MENCHER: Sediments of Boston Harbor

Metadata also available as: OUTLINE - TEXT

Frequently-anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?
    Title: MENCHER: Sediments of Boston Harbor
    Abstract:
    A study was made of the composition, grain-size distribution, and organic content of grab samples collected from Boston Harbor. In general, the coarsest mean sizes occur in the channels scoured by dredging or tidal action, and the finest in areas where no dredging has occurred and where tidal velocities are at a minimum.

  1. How should this data set be cited?

    Poppe, Lawrence J. , 2003, MENCHER: Sediments of Boston Harbor:, 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: -71.046330
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -70.930780
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 42.353610
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 42.272490

  3. What does it look like?

    mencher (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: 1968
    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 (152)

    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?

    mencher.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.

    STATION
    Name assigned to each sampling site. (Source: Compiler)

    Range of values
    Minimum:BH-001
    Maximum:BH-159

    LONGITUDE
    Longitude coordinate of station (Source: Scientist)

    Range of values
    Minimum:-70.93078
    Maximum:-70.04633
    Units:Decimal Degrees
    Resolution:0.00001

    LATITUDE
    Latitude coordinate of sample location (Source: Scientist)

    Range of values
    Minimum:42.27249
    Maximum:42.35361
    Units:Decimal Degrees
    Resolution:0.00001

    MEAN
    Range within which the statistical mean of the sediment grain-size distribution falls. (Source: Scientist)

    Phi ranges

    LITHOLOGY
    Textural description of sample (Source: Compiler)

    ValueDefinition
    SANDsand content
    MUDmud content

    Character string containing the verbal description of sample lithology

    Entity_and_Attribute_Overview:
    Textural means, navigation, and identifiers for the data published in Mencher et al. (1968)

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 for the data set credit to Mencher et al. (1968). Larry Poppe for entering the data from the source report and creating the ArcView 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 grain-size data released in the publication Mencher et al. (1968).

How was the data set created?
  1. From what previous works were the data drawn?

    (source 1 of 1)
    Mencher, Ely, Copeland, R.A., and Payson, H., 1968, Surficial Sediments of Boston Harbor, Massachusetts: Journal of Sedimentary Petrology v. 38, no. 1, p. 79-86.

    Type_of_Source_Media: paper
    Source_Contribution:
    Interpretive maps were transposed into tabular data and subsequently converted into an ASCII file.

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

    Date: 11-Sep-2002 (process 1 of 1)
    The navigation was digitized from maps in the original paper. The source information was manually entered into digital form and was imported from an ASCII text file to an ArcView table. The table was later converted to and event theme 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)
    lpope@usgs.gov

    Data sources used in this process:
    • mencher.txt

    Data sources produced in this process:

    • mencher.shp
    • mencher.dbf
    • mencher.shx

How reliable are the data; what problems remain in the data set?
  1. How well have the observations been checked?

    All attributes were entered and checked by compilers in a consistent manner.

  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?

    No navigational methods are provided in the original report. Horizontal accuracy is unknown.

  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?

    Tides average about 3 m.

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

    Sample locations, mean grain size, and station identifiers are provided for 159 stations.

  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 ofMaine and Georges Bank, Aggretates and Habitats Projects, mencher.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 (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 11:35:39 2003

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