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High-Resolution Quaternary Seismic Stratigraphy, New York Bight Continental Shelf, OFR 02-152
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High-Resolution Quaternary Seismic Stratigraphy of the New York Bight Continental Shelf

USGS Open-File Report 02-152

by

Schwab, W.C.1, Denny, J.F.1, Foster, D.S.1, Lotto, L.L.2, Allison, M.A.3, Uchupi, E.4, Danforth, W.W.1, Swift, B.A.1, Thieler, E.R.1, and Butman, B.1,

1 U.S. Geological Survey, Woods Hole, MA
2 Texas A & M University, Department of Oceanography, Galveston, TX
 3 Tulane University, Department of Geology, New Orleans, LA
4 Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole,

Table of Contents:

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Introduction

A principal focus for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Coastal and Marine Geology Program (marine.usgs.gov) is regional reconnaissance mapping of inner-continental shelf areas, with initial emphasis on heavily used areas of the sea floor near major population centers. The objectives are to develop a detailed regional synthesis of the sea-floor geology in order to provide information for a wide range of management decisions and to form a basis for further investigations of marine geological processes. In 1995, the USGS, in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACOE), New York District, began to generate reconnaissance maps of the continental shelf seaward of the New York - New Jersey metropolitan area. This mapping encompassed the New York Bight inner-continental shelf, one of the most heavily trafficked and exploited coastal regions in the United States. Contiguous areas of the Hudson Shelf Valley, the largest physiographic feature on this segment of the continental shelf, also were mapped as part of a USGS study of contaminated sediments (Buchholtz ten Brink and others, 1994; 1996).

The goal of the reconnaissance mapping was to provide a regional synthesis of the sea-floor geology in the New York Bight area, including: (a) a description of sea-floor morphology; (b) a map of sea-floor sedimentary lithotypes; (c) the geometry and structure of the Cretaceous strata and Quaternary deposits; and (d) the geologic history of the region. Pursuing the course of this mapping effort, we obtained sidescan-sonar images of 100 % of the sea floor in the study area. Initial interpretations of these sidescan data were presented by Schwab and others, (1997a, 1997b, 2000a). High-resolution seismic-reflection profiles collected along each sidescan-sonar line used multiple acoustic sources (e.g., watergun, CHIRP, Geopulse). Multibeam swath-bathymetry data also were obtained for a portion of the study area (Butman and others, 1998;). In this report, we present a series of structural and sediment isopach maps and interpretations of the Quaternary evolution of the inner-continental shelf off the New York - New Jersey metropolitan area based on subbottom, sidescan-sonar, and multibeam-bathymetric data.


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Getting Started

 An Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) ArcView 3.2 Geographic Information System (GIS) project file, of02-152.apr, resides in the arcview directory. All associated GIS files are also contained within this directory. The user must have a copy of ESRI ArcView 3.2 in order to view the project file. Visit the ESRI website (http://www.esri.com) for information concerning this, and other software. Additionally, the user must also have ESRI Spatial Analyst extension in order to view the grid and image files stored within this ArcView 3.2 project file.

To Load of02-152.apr:

  • The user may be prompted for file locations when opening of02-152.apr. If prompted, the user should click CANCEL ALL. The correct relative directory path to each file will then be loaded into the project file.

  • of02-152.apr contains a startup script, Drive Selection. This script will be run upon startup and will prompt the user for the directory path to the seisimag directory. This information is needed in order to establish 'hotlinks' found within the project file.
Extensions:
  • Within of02-152.apr, vector data are 'hotlinked' to JPG image files. Therefore, the JPEG (JFIF) Image Support extension must be loaded in order to view these image files. This extension is loaded by default within the project file.

  • This project file utilizes gridded data sets. As such, the Spatial Analyst extension must be loaded in order to view and manipulate these grids. This extension is loaded by default within the of02-152.apr.

  • This project file utilizes RASTER image files (TIF) compressed with LizardTech (www.lizardtech.com>) MrSID Geospatial Encoder 1.3.1 image compression utility. In order to load and view these files the MrSID Image Support extension must be loaded. This extension will be loaded by default within of02-152.apr.

Views:

All views within of02-152.apr are projected in the following coordinate system: UTM, WGS84 datum, Zone 18, meters. All raster image and grid data are also projected in UTM. All point and vector data are stored in decimal degrees. The Views contained within of02-152.apr are as follows:

  • coastal-plain Unconformity
  • Geologic Interpretation
  • Holocene Isopach
  • Holocene Ravinement
  • Pleistocene Isopach
  • Pleistocene Structure (R5 - HSV)
  • Pleistocene Structure (R6 - HSV)
  • Quaternary Isopach
  • Sample Locations
  • Seismic - Boomer
  • Seismic - CHIRP
  • Seismic - Water Gun

NOTE: Seismic Views - The trackline data presented within 'Seismic - Boomer', 'Seismic - CHIRP', and 'Seismic-Water Gun' are 'hotlinked' to JPG images of the seismic data. To view the JPG images, activate a trackline shapefile, click on the lightning bolt within the tool bar, and click on an individual trackline within the active theme. A JPG image of the seismic data collected along the chosen line will appear. The JPG images are stored in a view window; the user can zoom, pan, and alter the window size. Click on the X in the upper right corner to close the window.

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DVD Contents

The contents of this DVD-ROM are as follows:

Top level Directory:

  • index.htm - This file is intended to be the starting point for DVD-ROM access. It is written in the Hypertext Markup Language utilized by the World Wide Web (W.W.W) project and must be opened with a W.W.W browser. Once opened, the user may browse the DVD-ROM's contents as they would browse pages from the W.W.W.

  • readme.htm - Contains a description of this CD-ROM and may be viewed with any W.W.W browser.

  • readme.txt - ASCII text file containing a description of this DVD-ROM. This file may be viewed or printed with any system program capable of opening an ASCII text file.

Directories:

  • arcview - this directory contains the ESRI ArcView 3.2 project file, ofr02-152.apr and the following directories:

    • avl - contains the legend files for shapefiles and grids. This directory is further divided as follows:
      bathy, hsv (Hudson Shelf Valley), interp (Geologic Interpretation), samples, seismic, tracks.
    • metadata
      - contains all of the metadata files for shapefiles, raster grids and images used throughout ofr02-152.apr. This directory is further subdivided as follows: bathy, interp (geologic interpretation), mosaic, sample, seisimag, seismic, topobathy, tracks.

    • mosaic - contains the following sidescan-sonar mosaic files:
      apex_of.sid/apex_of.sdw - MrSID Geospatial Encoder compressed image file and associated world file apex_of.tif/apex_of.tfw - TIF image file and associated world file.
    • seisimag - contains the JPG images of all seismic data acquired during the 1995 and 1996 geophysical cruises within the New York Bight. This directory is further divided as follows:
      95007/chirp - CHIRP data acquired in 1995
      95007/wgun - water gun data acquired in 1995
      96004/boomer - boomer data acquired in 1996
      96004/CHIRP - CHIRP data acquired in 1996
      96004/wgun - water gun data acquired in 1996
    • shape - contains all of the shapefiles, raster grids and image files used throughout ofr02-152.apr. This directory is further divided as follows:
      bathy - bathymetric data
      interp - geologic interpretation
      samples - grab sample locations
      seismic - seismic surfaces (divided by units)
      tracks - trackline data (divided by year of cruise and system)
    • topobath - contains the image files of the National Geophysical Data Center (NGDC) topographic and bathymetric data. Also contained within this directory are the legend files that should accompany each image file.

  • html - contains all html pages accessed within this Open-File Report 02-152. Also contained within this directory:
    images - contains all image files utilized throughout this Open-File Report.
    pdf - contains PDF version of all figures used through Open-File Report 02-152.

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System Requirements

The disk run successfully on systems utilizing the following operating systems: Windows 98/2000/NT, Macintosh and UNIX.

An Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) ArcView 3.2 Geographic Information System (GIS) project file, of02-152.apr, resides in the arcview directory. All associated GIS files are also contained within this directory. The user must have a copy of ESRI ArcView 3.2 in order to view the project file. Visit the ESRI website (http://www.esri.com) for information concerning this, and other software. Additionally, the user must also have the ESRI Spatial Analyst extension in order to view the grid and image files stored within this ArcView 3.2 project file.

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Disclaimer

This Compact Disc-Read Only Memory (DVD-ROM) publication was prepared by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, make any warranty, expressed or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed in this report, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference therein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. Any views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof. Although all data published on this DVD-ROM have been used by the USGS, no warranty, expressed or implied, is made by the USGS as to the accuracy of the data and related materials and/or the functioning of the software. The act of distribution shall not constitute any such warranty, and no responsibility is assumed by the USGS in the use of this data, software, or related materials.

To view files in PDF format, download free copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/alternate.html.

 
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