Contours Offshore of Tomales Point, California

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Frequently anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?

Title: Contours Offshore of Tomales Point, California
Abstract:
This part of DS 781 presents data for the bathymetric contours for several seafloor maps of the Offshore of Tomales Point map area, California. The vector data file is included in "Contours_OffshoreTomalesPoint.zip," which is accessible from <https://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/781/OffshoreTomalesPoint/data_catalog_OffshoreTomalesPoint.html>.

10-m interval contours of the Offshore of Tomales Point map area, California, were generated from bathymetry data collected by California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB), by Fugro Pelagos, and by the U.S. Geological Survey. Mapping was completed between 2004 and 2010, using a combination of 200-kHz and 400-kHz Reson 7125, and 244-kHz Reson 8101 multibeam echosounders, as well as 234-kHz and 468-kHz SEA SWATHPlus phase-differencing sidescan sonars. These mapping missions combined to collect bathymetry from about the 10-m isobath to beyond the 3-nautical-mile limit of Californiaís State Waters.
Bathymetric contours at 10-m intervals were generated from a modified 2-m bathymetric surface. The original surface was smoothed using the Focal Mean tool in ArcGIS and a circular neighborhood with a radius of 20 to 30 meters (depending on the area). The contours were generated from this smoothed surface using the ArcGIS Spatial Analyst Contour tool. The most continuous contour segments were preserved while smaller segments and isolated island polygons were excluded from the final output. The contours were then clipped to the boundary of the map area. These data are not intended for navigational purposes.
  1. How should this data set be cited?

    Dartnell, Peter, and Kvitek, Rikk G., 2015, Contours Offshore of Tomales Point, California:.

    This is part of the following larger work.

    Johnson, Samuel Y., Dartnell, Peter, Golden, Nadine E., Hartwell, Stephen R., Greene, H. Gary, Erdey, Mercedes D., Cochrane, Guy R., Watt, Janet T., Kvitek, Rikk G., Manson, Michael W., Endris, Charles A., Dieter, Bryan E., Krigsman, Lisa M., Sliter, Ray W., Lowe, Erik N., and Chin, John L., 2015, California State Waters Map Series--Offshore of Tomales Point map area, California: Open-File Report OFR 2015-1088, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

    Online Links:

  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?

    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -123.07
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -122.89
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 38.25
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 38.10

  3. What does it look like?

    <https://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/781/OffshoreTomalesPoint/images/Contours_OffshoreTomalesPoint.jpg> (JPEG)
    Bathymetry contour lines of the Offshore of Tomales Point map area.

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

    Beginning_Date: 2004
    Ending_Date: 2010
    Currentness_Reference: ground condition

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

    Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: vector digital data

  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):

      • String (37)

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

      Grid_Coordinate_System_Name: Universal Transverse Mercator
      Universal_Transverse_Mercator:
      UTM_Zone_Number: 10
      Transverse_Mercator:
      Scale_Factor_at_Central_Meridian: 0.9996
      Longitude_of_Central_Meridian: -123.00000
      Latitude_of_Projection_Origin: 0.00000
      False_Easting: 500000.0
      False_Northing: 0.00

      Planar coordinates are encoded using coordinate pair
      Abscissae (x-coordinates) are specified to the nearest 0.01
      Ordinates (y-coordinates) are specified to the nearest 0.01
      Planar coordinates are specified in Meters

      The horizontal datum used is WGS 1984.
      The ellipsoid used is WGS 1984.
      The semi-major axis of the ellipsoid used is 6378137.00 meters.
      The flattening of the ellipsoid used is 1/298.257223563.

  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?

    Contours_OffshoreTomalesPoint.shp
    The shapefile attributes include FID - Internal Feature Number, SHAPE - feature geometry, ID - feature ID, and CONTOUR - contour depth value. The shapefile can be added to any ESRI ArcMap project. (Source: ESRI)

    FID
    Internal feature number. (Source: ESRI)

    Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated.

    SHAPE
    Feature geometry (Source: ESRI)

    Polyline

    ID
    Unique identifier for each contour line. Value of 0 means the line segment has been generated during the smoothing process. (Source: ESRI)

    Range of values
    Minimum:4171
    Maximum:7449
    Units:Double

    CONTOUR
    Contours are lines that connect points of equal depth based on the bathymetry grid. The contour values indicate the depth value the line represents. This makes it easier to identifier features on the seafloor. Contour lines were generated at 10-m intervals, from -10 m to -70 m, then the contours were clipped to the boundary of the map area. Values are negative to indicate depth below sea level. The value of 0 represents a line segment created during the smoothing process. (Source: USGS)

    Range of values
    Minimum:-70
    Maximum:0
    Units:Integer values 0 to -70 representing depth intervals as described above.

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?

    Peter Dartnell
    U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
    Physical Scientist
    400 Natural Bridges Dr.
    Santa Cruz, CA 95060-5792
    USA

    (831) 460-7415 (voice)
    (831) 427-4709 (FAX)
    pdartnell@usgs.gov

Why was the data set created?

To expand geologic mapping to the seafloor within the California's State Waters, to update coastal geologic mapping, and to contribute to a uniform regional geologic database, which can be used geographic information systems. Additionally, to provide a geologic map for the public and geoscience community to aid in assessments and mitigation of geologic hazards in the Point Reyes coastal region and to provide sufficient geologic information for land-use and land-management decisions both onshore and offshore. This information is not intended for navigational purposes.

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: 2010 (process 1 of 3)
    During the Fugro Pelagos and CSUMB mapping missions, an Applanix Position and Motion Compensation System for Marine Vessels (POS/MV, 320, v4) was used to accurately position the vessels during data collection, and it also accounted for vesselsí motion such as heave, pitch, and roll (position accuracy, ±2 m; pitch, roll, and heading accuracy, ±0.02?; heave accuracy, ±5%, or 5 cm). KGPS altitude data (Fugro Pelagos, StarFix HP & XP units; CSUMB, NavCom 2050) were used to account for tide cycle fluctuations and sound velocity profiles were collected with an Applied Microsystems SVPlus sound velocimeter. Soundings were corrected for vessel motion using the Applanix POS/MV data, for variations in water-column sound velocity using the AM SVPlus data, and for variations in water height (tides) using vertical-position data from the KGPS receivers.

    Person who carried out this activity:

    Carrie Bretz
    Seafloor Mapping Lab, California State University Monterey Bay
    Projects Manager, GIS & Metadata Supervisor
    100 Campus Center, Bldg 13
    Seaside, CA 93955
    USA

    831.582.4197 (voice)
    carrie_bretz@csumb.edu

    Date: 2008 (process 2 of 3)
    During the USGS mapping within Tomales Bay (Anima and others, 2008), DGPS data and measurements of vessel motion (heave, pitch, and roll) were combined in a CodaOctopus F180 attitude and position system to produce a high-precision vessel attitude packet. This packet was transmitted to the acquisition software in real time and combined with instantaneous sound-velocity measurements at the transducer head before each ping. The returned samples were projected to the seafloor using a ray-tracing algorithm working with previously measured sound-velocity profiles. Statistical filters were applied to discriminate seafloor returns (soundings and backscatter intensity) from other unintended targets in the water column.

    Person who carried out this activity:

    Pete Dartnell
    U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
    Physical Scientist
    400 Natural Bridges Dr.
    Santa Cruz, CA 95060-5792
    USA

    (831) 460-7415 (voice)
    pdartnell@usgs.gov

    Date: 2012 (process 3 of 3)
    California Seafloor Mapping Project 2-m-resolution bathymetry data within this map were downloaded from <http://seafloor.csumb.edu/SFMLwebDATA.htm>. USGS Tomales Bay mapping line files were downloaded from USGS archives. Line files were processed using USGS software SXPTools (David Finlayson, personnel comm., 2012). Grids were merged together and clipped to the boundary of the map area. Bathymetric contours at 10-m intervals were generated from a modified 2-m bathymetric surface. The original surface was smoothed using the Focal Mean tool in ArcGIS and a circular neighborhood with a radius of 20 to 30 meters (depending on the area). The contours were generated from this smoothed surface using the ArcGIS Spatial Analyst Contour tool. The most continuous contour segments were preserved while smaller segments and isolated island polygons were excluded from the final output. The contours were then clipped to the boundary of the map area.

    Person who carried out this activity:

    Pete Dartnell
    U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
    Physical Scientist
    400 Natural Bridges Dr.
    Santa Cruz, CA 95060-5792
    USA

    (831) 460-7415 (voice)
    pdartnell@usgs.gov

  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?

    Not applicable

  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?

    Estimated to be no less than 2 m, owing to water depth and total propagated uncertainties of the mapping systems, which include sonar system, position and motion compensation system, and navigation, as well as data processing that includes sounding cleaning, gridding, and datum transformations.

  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?

    Estimated to be no less than 20 cm, owing to water depth and total propagated uncertainties of the mapping systems, which include sonar system, position and motion compensation system, and navigation, as well as data processing that includes sounding cleaning, gridding, and datum transformations.

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

    Complete

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

    Unspecified

How can someone get a copy of the data set?

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

Access_Constraints:
If physical samples or materials are available, constraints on their on-site access are described in "WR CMG Sample Distribution Policy" at URL: <http://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/infobank/programs/html/main/sample-dist-policy.html>
Use_Constraints:
USGS-authored or produced data and information are in the public domain. Acknowledge the U.S. Geological Survey and California State University, Monterey Bay, Seafloor Mapping Lab in products derived from these data. Share data products developed using these data with the U.S. Geological Survey.
This information is not intended for navigational purposes. Read and fully comprehend the metadata prior to data use. Uses of these data should not violate the spatial resolution of the data. Where these data are used in combination with other data of different resolution, the resolution of the combined output will be limited by the lowest resolution of all the data.
This database has been approved for release and publication by the Director of the USGS. Although this database has been subjected to rigorous review and is substantially complete, the USGS reserves the right to revise the data pursuant to further analysis and review. Furthermore, it is released on condition that neither the USGS nor the United States Government may be held liable for any damages resulting from its authorized or unauthorized use
Although this Federal Geographic Data Committee-compliant metadata file is intended to document these data in nonproprietary form, as well as in ArcInfo format, this metadata file may include some ArcInfo-specific terminology.

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

    U.S. Geological Survey
    345 Middlefield Rd
    Menlo Park, CA 94025-3561
    USA

    (650) 329-4309 (voice)

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

  3. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?


    These databases, identified as bathymetric contours of the offshore Tomales Point map area, California have been approved for release and publication by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Although these databases have been subjected to rigorous review and are substantially complete, the USGS reserves the right to revise the data pursuant to further analysis and review. Furthermore, it is released on condition that neither the USGS nor the United States Government may be held liable for any damages resulting from its authorized or unauthorized use.
    Although these data have been processed successfully on a computer system at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), 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 constitute any such warranty. The USGS or the U.S. Government 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.
    These data are not intended for navigational use.

  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 downloadable data file has been compressed with the "zip" command and can be unzipped with Winzip (or other tool) on Windows systems. To utilize these data, the user must have software capable of uncompressing the WinZip file and importing and viewing an Esri ArcMap SHP. Users should download the ArcGIS Project File, OffshoreTomalesPointGIS.mxd.zip, a compressed (with the "zip" command) version of the ArcMap document (.mxd) that has all the data layers loaded in the table of contents for "Offshore Tomales Point" and has all the data symbolized as on the data release map sheets. Download and save this ArcGIS project file, including all data layers, to the directory the user has created for this GIS.

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:
Last modified: 18-Mar-2014
Last Reviewed: 05-May-2015
Metadata author:
Peter Dartnell
U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
Physical Scientist
400 Natural Bridges Dr.
Santa Cruz, CA 95060-5792
USA

(831) 460-7415 (voice)
(831) 427-4709 (FAX)
pdartnell@usgs.gov

Metadata standard:
Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata ("CSDGM version 2") (FGDC-STD-001-1998)

Generated by mp version 2.9.16 on Tue May 19 13:37:21 2015