USGS: science for a changing world - www.usgs.gov
Coastal and Marine Geology Program home - marine.usgs.gov
  U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 03-001

BROWSE THUMBNAIL IMAGE: Image showing the US Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) boundary as it has been clipped for the Gulf of Maine surficial sediment GIS project area.

USEEZ-CLIP: Boundaries of the Exclusive Economic Zones of the U.S. for the Gulf of Maine surficial sediment GIS project area.

 

Metadata also available as: FAQ - TEXT

Metadata:


Identification_Information:
Citation:
Citation_Information:
Originator: Valerie Paskevich
Publication_Date: Unknown
Title:
USEEZ-CLIP: Boundaries of the Exclusive Economic Zones of the U.S. for the Gulf of Maine surficial sediment GIS project area.
Edition: 1.0
Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: vector digital data
Publication_Information:
Publication_Place: Woods Hole Field Center, Woods Hole, MA
Publisher: U.S. Geological Survey, Coastal and Marine Geology Program
Online_Linkage:
<http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2003/of03-001/data/basemaps/boundaries/eez/useez-clip.zip>
Online_Linkage:
<http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2003/of03-001/data/basemaps/boundaries/eez/useez-clip.zip>
Larger_Work_Citation:
Citation_Information:
Originator: L.J. Poppe
Originator: V.F. Paskevich
Originator: S.J. Williams
Originator: M.E. Hastings
Originator: J.T. Kelley
Originator: D.F. Belknap
Originator: L.G. Ward
Originator: D.M. FitzGerald
Originator: P.F. Larsen
Publication_Date: 2003
Title:
Surficial Sediment Data from the Gulf of Maine, Georges Bank, and vicinity: a GIS Compilation
Edition: 1.0
Series_Information:
Series_Name: Open-File Report
Issue_Identification: 03-001
Publication_Information:
Publication_Place: Woods Hole Field Center, Woods Hole, MA
Publisher: U.S. Geological Survey, Coastal and Marine Geology Program
Other_Citation_Details:
Data is released via CD-ROM media. This digital publication may also be available via the web at pubs.usgs.gov
Online_Linkage: <http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2003/of03-001>
Online_Linkage: <http://woodshole.er.usgs.gov/openfile/of03-001>
Description:
Abstract:
Exclusive Economic Zone and Maritime Boundaries; Notice of Limits By Presidential Proclamation No. 5030 made on March 10, 1983, the United States established an exclusive economic zone, the outer limit of which is a line drawn in such a manner that each point on it is 200 nautical miles from the baseline from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured. The Government of the United States of America has been, is, and will be, engaged in consultations and negotiations with governments of neighboring countries concerning the delimitation of areas subject to the respective jurisdiction of the United States and of these countries. The limits of the exclusive economic zone of the United States as set forth below are intended to be without prejudice to any negotiations with these countries or to any positions which may have been or may be adopted respecting the limits of maritime jurisdiction in such areas. Further, the limits of the exclusive economic zone set forth below are without prejudice to the outer limit of the continental shelf of the United States where that shelf extends beyond 200 nautical miles from the baseline in accordance with international law.
Purpose:
The purpose of this data layer is to provides a general basemap showing the extent of the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone.

The EEZ consists of those areas adjoining the territorial sea of the U.S., the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and U.S. overseas territories and pssessions. The EEZ extends up to 200 nautical miles (370 km) from the U.S. coastline. About 15 percent of this area lies on the geologic continental shelf and is shallower than 200 meters. Within its EEZ, the U.S. has sovereign rights over all living and non-living resources. Other nations may exercise freedom of vessel navigation and overflight within the U.S. EEZ (Source: Year of the Ocean Discussion Papers 1998; 2nd Ed. of Coastal and Ocean Law by Kalo et al. 1994).

Supplemental_Information:
This is a subset of the original dataset provided by NOAA. It has been clipped to the extent of the Gulf of Maine surficial sediment GIS project area.

The following is provided verbatum from the Federal Register: [Federal Register: August 23, 1995 (Volume 60, Number 163)][Notices][Page 43825-43829]

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov][DOCID:fr23au95 113]DEPARTMENT OF STATE[Public Notice 2237] Exclusive Economic Zone and Maritime Boundaries; Notice of Limits By Presidential Proclamation No. 5030 made on March 10, 1983, the United States established an exclusive economic zone, the outer limit of which is a line drawn in such a manner that each point on it is 200 nautical miles from the baseline from which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured. The Government of the United States of America has been, is, and will be, engaged in consultations and negotiations with governments of neighboring countries concerning the delimitation of areas subject to the respective jurisdiction of the United States and of these countries. The limits of the exclusive economic zone of the United States as set forth below are intended to be without prejudice to any negotiations with these countries or to any positions which may have been or may be adopted respecting the limits of maritime jurisdiction in such areas. Further, the limits of the exclusive economic zone set forth below are without prejudice to the outer limit of the continental shelf of the United States where that shelf extends beyond 200 nautical miles from the baseline in accordance with international law. The following notices have been published which have defined the United States maritime boundaries and fishery conservation zone established March 1, 1977: Public Notice 506, Federal Register, Vol.41, No. 214, November 4, 1976, 48619-20; Public Notice 526, Federal Register, Vol. 42, No. 44, March 7, 1977, 12937-40; Public Notice 544, Federal Register, Vol. 42, No. 92, May 12, 1977, 24134; Public Notice 4710-01, Federal Register, Vol. 43, No. 7, January 11, 1978, 1658; Public Notice 585, Federal Register, Vol. 43, No. 7, January 11, 1978,1659; Public Notice 910, Federal Register, Vol. 49, No. 155, August 9,1984, 31973. This Public Notice supersedes all limits defined in the above Public Notices. Therefore, the Department of State on behalf of the Government of the United States hereby announces the limits of the exclusive economic zone of the United States of America, within which the United States will exercise its sovereign rights and jurisdiction as permitted under international law, pending the establishment of permanent maritime boundaries by mutual agreement in those cases where a boundary is necessary and has not already been agreed. Publication of a notice on this subject which is effective immediately upon publication is necessary to effectively exercise the foreign affairs responsibility of the Department of State. (See Title 5U.S.C. 553 (a)(1)(B).)

Dated: August 10, 1995. David A. Colson, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Oceans [FR Doc. 95-20794 Filed 8-22-95; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4710-09-M

Time_Period_of_Content:
Time_Period_Information:
Single_Date/Time:
Calendar_Date: unknown
Currentness_Reference: publication date
Status:
Progress: Complete
Maintenance_and_Update_Frequency: None planned
Spatial_Domain:
Bounding_Coordinates:
West_Bounding_Coordinate: -77.877236
East_Bounding_Coordinate: -65.699722
North_Bounding_Coordinate: 47.459808
South_Bounding_Coordinate: 33.054966
Keywords:
Theme:
Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: General
Theme_Keyword: Exclusive Economic Zone
Theme_Keyword: EEZ
Theme_Keyword: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Theme_Keyword: NOAA
Theme_Keyword: Special Projects Office
Theme_Keyword: jurisdictional boundary
Theme_Keyword: U.S. Geological Survey
Theme_Keyword: USGS
Theme_Keyword: Coastal and Marine Geology Program
Theme_Keyword: CMGP
Theme_Keyword: Woods Hole Field Center
Theme_Keyword: Open-File Report 03-001
Theme_Keyword: OFR 03-001
Theme_Keyword: OFR03-001
Place:
Place_Keyword_Thesaurus: General
Place_Keyword: United States
Place_Keyword: northeast United States
Place_Keyword: Gulf of Maine
Access_Constraints: None
Use_Constraints:
THE DATA INCLUDED IN THIS APPLICATION ARE BASED ON INTERPRETATION OF AVAILABLE INFORMATION AND SHOULD NOT BE CONSTRUED AS LEGALLY BINDING.
Point_of_Contact:
Contact_Information:
Contact_Person_Primary:
Contact_Person: Steve Rohmann
Contact_Organization: NOAA, Special Projects Office
Contact_Address:
Address_Type: mailing and physical address
Address: SSMC-4 9th Floor
Address: 1305 East-West Highway
City: Silver Spring
State_or_Province: MD
Postal_Code: 20910
Country: USA
Contact_Voice_Telephone: (301) 713-3000 x137
Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: steve.rohmann@noaa.gov
Browse_Graphic:
Browse_Graphic_File_Name: useez-clip
Browse_Graphic_File_Description:
Image showing the extent of the United States Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) boundary for the Gulf of Maine surficial sediment GIS project area.
Browse_Graphic_File_Type: GIF
Data_Set_Credit: NOAA, Special Projects Office
Native_Data_Set_Environment:
Microsoft Windows 2000 Version 5.1 (Build 2600) ; ESRI ArcCatalog 8.2.0.700

Data_Quality_Information:
Attribute_Accuracy:
Attribute_Accuracy_Report:
All attributes were supplied with NOAA 'e00' dataset are Arc/Info related. There are no polygon attributes in the Exclusive Economic Zone geography.
Logical_Consistency_Report: None
Completeness_Report:
This is a subset of the complete Eclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) boundary as provided by NOAA. It has been clipped to the extent of the Gulf of Maine surficial sediment GIS project area.
Lineage:
Source_Information:
Source_Citation:
Citation_Information:
Originator: NOAA, Special Projects Office
Publication_Date: Unknown
Publication_Time: Unknown
Title:
USEEZ: Boundaries of the Exclusive Economic Zones of the U.S. and territories from NOAA
Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: vector digital data
Online_Linkage: <ftp://seaserver.nos.noaa.gov/datasets/efh/>
Online_Linkage: <ftp://seaserver.nos.noaa.gov/datasets/efh/useez.e00.gz>
Type_of_Source_Media: disc
Source_Time_Period_of_Content:
Time_Period_Information:
Single_Date/Time:
Calendar_Date: unknown
Source_Currentness_Reference: publication date
Source_Citation_Abbreviation: useez.e00
Source_Contribution:
The Arc/Info export file contains the extent of the US Exclusive Economic Zone and was downloaded from NOAA's anonymous ftp site.
Process_Step:
Process_Description:
The useez.e00 file was imported to create a ARC/INFO 7.x coverage.
Source_Used_Citation_Abbreviation: useez.e00
Process_Date: 20020521
Process_Time: 0643
Source_Produced_Citation_Abbreviation: useez
Process_Contact:
Contact_Information:
Contact_Person_Primary:
Contact_Person: Valerie Paskevich
Contact_Organization: U.S. Geological Survey
Contact_Position: Computer Specialist
Contact_Address:
Address_Type: mailing and physical address
Address: 384 Woods Hole Road
City: Woods Hole
State_or_Province: MA
Postal_Code: 02543-1598
Country: USA
Contact_Voice_Telephone: (508) 548-8700 x2281
Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: (508) 457-2310
Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: vpaskevich@usgs.gov
Process_Step:
Process_Description:
The Arc/Info coverage was edited to close the gap in the Alaska boundary. The edited file was then converted to the shapefile.
Source_Used_Citation_Abbreviation: useez
Process_Date: 20020521
Process_Time: 0655
Source_Produced_Citation_Abbreviation: useez.dbf
Source_Produced_Citation_Abbreviation: useez.shp
Source_Produced_Citation_Abbreviation: useez.shx
Source_Produced_Citation_Abbreviation: useez.sbn
Source_Produced_Citation_Abbreviation: useez.sbx
Process_Contact:
Contact_Information:
Contact_Person_Primary:
Contact_Person: Valerie Paskevich
Contact_Organization: U.S. Geological Survey
Contact_Position: Computer Specialist
Contact_Address:
Address_Type: mailing and physical address
Address: 384 Woods Hole Road
City: Woods Hole
State_or_Province: MA
Postal_Code: 02543-1598
Country: USA
Contact_Voice_Telephone: (508) 548-870 x2281
Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: (508) 457-2310
Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: vpaskevich@usgs.gov
Process_Step:
Process_Description:
The geographic reference of the shapefile was defined to create an associated 'prj' file.
Source_Used_Citation_Abbreviation: useez.shp
Process_Date: 20020521
Process_Time: 0704
Source_Produced_Citation_Abbreviation: useez.prj
Process_Contact:
Contact_Information:
Contact_Person_Primary:
Contact_Person: Valerie Paskevich
Contact_Organization: U.S. Geological Survey
Contact_Position: Computer Specialist
Contact_Address:
Address_Type: mailing and physical address
Address: 384 Woods Hole Road
City: Woods Hole
State_or_Province: MA
Postal_Code: 02543-1598
Country: USA
Contact_Voice_Telephone: (508) 548-8700 x2281
Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: (508) 457-2310
Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: vpaskevich@usgs.gov
Process_Step:
Process_Description:
The complete EEZ boundary, as provided by NOAA, was clipped to the extent of the Gulf of Maine surficial sediment GIS project area.
Source_Used_Citation_Abbreviation: useez.dbf
Source_Used_Citation_Abbreviation: useez.shp
Source_Used_Citation_Abbreviation: useez.shx
Process_Date: 20030331
Process_Time: 1540
Source_Produced_Citation_Abbreviation: useez-clip.dbf
Source_Produced_Citation_Abbreviation: useez-clip.shp
Source_Produced_Citation_Abbreviation: useez-clip.shx
Process_Contact:
Contact_Information:
Contact_Person_Primary:
Contact_Person: Valerie Paskevich
Contact_Organization: U.S. Geological Survey
Contact_Position: Information Technology Specialist
Contact_Address:
Address_Type: mailing address
Address: 384 Woods Hole Road
City: Woods Hole
State_or_Province: MA
Postal_Code: 02543-1598
Country: USA
Contact_Voice_Telephone: (508) 548-8700 x2281
Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: (508) 457-2310
Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: vpaskevich@usgs.gov

Spatial_Data_Organization_Information:
Direct_Spatial_Reference_Method: Vector
Point_and_Vector_Object_Information:
SDTS_Terms_Description:
SDTS_Point_and_Vector_Object_Type: String
Point_and_Vector_Object_Count: 28

Spatial_Reference_Information:
Horizontal_Coordinate_System_Definition:
Geographic:
Latitude_Resolution: 0.00001
Longitude_Resolution: 0.00001
Geographic_Coordinate_Units: Decimal degrees
Geodetic_Model:
Horizontal_Datum_Name: North American Datum of 1983
Ellipsoid_Name: Geodetic Reference System 80
Semi-major_Axis: 6378137.000000
Denominator_of_Flattening_Ratio: 298.257222

Entity_and_Attribute_Information:
Detailed_Description:
Entity_Type:
Entity_Type_Label: useez.dbf
Entity_Type_Definition: Shapefile Attribute Table
Entity_Type_Definition_Source: ESRI
Attribute:
Attribute_Label: FID
Attribute_Definition: Internal feature number.
Attribute_Definition_Source: ESRI
Attribute_Domain_Values:
Unrepresentable_Domain:
Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated.
Attribute:
Attribute_Label: Shape
Attribute_Definition: Feature geometry.
Attribute_Definition_Source: ESRI
Attribute_Domain_Values:
Unrepresentable_Domain: Coordinates defining the features.
Attribute:
Attribute_Label: FNODE_
Attribute_Definition:
From-node identifier of linear feature carried over from Arc/Info processing and the Arc/Info attribute FNODE_. It is an ArcInfo internal control parameter and has not applicable relevance to the use of the data.
Attribute_Definition_Source: Software Computed
Attribute_Domain_Values:
Range_Domain:
Range_Domain_Minimum: 0
Range_Domain_Maximum: 11277
Attribute_Units_of_Measure: integer count
Attribute_Measurement_Resolution: 1
Attribute:
Attribute_Label: TNODE_
Attribute_Definition:
To-node identifier of linear feature carried over from Arc/Info processing and the Arc/Info attribute TNODE_. It is an ArcInfo internal control parameter and has not applicable relevance to the use of the data
Attribute_Definition_Source: Software Computed
Attribute_Domain_Values:
Range_Domain:
Range_Domain_Minimum: 0
Range_Domain_Maximum: 11276
Attribute_Units_of_Measure: integer count
Attribute_Measurement_Resolution: 1
Attribute:
Attribute_Label: LPOLY_
Attribute_Definition:
Internal number of polygon to left of arc carried over from Arc/Info processing and the Arc/Info attribute LPOLY_. It is an ArcInfo internal control parameter and has not applicable relevance to the use of the data
Attribute_Definition_Source: Software Computed
Attribute_Domain_Values:
Range_Domain:
Range_Domain_Minimum: 0
Range_Domain_Maximum: 0
Attribute_Units_of_Measure: integer count
Attribute_Measurement_Resolution: 1
Attribute:
Attribute_Label: RPOLY_
Attribute_Definition:
Internal number of polygon to right of arc carried over from Arc/Info processing and the Arc/Info attribute RPOLY_. It is an ArcInfo internal control parameter and has not applicable relevance to the use of the data.
Attribute_Definition_Source: Software Computed
Attribute_Domain_Values:
Range_Domain:
Range_Domain_Minimum: 0
Range_Domain_Maximum: 0
Attribute_Units_of_Measure: integer count
Attribute_Measurement_Resolution: 1
Attribute:
Attribute_Label: LENGTH
Attribute_Definition: Length of the line in native units
Attribute_Definition_Source: User Defined
Attribute_Domain_Values:
Range_Domain:
Range_Domain_Minimum: 0.000
Range_Domain_Maximum: 31.704
Attribute_Units_of_Measure: decimal degrees
Attribute_Measurement_Resolution: .001
Attribute:
Attribute_Label: USEEZ_SHP_
Attribute_Definition:
Value from ARC assigned USEEZ_SHP# from useez.dbf table. Generally has no meaning in ArcView shapefile.
Attribute_Definition_Source: User Defined
Attribute_Domain_Values:
Range_Domain:
Range_Domain_Minimum: 0
Range_Domain_Maximum: 225
Attribute_Units_of_Measure: integer count
Attribute_Measurement_Resolution: 1
Attribute:
Attribute_Label: USEEZ_SHP1
Attribute_Definition:
Value from ARC assigned USEEZ_SHP1# from useez.dbf table. Generally has no meaning in ArcView shapefile.
Attribute_Definition_Source: User Defined
Attribute:
Attribute_Label: ARCTYPE
Attribute_Definition: Code identifying the arc data source.
Attribute_Definition_Source: User Defined
Attribute_Domain_Values:
Enumerated_Domain:
Enumerated_Domain_Value: 24
Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition: National Oceanographic Data Center arcs
Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source: NOAA useez_meta.htm found at <ftp://140.90.161.100/datasets/efh>
Enumerated_Domain:
Enumerated_Domain_Value: 25
Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition: Federal Register (23 Aug 95; vol. 60 #163) arcs
Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source: NOAA useez_meta.htm found at <ftp://140.90.161.100/datasets/efh>
Enumerated_Domain:
Enumerated_Domain_Value: 26
Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition: construct arcs
Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source: NOAA useez_meta.htm found at <ftp://140.90.161.100/datasets/efh>
Enumerated_Domain:
Enumerated_Domain_Value: 27
Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition: International Boundary Commission arcs
Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source: NOAA useez_meta.htm found at <ftp://140.90.161.100/datasets/efh>
Overview_Description:
Entity_and_Attribute_Overview: No Polygon attributes in the Exclusive Economic Zone geography

Distribution_Information:
Distributor:
Contact_Information:
Contact_Organization_Primary:
Contact_Organization: NOAA Special Projects Office
Contact_Person: Steve Rohmann
Contact_Address:
Address_Type: mailing and physical address
Address: SSMC-4 9th Floor
Address: 1305 East-West Highway
City: Silver Spring
State_or_Province: MD
Postal_Code: 20910
Country: USA
Contact_Voice_Telephone: (301) 713-3000 x137
Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: steve.rohmann@noaa.gov
Resource_Description:
useez.e00 - Boundaries of the Exclusive Economic Zones of the U.S. and territories from NOAA
Standard_Order_Process:
Digital_Form:
Digital_Transfer_Information:
Format_Name: ARCE
Transfer_Size: 0.263
Digital_Transfer_Option:
Online_Option:
Computer_Contact_Information:
Network_Address:
Network_Resource_Name: <ftp://140.90.161.100/datasets/efh>
Network_Resource_Name: <ftp://seaserver.nos.noaa.gov/datasets/efh/>
Fees: none

Distribution_Information:
Distributor:
Contact_Information:
Contact_Person_Primary:
Contact_Person: Valerie Paskevich
Contact_Organization: U.S. Geological Survey
Contact_Position: Computer Specialist
Contact_Address:
Address_Type: mailing and physical address
Address: 384 Woods Hole Road
City: Woods Hole
State_or_Province: MA
Postal_Code: 02543-1598
Country: USA
Contact_Voice_Telephone: (508) 548-8700 x2281
Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: (508) 457-2310
Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: vpaskevich@usgs.gov
Resource_Description:
Regional Mapping of Surficial Sediments: Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank, Aggregates and Habitats Projects, useez-clip.shp
Distribution_Liability:
Although this derived data set and it's lineage dataset have been used by the 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.
Standard_Order_Process:
Digital_Form:
Digital_Transfer_Information:
Format_Name: ArcView Shapefile
Format_Version_Number: 3.2
Format_Specification: ESRI polyline shapefile
Format_Information_Content:
The three ArcView shapefiles (usaeez-clip.dbf, usaeez-clip.shp, usaeez-clip.shx) comprising the ArcView polygon shapefiles for the USA land mass comprising the ArcView polygon, 'prj' and 'avl' files, metadata text file and browse graphic.
File_Decompression_Technique: zip
Transfer_Size: 137 Kbytes
Digital_Transfer_Option:
Online_Option:
Computer_Contact_Information:
Network_Address:
Offline_Option:
Offline_Media: CD-ROM
Recording_Capacity:
Recording_Density: 650
Recording_Density_Units: Mbytes
Recording_Format: ISO9660
Compatibility_Information:
The user must have a computer system with a CD-ROM available. To browse the information contained on this CD-ROM, the user must have a current WWW browser available. The user must also have software installed on their computer to unzip the archived file.
Fees: none
Technical_Prerequisites:
The United States Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) base map overlay is available as an ArcView shapefile format. The user must have ESRI's ArcView 3.0 or greater software to read and process the data file. In lieu of Arcview, the user may utilize another GIS application package capable of importing the data.

Metadata_Reference_Information:
Metadata_Date: 20030401
Metadata_Contact:
Contact_Information:
Contact_Organization_Primary:
Contact_Organization: U.S. Geological Survey
Contact_Person: Valerie Paskevich
Contact_Position: Computer Specialist
Contact_Address:
Address_Type: mailing and physical address
Address: 384 Woods Hole Road
City: Woods Hole
State_or_Province: MA
Postal_Code: 02543-1598
Country: USA
Contact_Voice_Telephone: (508) 548-8700 x2281
Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: (508) 457-2310
Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: vpaskevich@usgs.gov
Metadata_Standard_Name: FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata
Metadata_Standard_Version: FGDC-STD-001-1998
Metadata_Time_Convention: local time
Metadata_Access_Constraints: None
Metadata_Use_Constraints: None

Generated by mp version 2.7.3 on Tue Apr 01 07:53:47 2003

OFR03-001 Home | Introduction | Nomenclature | Browse Maps | Data Catalog | Data Dictionary



[an error occurred while processing this directive]