Sediment grain-size data from sand augers collected in March/April and October 2014 from Assateague Island, Maryland (U.S. Geological Survey Field Activity Numbers [FAN] 2014-301-FA and 2014-322-FA)

Metadata:

Identification_Information:
Citation:
Citation_Information:
Originator: Julie C. Bernier
Originator: Nicholas J. Zaremba
Originator: Cathryn J. Wheaton
Originator: Alisha M. Ellis
Originator: Marci E. Marot
Originator: Christopher G. Smith
Publication_Date: 2016
Title:
Sediment grain-size data from sand augers collected in March/April and October 2014 from Assateague Island, Maryland (U.S. Geological Survey Field Activity Numbers [FAN] 2014-301-FA and 2014-322-FA)
Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: Tabular digital data
Online_Linkage:
https://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/0999/downloads/14CTB_SandAugers_SumStats.zip
Larger_Work_Citation:
Citation_Information:
Originator: Julie C. Bernier
Originator: Nicholas J. Zaremba
Originator: Cathryn J. Wheaton
Originator: Alisha M. Ellis
Originator: Marci E. Marot
Originator: Christopher G. Smith
Publication_Date: 2016
Title:
Sedimentologic characteristics of recent washover deposits from Assateague Island, Maryland
Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: Multimedia presentation
Series_Information:
Series_Name: U.S. Geological Survey Data Series
Issue_Identification: 999
Publication_Information:
Publication_Place: St. Petersburg, FL
Publisher: U.S. Geological Survey
Online_Linkage: https://dx.doi.org/10.3133/ds999
Description:
Abstract:
The U.S. Geological Survey has a long history of responding to and documenting the impacts of storms along the Nation’s coasts and incorporating these data into storm impact and coastal change vulnerability assessments. Although physical changes caused by tropical and extratropical storms to the sandy beaches and dunes fronting barrier islands are generally well documented, the interaction between sandy shoreline erosion and overwash with the back-barrier wetland and estuarine environments is poorly constrained. The goal of the Barrier Island and Estuarine Wetland Physical Change Assessment project is to integrate a wetland-change assessment with existing coastal-change assessments for the adjacent sandy dunes and beaches, initially focusing on Assateague Island along the Maryland and Virginia coastline. Assateague Island was impacted by waves and storm surge associated with the passage of Hurricane Sandy in October 2012, causing erosion and overwash along the ocean-facing sandy shoreline as well as erosion and overwash deposition in the back-barrier and estuarine bay environments. Data Series 999 associated with this metadata record describes sediment data collected using sand augers in active overwash zones on Assateague Island in Maryland. Samples were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) during two surveys in March/April and October 2014 (USGS Field Activity Numbers [FAN] 2014-301-FA and 2014-322-FA, respectively). The physical characteristics (for example, sediment texture or bedding structure) of and spatial differences among these deposits will provide information about overwash processes and sediment transport from the sandy barrier-island reaches to the back-barrier environments. Metrics derived from these data, such as mean grain size or deposit thicknesses, can be used to ground-truth remote sensing and geophysical data and can also be incorporated into sediment transport models. Data products, including sample location tables, descriptive core logs, core photographs and x-radiographs, the results of sediment grain-size analyses, and Geographic Information System (GIS) data files with accompanying formal Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) metadata can be downloaded from https://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/0999/ds999_data.html.
Purpose:
This zip archive includes Microsoft Excel spreadsheets and accompanying metadata summarizing the results of grain-size analyses for sediments from sand augers collected in March/April and October 2014 from Assateague Island, Maryland (USGS FAN 2014-301-FA and 2014-322-FA).
Supplemental_Information:
Grain-size analyses were performed using a Coulter LS 13 320 particle-size analyzer. A total of 400 samples (including 39 replicates) from 46 core sections were analyzed. The raw grain-size data were run through the free, widely available program GRADISTAT (Blott and Pye, 2001), which calculates the geometric (in metric units) and logarithmic (in phi units, Φ; Krumbein, 1934) mean, sorting, skewness, and kurtosis of each sample using the Folk and Ward (1957) method as well as the cumulative particle-size distribution. GRADISTAT also calculates the fraction of sediment from each sample by size category (for example, clay, coarse silt, fine sand) based on a modified Wentworth (1922) size scale. The grain-size data are included as down-core plots with the core logs; the individual run statistics as well as the averaged run statistics and graphical class-size distributions are also available from https://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/0999/ds999_data.html.
Time_Period_of_Content:
Time_Period_Information:
Range_of_Dates/Times:
Beginning_Date: 20140326
Ending_Date: 20141030
Currentness_Reference: Ground condition
Status:
Progress: Complete
Maintenance_and_Update_Frequency: None planned
Spatial_Domain:
Bounding_Coordinates:
West_Bounding_Coordinate: -75.19903
East_Bounding_Coordinate: -75.13172
North_Bounding_Coordinate: 38.10989
South_Bounding_Coordinate: 38.25004
Keywords:
Theme:
Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: None
Theme_Keyword: overwash
Theme_Keyword: sediment
Theme_Keyword: sand auger
Theme_Keyword: grain size
Theme_Keyword: GRADISTAT
Theme_Keyword: mean
Theme_Keyword: sorting
Theme_Keyword: skewness
Theme_Keyword: kurtosis
Theme_Keyword: Folk and Ward
Theme_Keyword: U.S. Geological Survey
Theme_Keyword: USGS
Place:
Place_Keyword_Thesaurus: Geographic Names Information System (GNIS)
Place_Keyword: Maryland
Place_Keyword: Assateague Island
Access_Constraints: None
Use_Constraints:
The U.S. Geological Survey requests that it be acknowledged as the originator of this dataset in any future products or research derived from these data.
Point_of_Contact:
Contact_Information:
Contact_Organization_Primary:
Contact_Organization: U.S. Geological Survey
Contact_Person: Julie C. Bernier
Contact_Position: Geologist
Contact_Address:
Address_Type: Mailing and physical
Address: 600 4th Street South
City: St. Petersburg
State_or_Province: FL
Postal_Code: 33701
Country: USA
Contact_Voice_Telephone: 727-502-8000
Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: jbernier@usgs.gov
Data_Set_Credit:
U.S. Geological Survey, Coastal and Marine Geology Program, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center
Native_Data_Set_Environment:
Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 Version 6.1 (Build 7601XXXXX) Service Pack 1; Microsoft Excel Version 2010
Cross_Reference:
Citation_Information:
Originator: Blott, S.J. and Pye, K.
Publication_Date: 2001
Title:
Gradistat: A grain size distribution and statistics package for the analysis of unconsolidated sediments
Edition: Version 8.0
Series_Information:
Series_Name: Earth Surface Processes and Landforms
Issue_Identification: Volume 26
Other_Citation_Details: Pages 1237-1248
Online_Linkage: http://www.kpal.co.uk/gradistat.html
Data_Quality_Information:
Attribute_Accuracy:
Attribute_Accuracy_Report:
The grain-size data presented in the summary statistics spreadsheets (https://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/0999/downloads/14CTB_SandAugers_SumStats.zip) represent the sample averages for a subset of the statistical parameters calculated by GRADISTAT. The number of runs included in the averaged results are also reported, and the standard deviation of the averaged results are reported for most parameters. Sample depths were measured to the nearest half-centimeter using a metric tape measure.
Logical_Consistency_Report:
The complete grain-size dataset including all GRADISTAT parameters, results of individual sample runs, and standard deviations for all sample averages are included in the unedited output files (https://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/0999/downloads/14CTB_SandAugers_RunStats.zip). Sample runs in the output files for which the mean Folk and Ward grain size varied from the set average by more than 1.5 standard deviations are highlighted in yellow and were not included in final averaged results.
Completeness_Report:
This grain-size dataset includes results for 400 samples from 46 sand augers collected from Assateague Island, Maryland in March/April and October 2014 (USGS FAN 2014-301-FA, 2014-322-FA).
Lineage:
Process_Step:
Process_Description:
USGS scientists collected sediment samples from sand augers (sample type W) from three active overwash zones (transects 1, 3, and 4) and one control transect (transect 2) on Assateague Island during two surveys—one in the spring, March 26 to April 4, 2014, and one in the fall, October 21–30, 2014 (USGS FAN 2014-301-FA and 2014-322-FA, respectively). During the spring survey, at total of 19 cores were collected from 17 sites, including 8 cores from 7 back-barrier marsh sites. During the fall survey, all of the spring sand auger sites were re-cored, and additional cores were collected from overwash deposits at transects 1 and 4; in October, a total of 81 core sections were collected from 69 sites. Cores were collected using an AMS sand/loose sediment soil probe, which can accommodate a 2.54-centimeter(cm) (1-inch) diameter by approximately 60-cm (2-feet) plastic sleeve. In addition to cores collected from the ground surface, during the October survey a second core was collected at some sites from a trench dug to just above the groundwater table. After extraction, each core was capped, sealed, and labeled with transect location, core number, and orientation. The cores were transported to the USGS SPCMSC for processing and analysis.
Process_Date: 2014
Process_Contact:
Contact_Information:
Contact_Organization_Primary:
Contact_Organization: U.S. Geological Survey
Contact_Person: Julie C. Bernier
Contact_Position: Geologist
Contact_Address:
Address_Type: Mailing and physical
Address: 600 4th Street South
City: St. Petersburg
State_or_Province: FL
Postal_Code: 33701
Country: USA
Contact_Voice_Telephone: 727-502-8000
Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: jbernier@usgs.gov
Process_Step:
Process_Description:
At the SPCMSC sediment laboratory, the cores were split lengthwise, x-rayed, photographed, described macroscopically using standard sediment-logging methods, and subsampled at 1.5- to 2-cm intervals for grain-size analysis. Sample frequencies varied between cores depending on observed sedimentologic changes. Some cores were sampled at high frequencies to characterize the washover deposits, whereas in other cores the sampling strategy was more targeted.
Process_Date: 2015
Process_Contact:
Contact_Information:
Contact_Organization_Primary:
Contact_Organization: U.S. Geological Survey
Contact_Person: Julie C. Bernier
Contact_Position: Geologist
Contact_Address:
Address_Type: Mailing and physical
Address: 600 4th Street South
City: St. Petersburg
State_or_Province: FL
Postal_Code: 33701
Country: USA
Contact_Voice_Telephone: 727-502-8000
Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: jbernier@usgs.gov
Process_Step:
Process_Description:
Grain-size analyses were performed using a Coulter LS 13 320 particle-size analyzer, which uses laser diffraction to measure the size distribution of sediments ranging from 0.4 microns (µm) to 2 millimeters (mm) (clay to very coarse-grained sand). A total of 400 samples (including 39 replicates) from 46 core sections were analyzed. Samples consisted of a 1.5- to 2-cm section of the core based on the minimum amount of material needed for analysis. In order to prevent shell fragments from damaging the LS 13 320, particles greater than 1 mm in diameter were separated from all samples prior to analysis using a number 18 (1,000 µm, 1 mm) U.S. standard sieve, which meets the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) E11 standard specifications for determining particle size using woven-wire test sieves. Prior to sieving, each down-core sample was dried at 60 degrees Celsius for 24 hours, and the fraction of sediment greater than 1 mm was recorded as a percentage of the bulk sample dry weight. For samples (N = 60) that were visually identified as organic rich, organic material was chemically removed using 30 percent hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Wet sediment was dissolved in H2O2 overnight. The H2O2 was then evaporated through slow heating on a hot plate, and the sediment was washed and centrifuged twice with deionized water. The samples were stored in the centrifuge tubes with several milliliters of deionized water until instrument analysis. Due to a limited quantity of sediment available, quantitative measurements of organic content were not practical. Each sample was processed through the LS 13 320 a minimum of six runs. The LS 13 320 measures the particle-size distribution of each sample by passing sediment suspended in solution between two narrow panes of glass in front of a laser. Light is scattered by the particles into characteristic refraction patterns measured by an array of photodetectors as intensity per unit area and recorded as relative volume for 92 size-related channels (bins). The size-classification boundaries for each bin were specified based on the ASTM E11 standard.
Process_Date: 2015
Process_Contact:
Contact_Information:
Contact_Organization_Primary:
Contact_Organization: U.S. Geological Survey
Contact_Person: Julie C. Bernier
Contact_Position: Geologist
Contact_Address:
Address_Type: Mailing and physical
Address: 600 4th Street South
City: St. Petersburg
State_or_Province: FL
Postal_Code: 33701
Country: USA
Contact_Voice_Telephone: 727-502-8000
Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: jbernier@usgs.gov
Process_Step:
Process_Description:
The raw grain-size data were run through the free, widely available program GRADISTAT (Blott and Pye, 2001), which calculates the geometric (in metric units) and logarithmic (in phi units, Φ; Krumbein, 1934) mean, sorting, skewness, and kurtosis of each sample using the Folk and Ward (1957) method as well as the cumulative particle-size distribution. GRADISTAT also calculates the fraction of sediment from each sample by size category (for example, clay, coarse silt, fine sand) based on a modified Wentworth (1922) size scale. A macro developed by the USGS was applied to calculate the average and standard deviation of each sample (six runs per sample) and highlight runs that varied from the set average by more than plus or minus (±) 1.5 standard deviations. Excessive deviations from the mean are likely the result of equipment error or extraneous material in the sample and are not considered representative of the sample. Those runs were removed from the results and the sample average was recalculated using the remaining runs. The individual run statistics are available from https://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/0999/downloads/14CTB_SandAugers_RunStats.zip. The averaged results for all samples, including the number of runs used, the standard deviation of the averaged results, and graphical class-size distributions, are summarized in a series of Excel workbooks with each core on its own tab and are available from https://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/0999/downloads/14CTB_SandAugers_SumStats.zip.
Process_Date: 2015
Source_Produced_Citation_Abbreviation: 14CTB_SandAugers_SumStats.zip
Source_Produced_Citation_Abbreviation: 14CTB_SandAugers_RunStats.zip
Process_Contact:
Contact_Information:
Contact_Organization_Primary:
Contact_Organization: U.S. Geological Survey
Contact_Person: Julie C. Bernier
Contact_Position: Geologist
Contact_Address:
Address_Type: Mailing and Physical
Address: 600 4th Street South
City: St. Petersburg
State_or_Province: FL
Postal_Code: 33701
Country: USA
Contact_Voice_Telephone: 727-502-8000
Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: jbernier@usgs.gov
Entity_and_Attribute_Information:
Detailed_Description:
Entity_Type:
Entity_Type_Label: 2014-301-FA_SumStats.xlsx
Entity_Type_Definition:
Summary grain-size data from sand augers collected in March/April 2014 (USGS FAN 2014-301-FA) provided as a Microsoft Excel workbook. The averaged results for all samples, including the number of runs used, the standard deviation of the averaged results, and graphical class-size distributions, are provided for each core on its own tab.
Entity_Type_Definition_Source: USGS
Detailed_Description:
Entity_Type:
Entity_Type_Label: 2014-322-FA_Transect1_SumStats.xlsx
Entity_Type_Definition:
Summary grain-size data from sand augers collected along transect 1 in October 2014 (USGS FAN 2014-622-FA) provided as a Microsoft Excel workbook. The averaged results for all samples, including the number of runs used, the standard deviation of the averaged results, and graphical class-size distributions, are provided for each core on its own tab.
Entity_Type_Definition_Source: USGS
Detailed_Description:
Entity_Type:
Entity_Type_Label: 2014-322-FA_Transect2_SumStats.xlsx
Entity_Type_Definition:
Summary grain-size data from sand augers collected along transect 2 in October 2014 (USGS FAN 2014-622-FA) provided as a Microsoft Excel workbook. The averaged results for all samples, including the number of runs used, the standard deviation of the averaged results, and graphical class-size distributions, are provided for each core on its own tab.
Entity_Type_Definition_Source: USGS
Detailed_Description:
Entity_Type:
Entity_Type_Label: 2014-322-FA_Transect4_SumStats.xlsx
Entity_Type_Definition:
Summary grain-size data from sand augers collected along transect 4 in October 2014 (USGS FAN 2014-622-FA) provided as a Microsoft Excel workbook. The averaged results for all samples, including the number of runs used, the standard deviation of the averaged results, and graphical class-size distributions, are provided for each core on its own tab.
Entity_Type_Definition_Source: USGS
Overview_Description:
Entity_and_Attribute_Overview:
The detailed attribute descriptions for the statistics summary workbooks are provided in the included data dictionary (Grain_Size_Data-Dictionary.pdf). These metadata are not complete without this file.
Entity_and_Attribute_Detail_Citation:
Data dictionary for grain-size data tables, in: Bernier, J.C., Zaremba, N., Wheaton, C.J., Ellis, A.M., Marot, M.E., and Smith, C.G., 2015, Sedimentologic characteristics of recent washover deposits from Assateague Island, Maryland: U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 999, https://dx.doi.org/10.3133/ds999.
Distribution_Information:
Distributor:
Contact_Information:
Contact_Organization_Primary:
Contact_Organization:
U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center
Contact_Person: Julie C. Bernier
Contact_Position: Geologist
Contact_Address:
Address_Type: Mailing and physical
Address: 600 4th Street South
City: St. Petersburg
State_or_Province: FL
Postal_Code: 33701
Country: USA
Contact_Voice_Telephone: 727-502-8000
Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: jbernier@usgs.gov
Resource_Description: Downloadable data
Distribution_Liability:
This publication was prepared by an agency of the United States Government. Although these data have been processed successfully on a computer system at the U.S. Geological Survey, 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 imply any such warranty. The U.S. Geological Survey 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.
Standard_Order_Process:
Digital_Form:
Digital_Transfer_Information:
Format_Name: Compressed (zip) archive
Format_Version_Date: 2015
Format_Specification: Tabular digital data
Format_Information_Content:
This zip archive includes Microsoft Excel spreadsheets and accompanying metadata summarizing the results of grain-size analyses for sediments from sand augers collected in March/April and October 2014 from Assateague Island, Maryland (USGS FAN 2014-301-FA and 2014-322-FA).
File_Decompression_Technique: Unzip
Transfer_Size: 1.1
Digital_Transfer_Option:
Online_Option:
Computer_Contact_Information:
Network_Address:
Network_Resource_Name:
https://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/0999/downloads/14CTB_SandAugers_SumStats.zip
Fees: None, if obtained online
Technical_Prerequisites:
The workbooks included in this .zip file were created for use with Microsoft Excel 2010 and can be opened using Microsoft Excel 2007 or higher; these data may also be viewed with the Microsoft Excel viewer (http://office.microsoft.com/).
Metadata_Reference_Information:
Metadata_Date: 2016
Metadata_Contact:
Contact_Information:
Contact_Organization_Primary:
Contact_Organization: U.S. Geological Survey
Contact_Person: Julie C. Bernier
Contact_Position: Geologist
Contact_Address:
Address_Type: Mailing and physical
Address: 600 4th Street South
City: St. Petersburg
State_or_Province: FL
Postal_Code: 33701
Country: USA
Contact_Voice_Telephone: 727-502-8000
Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: jbernier@usgs.gov
Metadata_Standard_Name: FGDC Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata
Metadata_Standard_Version: FGDC-STD-001-1998
Metadata_Access_Constraints: None
Metadata_Use_Constraints:
Public domain data from the U.S. Government are freely redistributable with proper metadata and source attribution. Please acknowledge the U.S. Geological Survey as the originator of this dataset.
Metadata_Security_Information:
Metadata_Security_Classification_System: None
Metadata_Security_Classification: Unclassified
Metadata_Security_Handling_Description: None
Generated by mp version 2.9.33 on Tue May 10 10:56:19 2016