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Data Series 957

Archive of Bathymetry Data Collected at Cape Canaveral, Florida, 2014

Project Description


Project study area.

Figure 1. Study area and location map of Cape Canaveral, Fla.

Cape Canaveral Coastal System (CCCS) (fig. 1) is a prominent feature along the Southeast U.S. coastline and is the only large cape south of Cape Fear, N.C. Most of the CCCS lies within the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and included in its boundaries are the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS), NASA’s KSC, and a large portion of Canaveral National Seashore. The actual promontory of the modern cape falls within the jurisdictional boundaries of CCAFS.

The USGS conducted a bathymetric mapping survey August 18-20, 2014, in the Atlantic Ocean offshore of Cape Canaveral, Florida. The study covered a 20 km section of shoreline extending from Port Canaveral, Florida, to the northern end of the KSC property and from the shoreline to approximately 2.5 km offshore. Bathymetric data were collected using sonar- and lidar-based systems. Two jet skis and a 17-ft outboard motor boat were used to collect precision sonar data. The sonar operations were conducted in three missions, one on each day, with the boat and jet skis operating concurrently. An airborne lidar mapping system was flown in a twin engine plane. The lidar operations were conducted in three missions, one in the afternoon of August 19, 2014, and two more in the morning and afternoon of August 20, 2014. The missions were synchronized so that there was some temporal and spatial overlap between the sonar and lidar operations. Additional data were collected to evaluate water clarity to verify the ability of lidar to receive bathymetric returns.

Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

SURVEY HIGHLIGHTS


  • Area of Coverage Project extends from the Port of Canaveral, Florida, to the northern end of the KSC property, and from the shoreline to approximately 2.5 km offshore (fig. 1). Water depths range from 0.5 to 15 meters.

  • Survey Date Survey data were collected during a single field effort Aug. 18-20, 2014.
  • Data Formats Comma delimited ASCII text files, ESRI grid format, and PDF.
  • Survey Control The NOAA/NGS CORS station CCV6 and a newly installed benchmark were used as survey control. Coordinates of the control locations are listed here.
  • Accuracy Precise differential GPS was used to determine horizontal and vertical positions and was acquired relative to the WGS84 ellipsoid. The estimated horizontal and vertical accuracy of the soundings derived from the sonar and lidar data is approximately 4 cm and 7 cm, and 9 cm and 17 cm, respectively.

Suggested citation:

Hansen, Mark, Plant, N.G., Thompson, D.M., Troche, R.J., Kranenburg, C.J., and Klipp, E.S., 2015, Archive of bathymetry data collected at Cape Canaveral, Florida, 2014: U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 957, https://dx.doi.org/10.3133/ds957.


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