MWRA: Massachusetts Water Resources Administration Sediment Data

Metadata also available as: OUTLINE - TEXT

Frequently-anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?
    Title:
    MWRA: Massachusetts Water Resources Administration Sediment Data
    Abstract:
    The samples in this dataset were collected and analyzed under the direction of the Massachusetts Water Resources Administration. The data were generated to study the effects of the Boston sewage outflow. Data were previously incorporated into the USGS's Gulf of Maine Contaminated Sediments Database.

  1. How should this data set be cited?

    Poppe, Lawrence J. , 2003, MWRA: Massachusetts Water Resources Administration Sediment Data: 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 is 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: -71.045830
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -70.000180
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 42.658830
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 41.897830

  3. What does it look like?

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

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

    Beginning_Date: 1993
    Ending_Date: 1995
    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 (245)

    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?

    mwra.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.

    USGS_ID
    Unique identifier assigned as part of the Gulf of Maine Contaminated Sediments Database (Source: Compilers)

    Numerics and characters used to identify samples

    FIELD_ID
    Names used to distinguish between stations (Source: Scientist)

    Numerics and characters used to identify samples

    PROJECT
    Acronym used to identify original project (Source: Compilers)

    ValueDefinition
    Project abbreviations

    LATITUDE
    Latitude coordinate of sample location (Source: Scientist)

    Range of values
    Minimum:41.89783
    Maximum:42.65883
    Units:Decimal degrees
    Resolution:0.00001

    LONGITUDE
    Longitude coordinate of sample location (Source: Scientist)

    Range of values
    Minimum:-70.04583
    Maximum:-70.00018
    Units:Decimal degrees
    Resolution:0.00001

    SRCE_OR_RF
    Author and year of source reference (Source: Compilers)

    Abbreviated source reference

    DEVICE
    Equipment used to collect samples (Source: Scientist)

    ValueDefinition
    VAN VEEN GRAB 

    YEAR
    Year data were collected (Source: Scientist)

    Range of values
    Minimum:1991
    Maximum:1994
    Units:years
    Resolution:1

    GRAVEL
    Percentage of gravel in sample

    Range of values
    Minimum:0
    Maximum:92.5
    Units:percent
    Resolution:0.01

    SAND
    Percentage of sand in sample (Source: Scientist)

    Range of values
    Minimum:1.3
    Maximum:98.7
    Units:percent
    Resolution:0.01

    SILT
    Percentage of silt in sample (Source: Scientist)

    Range of values
    Minimum:0.25
    Maximum:81.0
    Units:percent
    Resolution:0.01

    CLAY
    Percentage of clay in sample (Source: Scientist)

    Range of values
    Minimum:0.2
    Maximum:44.4
    Units:percent
    Resolution:0.01

    FINES
    Percentage of fines (silt plus clay) in sample (Source: Scientist)

    Range of values
    Minimum:1.2
    Maximum:98.6
    Units:percent
    Resolution:0.01

    SHEPARD_CL
    Textural classification of sediment based on a scheme devised by Shepard (1954) (Source: Compiler)

    Verbal descriptions of the sediment texture

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 credits, and Larry Poppe for 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 data published in Blake et al. (1993), Coats et al. (1994), Coats (1995), and Kropp and Diaz (1995) for interpretation of textural distributions.

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

    (source 1 of 4)
    Blake, J., Rhodes, D., and Hilbig, B., 1993, Massachusetts Bay Outfall Monitoring Program: Soft Bottom Benthic Biology and Sedimentology: Massachusetts Water Resources Administration Report MWRA 93-10, MWRA, Boston MA.

    Type_of_Source_Media: paper

    (source 2 of 4)
    Coats, D., Imamura, E., and Cambell, J., 1995, Annual Soft-Bottom Benthic Monitoring: Massachusetts Bay Outfall Studies: Massachusetts Water Resources Administration Report MWRA 95-02, MWRA, Boston, Massachusetts.

    (source 3 of 4)
    Coats, D., 1994, Annual Soft-Bottom Monitoring, Massachusetts Bay Outfall Studies: Massachusetts Water Resources Adminstration Report MWRA 95-20, MWRA, Boston, MA.

    (source 4 of 4)
    Kropp, R., and Diaz, J., 1995, Infaunal community changes in Boston Harbor, 1991-1994: Massachusetts Water Resources Adminstration Report 95-21, MWRA, Boston, MA.

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

    Date: 21-Nov-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 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:
    • mwra.txt

    Data sources produced in this process:

    • mwra.dbf
    • mwra.shp
    • mwra.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?

    Navigation was by differential GPS (+/- 10 m)

  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?

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

    Identifiers, navigation, and grain-size data are provided for 246 stations.

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

    No additional checks for topological consistency were performed on the 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, mwra.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: 16-Feb-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 Sun Feb 16 11:40:11 2003

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