USACE: NY/NJ Harbor

Metadata also available as - [Outline] - [Parseable text]

Frequently-anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?
    Title: USACE: NY/NJ Harbor
    Abstract:
    "A Shipek grab (0.04 m2) was used to collect benthic and sediment samples from one-third of the stations and the grab was operated concurrently with deployment of a sediment profile camera from a different area of the RV Onrust. Two grabs were taken at each of the grab-sampled stations. All sediments collected in the second grab were subsampled and frozen for grain size and total organic content (TOC) analyses. Texture analyses were performed by Tierra Consulting, Inc., Mobile, AL. Each sample was washed with de-ionized water, dried, and weighed. The coarse fraction was separated from the fine fraction (sand/silt) by sieving through U. S. Standard Sieve Mesh No. 230 (62.5 mm). Sediment texture of the coarse fractions was determined at half- phi intervals by passing the sediment through nested sieves on a Ro-Tap apparatus. The weight of the material on each sieve was recorded. A Sedigraph 5000 ET Particle Size Analyzer was used to analyze the fine fraction (<62.5 mm). Sediment texture descriptions followed the Wentworth classification. Total organic carbon (TOC) analyses were done at the USACE Waterways Experiment Station Vicksburg MS; using a weight-loss-upon-ignition procedure. Samples collected in the field were stored in a freezer until analysis could be performed. After thoroughly mixing the thawed contents of the bag, two 10-g samples of sediment were removed, dried, weighed, ignited at 500 degrees Celsius to drive off organic material and re-weighed. TOC was assumed to be the weight lost upon ignition and expressed as a percentage."

  1. How should this data set be cited?

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Coastal Services Center, and US Army Corps of Engineers NY District, 2000, USACE: NY/NJ Harbor.

    Online Links:

  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?

    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -74.250500
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -73.968500
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 40.601670
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 40.451170

  3. What does it look like?

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

    Calendar_Date: 2000
    Currentness_Reference: publication date

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

    Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: document

  6. How does the data set represent geographic features?

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

      This is a Vector data set. It contains the following vector data types (SDTS terminology):

      • Entity point (189)

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

      Horizontal positions are specified in geographic coordinates, that is, latitude and longitude. Latitudes are given to the nearest 0.000000. Longitudes are given to the nearest 0.000000. Latitude and longitude values are specified in Decimal degrees.

      The horizontal datum used is North American Datum of 1927.
      The ellipsoid used is Clarke 1866.
      The semi-major axis of the ellipsoid used is 6378206.400000.
      The flattening of the ellipsoid used is 1/294.978698.

  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?

    NYNJHarbor

    FID
    Internal feature number. (Source: ESRI)

    Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated.

    Shape
    Feature geometry. (Source: ESRI)

    Coordinates defining the features.

    LATITUDE

    LONGITUDE

    SITENAME

    DATASETKEY

    Entity_and_Attribute_Overview:
    The following fields were entered into usSEABED: SFS data: SKEY:DUPE:DATATYPE:LATUTM:LONGUTM: STATION:LATITUDE:LONGITUDE TXR data: GRAVEL:SAND:SILT:CLAY:MEDIAN_PHI:MEAN_PHI:STDDEV: SKEWNESS:KURTOSIS CMP data: ORGANICS LTH data: FOLK_SCALE:USACE_SCAL

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?

Why was the data set created?
"Grain size distributions and organic content were measured and used to assess sediment conditions in New York/New Jersey Harbor and to compare with sediment profile images taken at the same stations. All data were entered into a database and the database was then used in a GIS to characterize sediment environment in New York/New Jersey Harbor."

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: 1931 (process 1 of 2)
    Data was downloaded from the online publication.

    Person who carried out this activity:

    Chris Jenkins
    Institute of Arctic & Alpine Research (INSTAAR) University of Colorado at Boulder
    1560 30th Street
    Boulder, CO 80309-0450
    USA

    (303) 492-6387 (voice)
    (303) 492-6388 (FAX)
    chris.jenkins@colorado.edu

    (process 2 of 2)
    Digital data were checked, formatted to dbSEABED input format, then processed using dbSEABED software to produce a range of output formats. The processing contained quality checking that may have declined to pass faulty or suspect data to outputs.

    Person who carried out this activity:

    Chris Jenkins
    Institute of Arctic & Alpine Research (INSTAAR) University of Colorado at Boulder
    1560 30th Street
    Boulder, CO 80309-0450
    USA

    (303) 492-6387 (voice)
    (303) 492-6388 (FAX)
    chris.jenkins@colorado.edu

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

    NOAA Coastal Services Center, and US Army Corps of Engineers NY District, 2000, Sediment grab data from June 1995 in the Lower Bay of New York/New Jersey Harbor.

    Online Links:

How reliable are the data; what problems remain in the data set?
  1. How well have the observations been checked?

    Values were checked against hard copy data sheets provided by the analysis laboratory. Total organic carbon analyses were repeated for samples where two subsamples differed by more than 10% (e.g., if sediment TOC was 1% the replicate subsample must have a TOC between 0.9% and 1.1%).

  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?

  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?

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

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

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:
Public domain data from the U.S. Government are freely redistributable with proper metadata and source attribution.

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

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

    USACE: NY/NJ Harbor

  3. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?

    Although this data set has been used by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), no warranty, expressed or implied, is made by the USGS as to the accuracy of the data and/or related materials. The act of distribution shall not constitute any such warranty, and no responsibility is assumed by the USGS in the use of these data or related materials. Trade, firm, or product names and other references to non-USGS products and services are provided for information only and do not constitute endorsement or warranty, express or implied, by the USGS, USDOI, or U.S. Government, as to their suitability, content, usefulness, functioning, completeness, or accuracy.

  4. How can I download or order the data?

Who wrote the metadata?
Dates:
Last modified: 25-May-2005
Last Reviewed: 04-May-2005

Metadata author:
Jamey Reid
U.S. Geological Survey
IT Specialist (Data Management)
384 Woods Hole Rd.
Woods Hole, MA 02543-1598

(508) 548-8700 x2204 (voice)
(508) 457-2310 (FAX)
jreid@usgs.gov

Metadata standard:
FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata (FGDC-STD-001-1998)

Metadata extensions used:

Generated by mp version 2.7.33 on Wed May 25 13:38:55 2005