Lithology of the sea floor off southern California

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Frequently-anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?

Title: Lithology of the sea floor off southern California
Abstract:
"Rocks obtained from the sea floor off the southern California coast principally during the 1938 cruises of the E.W. Scripps have been studied in the laboratory, and the petrographic character and fossil content determined. Rock was obtained from 132 localities in such environments as the narrow continental shelf, escarpments, hills, and the walls of submarine canyons. Large size, angularity, quantity of fragments in a single haul, and the presence of fresh fractures suggest that many of the samples are representative of the bedrock outcropping at the sampling locality. The material recovered includes sedimentary, igneous, and metamorphic types. Ages were determined partly by fossil content and partly by lithological comparison with rocks outcropping on adjacent land. Triassic-Jurassic, Cretaceous, Eocene, Miocene, and Pliocene are all represented, with Miocene rocks by far the most common. The igneous rocks are predominantly andesite, although some basalt was found. The chief conclusion from this reconnaissance work is that, aside from the abundance of phosphorite, the submerged basin and range province off the southern California coast is remarkably similar lithologically to that of the bordering land areas."
Supplemental_Information:
Data are included in the Deck41 compilation held at NGDC; samples in that compilation have been decommissioned in usSEABED. Data digitized by the USGS for inclusion into usSEABED (<http://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/usseabed>)
  1. How should this data set be cited?

    Emery, K.O., and Shepard, F.P., 1945, Lithology of the sea floor off southern California: Bulletin of the Geological Society of America Volume 56, pp. 431-473, University of Southern California Press, Los Angeles, CA.

    Other_Citation_Details:
    Financed by the Penrose Bequest of the Geological Society of America, and through the cooperation of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Assistance in the preparation of these materials was furnished by personnel of the Works Progress Administration (Official Projects 465-03-3-403 and 665-07-3-141) and the National Youth Administration.

  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?

    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -119.932
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -117.257
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 34.142
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 32.379

  3. What does it look like?

    EmeryShepard_1941 (.jpg)
    Sample distribution with coastline and bathymetry for reference.

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

    Beginning_Date: 1935
    Ending_Date: 1939
    Currentness_Reference: Publication date

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

    Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: Paper

  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 (132)

    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 0.00167. Longitudes are given to the nearest 0.00167. Latitude and longitude values are specified in Decimal degrees.

  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?

    Point
    SDTS point (Source: Source report)

    Station number
    Station number (Source: Source report)

    Alpha numeric code

    Water depth
    Water depth (Source: Source report)

    Range of values
    Minimum:16
    Maximum:3145
    Units:Meters
    Resolution:1.0

    Lithologic description
    Sample descriptions (Source: Source report)

    Written text: Sample descriptions contain locations, depth, sampler type, sample location description, transported or outcrop, rock type, number of pieces, maximum diameter (in centimeters), shape, color, notes (description), lithologic affinities, and age of enclosed fossils, including fossil type.

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?

    Digitization: K.O. Emery and F.P. Shepard at the University of Southern California for the collection and analysis of data. For inclusion into usSEABED: Jane Reid (USGS); Formatting corrections: Jane Reid (USGS) and Chris Jenkins (University of Colorado).

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

    University of Southern California
    Zumberge Hall
    Los Angeles, CA 90089

    213-740-6106 (voice)
    earthsci@usc.edu

Why was the data set created?

"...Enough material is available to give a very general idea of the distribution of the rock formations on the ocean floor off southern California."

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: Unknown (process 1 of 1)
    No information is given on the processing of the samples. Only simple descriptions are included in the report

    Person who carried out this activity:

    University of Southern California
    Zumberge Hall
    Los Angeles, CA 90089

    213-740-6106 (voice)
    earthsci@usc.edu

    Data sources produced in this process:
    • Emery_&_Shepard_1941

  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?

    No estimate made for the accuracy of the data in the original report. Data digitized by the USGS and partners were visually compared to the source data, and corrected. Where appropriate, data were tested for completeness using MS Excel. Locations checked using GIS.

  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?

    Navigational technique not given in paper. Positions given to tenths of minutes.

  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?

    Depth determination technique not given in paper. Depths given in feet.

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

    The appendix was completely digitized.

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

    None available

How can someone get a copy of the data set?

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

Access_Constraints: None. Report is available at libraries.
Use_Constraints: Cite K.O. Emery and F.P. Shepard as originators of the data.

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

    The Geological Society of America
    P.O. Box 9140
    Boulder, CO 80301-9140

    303-447-2020 (voice)
    gsaservice@geosociety.org

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

    Depends on library.

  3. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?

    Although this dataset has been used by the USGS, no warranty, expressed or implied, is made by the USGS as to the accuracy of the data. Users of the data should be aware of limitations of the data due to possible imprecision due to navigational inaccuracies.

  4. How can I download or order the data?

  5. What hardware or software do I need in order to use the data set?

    None

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:
Last modified: 2005
Metadata author:
U.S. Geological Survey
c/o Jane A. Reid
Geologist
400 Natural Bridges Drive
Santa Cruz, CA 95060

831-427-4727 (voice)
jareid@usgs.gov

Contact_Instructions: Email preferred
Metadata standard:
CSDGM Version 2 (FGDC-STD-001-1998)

Generated by mp version 2.8.17 on Tue May 16 21:05:05 2006