12-nc.meta.html>.

  1. How should this data set be cited?

    U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), 2014, 2014 Interpreted Sea Floor Character - Farallon Escarpment and Rittenburg Bank, Northern California:.

    Online Links:

    This is part of the following larger work.

    Dartnell, Peter, Cochrane, Guy R., and Finlayson, David P., 2014, Bathymetry, Acoustic Backscatter, and Seafloor Character - Farallon Escarpment and Rittenburg Bank, Northern California: Open-File Report 2014-1234, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

    Online Links:

  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?

    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -123.43
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -123.07
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 37.92
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 37.65

  3. What does it look like?

    <char_quickview.gif> (GIF Farallon Escarpment)
    Seafloor Character of Farallon Escarpment.

  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?

    Beginning_Date: 2011
    Ending_Date: 2014
    Currentness_Reference: ground condition

  5. What is the general form of this data set?

    Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: Raster

  6. How does the data set represent geographic features?

    1. How are geographic features stored in the data set?

      This is a Raster data set. It contains the following raster data types:

      • Dimensions, type Grid Cell

    2. What coordinate system is used to represent geographic features?

      Grid_Coordinate_System_Name: Universal Transverse Mercator
      Universal_Transverse_Mercator:
      UTM_Zone_Number: 10
      Transverse_Mercator:
      Scale_Factor_at_Central_Meridian: 0.9996
      Longitude_of_Central_Meridian: -123.00000
      Latitude_of_Projection_Origin: 0.00000
      False_Easting: 500000.0
      False_Northing: 0.00

      Planar coordinates are encoded using coordinate pair
      Abscissae (x-coordinates) are specified to the nearest 2.0
      Ordinates (y-coordinates) are specified to the nearest 2.0
      Planar coordinates are specified in Meters

      The horizontal datum used is NAD83.
      The ellipsoid used is GRS80.
      The semi-major axis of the ellipsoid used is 6378137.00 meters.
      The flattening of the ellipsoid used is 1/0.003352811.

  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?

    Entity_and_Attribute_Overview:

    The 2-m Rittenburg Bank seafloor character map was originally archived as an ESRI grid with the following attributes:
    Cell size = 2.0
    Number of rows = 3978
    Number of columns = 2705
    
    Data type = integer
    
    Boundary
    Xmin = 468130.448966
    Xmax = 473540.448966
    Ymin = 4188062.18695
    Ymax = 4196018.18695
    
    Statistics
    Minimum value = 1
    Maximum value = 3
    
    Coordinate system description
    Projection  UTM
    Zone  10
    Datum  NAD83
    Units  meter
    
    The 10-m Farallon Escarpment seafloor charactermap was originally archived as an ESRI grid with the following attributes:
    Cell size = 10.0
    Number of rows = 2639
    Number of columns = 3301
    
    Data type = integer
    
    Boundary
    Xmin = 461613.644253
    Xmax = 494623.644253
    Ymin = 4166814.59992
    Ymax = 4193204.59992
    
    Statistics
    Minimum value = 1
    Maximum value = 3
    
    Coordinate system description
    Projection  UTM
    Zone  10
    Datum  NAD83
    Units  meter
    
    Entity_and_Attribute_Detail_Citation: none


Who produced the data set?

  1. Who are the originators of the data set? (may include formal authors, digital compilers, and editors)

  2. Who also contributed to the data set?

  3. To whom should users address questions about the data?

    Guy Cochrane
    U.S. Geological Survey, Pacifc Coastal and Marine Science Center
    Research Geophysicist
    400 Natural Bridge Dr.
    Santa Cruz, CA 95060-5792
    USA

    (831) 460-7554 (voice)
    (831) 427-4748 (FAX)
    gcochrane@usgs.gov


Why was the data set created?

These data are intended for science researchers, students, policy makers, and the general public. The data can be used with geographic information systems (GIS) or other software to identify bathymetric features. These data are not intended for navigational purposes.


How was the data set created?

  1. From what previous works were the data drawn?

  2. How were the data generated, processed, and modified?

    Date: 2013 (process 1 of 3)
    Multibeam mapping took place over 16 days from September 6 through September 21, 2011 (U.S. Geological Survey field activity F-01-11-NC). The survey was conducted using a 100-kHz Reson 7111 multibeam echosounder. The 7111 is a horseshoe shaped sonar that was mounted on the 67-foot NOAA National Marine Sanctuary Program's research vessel Fulmar and affixed to a hull brace. Differentially Corrected Global Positioning System (DGPS) navigational data and measurements of vessel motion were combined in the F190 hardware to produce a high-precision vessel attitude packet. This packet was transmitted to the PDS2000 acquisition software in real time and combined with instantaneous sound velocity measurements at the transducer head before each ping. The returned samples were projected to the seafloor using a ray-tracing algorithm working with the previously measured sound-velocity profiles in the PDS2000 software. Finally, the processed data were stored line-by-line as Reson S7K files. CARIS HIPS and SIPS (version 7.1.1 Service Pack 3) bathymetry processing software was used to further clean and bin the raw bathymetry. The finalized base surfaces were then exported as ASCII XYZ files (x-coordinate, y-coordinate, depth) in World Geodetic System of 1984 (WGS84, G1150) coordinates relative to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD-88). These data were gridded in Fledermaus (QPC) software (Version 7.1) at 2- and 10-m resolutions and the resulting surfaces were converted to ASCIIRaster format files and imported into a Geographic Information System (ESRI, ArcMap). Grids were projected horizontally to the North American Datum of 1983 (CORS96) using the ESRI WGS_1984_(ITRF00)_To_NAD_1983 (CORS96) function in ArcTools.

    Person who carried out this activity:

    Peter Dartnell
    U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
    Physical Scientist
    400 Natural Bridges Dr.
    Santa Cruz, CA 95060-5792
    USA

    (831) 460-7415 (voice)
    pdartnell@usgs.gov

    Date: 2013 (process 2 of 3)
    The multibeam-echosounder backscatter data were processed using the Fledermaus (version 7.3.2) integration of Geocoder. Caris HDCS line files were exported as GSF line files and imported into Fledermaus along with the corresponding original Reson S7K files. Adjustments were made to the line files including TX/RX (transmit/receive) power gain, beam pattern, and adaptive angle-varying gain corrections. The line files were then mosaiced into 2-m resolution (Rittenburg Bank) and 10-m resolution (Farallon Escarpment) images. The images were then exported as georeferenced TIFF images, imported into a GIS, and converted to GRIDs at 2- and 10-m resolutions. The grids were projected horizontally from WGS-84 coordinates to NAD-83 (CORS96) coordinates using the ESRI WGS_1984_(ITRF00)_To_NAD_1983 (CORS96) function in ArcTools. Finally the GRIDs were exported as geoTIFF images.

    Person who carried out this activity:

    Peter Dartnell
    U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
    Physical Scientist
    400 Natural Bridges Dr.
    Santa Cruz, CA 95060-5792
    USA

    (831) 460-7415 (voice)
    pdartnell@usgs.gov

    Date: 2013 (process 3 of 3)
    The sea floor characterization rasters were produced using the backscatter intensity and bathymetry data sets. Sea floor ruggedness rasters were produced from the bathymetry using the NOAA Benthic Terrain Modeler Tool in ArcMap. The ruggedness raster was numerically classified into two classes based on video observations of rugged sea floor (relief approximately 1 meter or more in the field of view). The backscatter intensity data was classified by hand interpretation into two classes (hard and soft) also based on the video observations. Video was collected in the survey areas on USGS Coastal and Marine Geology Field Activity F-03-12-NC. The two classified rasters were combined creating a single three class raster. The classes are soft-nonrugose (cell value 1), hard-nonrugose (cell value 2), and hard-rugose (cell value 3).

    Person who carried out this activity:

    Guy Cochrane
    U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
    Research Geophysicist
    400 Natural Bridges Dr.
    Santa Cruz, CA 95060-5792
    USA

    (831) 460-7554 (voice)
    gcochrane@usgs.gov

  3. What similar or related data should the user be aware of?


How reliable are the data; what problems remain in the data set?

  1. How well have the observations been checked?

    Not applicable for raster data.

  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?

    Estimated to be no less than 2 m, owing to water depth and total propagated uncertainties of the mapping systems, which include sonar system, position and motion compensation system, and navigation, as well as data processing that includes sounding cleaning, gridding, and datum transformations.

  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?

    Not applicable

  4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?

    Complete

  5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?

    Unspecified


How can someone get a copy of the data set?

Are there legal restrictions on access or use of the data?

Access_Constraints: None
Use_Constraints:

USGS-authored or produced data and information are in the public domain. Acknowledge the U.S. Geological Survey in products derived from these data. Share data products developed using these data with the U.S. Geological Survey. This information is not intended for navigational purposes. Read and fully comprehend the metadata prior to data use. Uses of these data should not violate the spatial resolution of the data. Where these data are used in combination with other data of different resolution, the resolution of the combined output will be limited by the lowest resolution of all the data. Although this Federal Geographic Data Committee-compliant metadata file is intended to document these data in nonproprietary form, as well as in ArcInfo format, this metadata file may include some ArcInfo-specific terminology.

  1. Who distributes the data set? (Distributor 1 of 1)

    U.S. Geological Survey
    345 Middlefield Rd
    Menlo Park, CA 94025-3561
    USA

    (650) 329-4309 (voice)

  2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set?

  3. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?


    This database, identified as seafloor character of the Farallon Escarpment and Rittenburg Bank, northern California has been approved for release and publication by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Although this database has been subjected to rigorous review and is substantially complete, the USGS reserves the right to revise the data pursuant to further analysis and review. Furthermore, it is released on condition that neither the USGS nor the United States Government may be held liable for any damages resulting from its authorized or unauthorized use. Although these data have been processed successfully on a computer system at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), no warranty expressed or implied is made regarding the display or utility of the data on any other system or for general or scientific purposes, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty. The USGS or the U.S. Government shall not be held liable for improper or incorrect use of the data described and/or contained herein. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. These data are not intended for navigational use.


  4. How can I download or order the data?


Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:
Last modified: 15-Mar-2014
Last Reviewed: 15-Mar-2014
Metadata author:
Guy Cochrane
U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
Research Geophysicist
400 Natural Bridges Dr.
Santa Cruz, CA 95060-5792
USA

(831) 460-7554 (voice)
(831) 427-4748 (FAX)
gcochrane@usgs.gov

Metadata standard:
Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata ("CSDGM version 2") (FGDC-STD-001-1998)


Generated by mp version 2.9.26 on Tue Jul 22 12:14:31 2014