The process of detrital sediment accumulation in a continental shelf environment: An examination of the Washington shelf

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Frequently-anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?

Title:
The process of detrital sediment accumulation in a continental shelf environment: An examination of the Washington shelf
Abstract:
No formal abstract is given. A summary states, "Charles Nittrouer has combined a variety of sedimentological, geochemical, and geophysical techniques to carry out a comprehensive investigation of sediment accumulation in a continental shelf environment. His study area included the Washington and northern Oregon continental shelves, and his investigation involved: extensive box coring of the seabed with subsequent analysis for Pb-210 geochronology, sediment texture and mineralogy, microstratigraphy, and benthic biology; and high resolution seismic reflection profiling for examination of Holocene stratigraphy. "The distinctive achievements of this dissertation include aspects of both the methods and the results. A budget for sediment accumulation during the past century is established, and evaluated over Holocene time scales. The results of this work significantly improve our understanding of regional sedimentation in the continental shelf environment. The use of independent methodology allows verification of the sedimentological significance of Pb-210 geochronology as a tool for quantitatively determining sediment accumulation rates. This research also lays the groundwork for future investigations of the physical and biological processes that are associated with sediment accumulation and responsible for the preserved stratigraphic record. The concepts developed in this dissertation can be applied to many continental shelf environments, and it is anticipated that they will provide a focal point for future studies by other scientists."
Supplemental_Information:
Primary funding source was the National Science Foundation (Grant no. OCE 76-09791); other funding from the Energy Resource Development Agency (Grant no. AT45-1-2225-T24) and fellowships from Texaco and Amoco. Data digitized by the USGS for inclusion into OFR 00-167, and included in usSEABED (<http://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/usseabed>)
  1. How should this data set be cited?

    Nittrouer, Charles Albert , 1978, The process of detrital sediment accumulation in a continental shelf environment: An examination of the Washington shelf: University of Washington, Seattle, WA.

    Other_Citation_Details: PhD. dissertation

  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?

    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -125.250
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -124.008
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 48.000
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 45.667

  3. What does it look like?

    Nittrouer_PhD_1978 (JPG)
    Screen grab of GIS-produced sample distribution, with bathymetry and land for reference.

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

    Calendar_Date: 1976
    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):

      • Point (187)

    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)

    Sample number
    Sample number (Source: University of Washington)

    Alpha numeric number based on cruise and core information

    Water depth
    Depth of water at sample site (Source: Source report)

    Range of values
    Minimum:16
    Maximum:610
    Units:Meters
    Resolution:1.0

    Gravel
    Gravel (Source: Wentworth, 1932)

    Range of values
    Minimum:0
    Maximum:0.26
    Units:Percent
    Resolution:0.01

    Sand
    Sand (Source: Wentworth 1932)

    Range of values
    Minimum:0.68
    Maximum:99.14
    Units:Percent
    Resolution:0.01

    Silt
    Silt (Source: Wentworth 1932)

    Range of values
    Minimum:0.68
    Maximum:78.59
    Units:Percent
    Resolution:0.01

    Clay
    Clay (Source: Wentworth 1932)

    Range of values
    Minimum:0.54
    Maximum:65.85
    Units:Percent
    Resolution:0.01

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?

    Charles Nittrouer and University of Washington for collection of samples and analysis of data. Digitization: David Twichell, Vee Ann Cross, and Kenneth J. Parolski (USGS); usSEABED formatting: Jennifer Mendonca (USGS); Formatting corrections: Jane Reid (USGS) and Chris Jenkins (University of Colorado)

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

    University of Washington
    P.O. Box 357940
    Seattle, WA 98195

    206-543-5060 (voice)

Why was the data set created?

"This study is an investigation of the accumulation of river-borne detrital sediment in a continental shelf environment. The general goal is to elucidate the relationships between sedimentological processes and sediment accumulation, in order to understand the mechanisms by which sedimentary strata are formed on the shelf. This study differs from other process oriented sedimentological studies in that the temporal aspect of shelf sedimentation is directly evaluated."

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)
    "Samples from the upper three centimeters of box cores were examined for grain size using a standard sieve (class interval 0.25 phi) and pipette analysis (Krumbein and Pettijohn, 1938)."

    Person who carried out this activity:

    University of Washington
    P.O. Box 357940
    Seattle, WA 98195

    206-543-5060 (voice)

    Data sources produced in this process:
    • Nittrouer_PhD_1978

  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 original data. For inclusion in OFR 00-167, granulometric data were summarized into gravel, sand, silt, and clay fractions. For usSEABED, data were culled from USGS OFR 00-167 and formatted into usSEABED structure. Where appropriate, data were tested for completeness using MS Excel. Locations checked using GIS.

  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?

    No navigational information is given in the original report. Positions given to minute-tenths.

  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?

    Water depths determination method not recorded in report. Subsample depths given to nearest centimeter.

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

    No estimate made for original data. For inclusion into USGS OFR 00-167, individual granulometric measurements are not included; water content and Pb-210 dates were not included. No sub-bottom data (granulometric, summary of granulometric, water content, and Pb-210) are included. For usSEABED, all data in OFR 00-167 provided by this report were included.

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

    Data fall within normal ranges for the given parameters.

How can someone get a copy of the data set?

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

Access_Constraints: Dissertation is available at some libraries.
Use_Constraints:
Cite Charles Nittrouer and the University of Washington as the originators of the data.

  1. Who distributes the data set? (Distributor 1 of 2)

    University of Washington
    P.O. Box 357940
    Seattle, WA 98195

    206-543-5060 (voice)

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

    Nittrouer PhD thesis 1978

  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 and limitations of the statistical data.

  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

  1. Who distributes the data set? (Distributor 2 of 2)

    United States Geological Survey
    Woods Hole Science Center
    Woods Hole, MA 02543-1598

    508-548-8700 (voice)

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

    USGS Open-file report 00-167; more information at: <https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/of00-167/>

  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 and limitations of the statistical data. Data from this report come from several studies.

  4. How can I download or order the data?

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

    The sediment sample data are available in ArcView shapefile format. The user must have ArcView, ArcExplorer, or another GIS package capable of importing and reading these data.

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 Sat May 20 22:00:20 2006