MEISBURGER76: Sediments of Western Mass Bay

Metadata also available as: OUTLINE - TEXT

Frequently-anticipated questions:


What does this data set describe?

    Title: MEISBURGER76: Sediments of Western Mass Bay
    Abstract:
    A seismic reflection survey with concurrent bottom sampling was conducted in western Massachusetts Bay to obtain information on bottom topography and sediments, subbottom structure and composition, and the location of sand deposits potentially usable for restoration and nourishment of nearby beaches. Primary sediment data was derived from 43 cores. The predominant sediments of the surface and shallow subsurface deposits in the study area are fine sand, sand and gravel, and clayey silt. Sand suitable for beach restoration and nourishment on the contiguous coast occurs only locally and in generally small quantity relative to other sediments of the study area.

  1. How should this data set be cited?

    Poppe, Lawrence J. , 2003, MEISBURGER76: Sediments of Western Mass Bay:, U. S. Geological Survey, Coastal and Marine Geology Program, Woods Hole Field Center, Woods Hole, MA.

    Online Links:

    This is part of the following larger work.

    Poppe, L.J., Paskevich, V.F., Williams, S.J., Hastings, M.E., Kelley, J.T., Belknap, D.F., Ward, L.G., FitzGerald, D.M., and Larsen, P.F., 2003, Surficial Sediment Data from the Gulf of Maine, Georges Bank, and vicinity: a GIS Compilation: Open-File Report 03-001, U. S. Geological Survey, Coastal and Marine Geology Program, Woods Hole Field Center, Woods Hole, MA.

    Online Links:

    Other_Citation_Details:
    Data are released via CD-ROM media. This digital publication may also be available via the web at pubs.usgs.gov

  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?

    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -70.960700
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -70.676300
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 42.600130
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 42.168040

  3. What does it look like?

    meisburger76 (GIF)
    Image map showing extent and distribution of data layer coverage.

  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: 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):

      • Entity point (42)

    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 0.00001. Longitudes are given to the nearest 0.00001. Latitude and longitude values are specified in Decimal degrees.

      The horizontal datum used is North American Datum of 1927.
      The ellipsoid used is Clarke 1866.
      The semi-major axis of the ellipsoid used is 6378206.400000.
      The flattening of the ellipsoid used is 1/294.978698.

  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?

    meisburger76.dbf
    Shapefile Attribute Table (Source: ESRI)

    FID
    Internal feature number. (Source: ESRI)

    Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated.

    Shape
    Feature geometry. (Source: ESRI)

    Coordinates defining the features.

    PROJECTID
    Name assigned to the data for future identification. (Source: Compiler)

    ValueDefinition
    MEISBURGER1976 

    DEVICE
    Equipment used to collect samples (Source: Scientist)

    ValueDefinition
    VIBRACOREVibracore device

    CORE_ID_
    Numeric identifier assigned to each core (Source: Scientist)

    Range of values
    Minimum:151
    Maximum:193
    Units:integer count
    Resolution:1

    LATITUDE
    Latitude coordinate of sample location (Source: Scientist)

    Range of values
    Minimum:42.16804
    Maximum:42.60013
    Units:Decimal Degrees
    Resolution:0.00001

    LONGITUDE
    Longitude coordinate of sample location (Source: Scientist)

    Range of values
    Minimum:-70.96070
    Maximum:-70.67630
    Units:Decimal Degrees
    Resolution:0.00001

    DESCRIPTIO
    Lithologic description of the surficial sediment (Source: Scientist)

    ValueDefinition
    SILTY SAND AND GRAVELsilty sand and gravel content
    SILTY MEDIUM SANDsilty medium sand content
    SILTY FINE SANDsilty fine sand content
    SILTY FINE COARSE SANDsilty fine coarse sand content
    SILTY CLAYsilty clay content
    SILT, SHELLS, AND GRAVELsilt, shells, and gravel content
    SILT, SAND AND GRAVELsilt, sand and gravel content
    SILTsilt content
    SAND, SHELLS, AND GRAVELsand, shells, and gravel content
    SAND AND GRAVELsand and gravel content
    MEDIUM SAND AND GRAVELmedium sand and gravel content
    MEDIUM SANDmedium sand content
    FINE SAND AND SHELLSfine sand and shells content
    FINE SAND AND GRAVELfine sand and gravel content
    FINE SANDfine sand content
    FINE COARSE SANDfine coarse sand content
    COARSE SAND AND GRAVELcoarse sand and gravel content

    Character string containing verbal description of the sediment

    MEDIAN_PHI
    50th percentile of the grain size distribution in phi units (Source: Scientist)

    Range of values
    Minimum:0.31
    Maximum:2.95
    Units:phi
    Resolution:0.01

    MEAN_PHI
    Mean grain size in phi units (Source: Scientist)

    Range of values
    Minimum:0.37
    Maximum:2.57
    Units:phi
    Resolution:0.01

    STDEV_PHI
    Standard deviation of the grain size distribution in phi units (Source: Scientist)

    Range of values
    Minimum:0.4
    Maximum:1.08
    Units:phi
    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?

    Please view the cross reference information for the original data set credit to Meisburger (1976). Larry Poppe for creating the shapefile.

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

    Lawrence J. Poppe
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Geologist
    384 Woods Hole Road
    Woods Hole, MA 02543-1598
    USA

    508-548-8700 x2314 (voice)
    508-457-2310 (FAX)
    lpoppe@usgs.gov


Why was the data set created?

The purpose of this data layer is to release a digital version of the sediment data published by Meisburger (1976).


How was the data set created?

  1. From what previous works were the data drawn?

    (source 1 of 1)
    Meisburger, E.P., 1976, Geomorphology and Sediments of Western Massachusetts Bay: Technical Paper 76-3, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Coastal Engineering Research Center, Fort Belvoir, VA.

    Type_of_Source_Media: paper

  2. How were the data generated, processed, and modified?

    Date: 13-Sep-2002 (process 1 of 1)
    The source information was imported from an ASCII text file to an ArcView table. The table was later converted to an event theme in ArcView and saved as the final shapefile.

    Person who carried out this activity:

    Lawrence J. Poppe
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Geologist
    384 Woods Hole Road
    Woods Hole, MA 02543-1598
    USA

    508-548-8700 x2314 (voice)
    508-457-2310 (FAX)
    lpoppe@usgs.gov

    Data sources used in this process:
    • meisburger76.txt

    Data sources produced in this process:

    • meisburger76.shp
    • meisburger76.dbf
    • meisburger76.shx


How reliable are the data; what problems remain in the data set?

  1. How well have the observations been checked?

    All attributes were checked by the compilers in a consistent manner.

  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?

    Original report did not discuss navigational methods. Navigational accuracy is unknown.

  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?

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

    Sediment descriptions, grain-size distribution statistics, and sample identifiers are provided for 42 cores.

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

    No additional checks for topological consistency were performed on this data.


How can someone get a copy of the data set?

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

Access_Constraints: None
Use_Constraints: None

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

    Lawrence J. Poppe
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Geologist
    384 Woods Hole Road
    Woods Hole, MA 02543-1598
    USA

    508-548-8700 x2314 (voice)
    508-457-2310 (FAX)
    lpoppe@usgs.gov

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

    Regional Mapping of Surficial Sediments: Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank, Aggregates and Habitats Projects, meisburger.shp

  3. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?

    Although this data set has been used by the U.S. Geological Survey, 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.

  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 data is available in ArcView shapefile format. The user must have 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 data.


Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:
Last modified: 21-Mar-2003

Metadata author:
Lawrence J. Poppe
U.S. Geological Survey
Geologist
384 Woods Hole Road
Woods Hole, MA 02543-1598
USA

508-548-8700 x2314 (voice)
508-457-2310 (FAX)
lpoppe@usgs.gov

Metadata standard:
FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata (FGDC-STD-001-1998)


Generated by mp version 2.7.3 on Fri Mar 21 12:05:12 2003

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