WILLETT72: Boston Harbor and approaches

Metadata also available as: OUTLINE - TEXT

Frequently-anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?
    Title: WILLETT72: Boston Harbor and approaches
    Abstract:
    Boston Harbor (and its approaches) is a glacially carved, tidally dominated estuary in western Massachusetts Bay. Characterized by low river discharge and significant human impact, the harbor is typical of many bays and estuaries along the New England coast. The sands and gravels that floor Massachusetts Bay and the Harbor approaches are relict glacial sediments. However, fine-grained sediments are accumulating in areas of lower energy.

  1. How should this data set be cited?

    Poppe, Lawrence J. , 2003, WILLETT72: Boston Harbor and approaches:, 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: -70.878820
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -70.599270
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 42.564340
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 42.121880

  3. What does it look like?

    willett72 (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: 1972
    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 (89)

    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?

    willett72.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
    WILLETT1972Scientist and year data were published

    AREA
    Geographic area within which the data were collected. (Source: Compiler)

    ValueDefinition
    MASS BAYMassachusetts Bay area

    ID
    Sample/station name (Source: Scientist)

    Mixed string containing characters and numerics designating the grabs and cores.

    TYPE
    Sampling equipment used to collect the sample. (Source: Scientist)

    ValueDefinition
    GRABSgrab sample
    COREcore sample

    Character string containing the names of the sampling devices

    LONGITUDE
    Longitude coordinate of sample location. (Source: Scientist)

    Range of values
    Minimum:42.12188
    Maximum:42.56434
    Units:Decimal degrees
    Resolution:.00001

    LATITUDE
    Latitude coordinate of sample location. (Source: Scientist)

    Range of values
    Minimum:-70.87882
    Maximum:-70.59927
    Units:Decimal degrees
    Resolution:.00001

    SEDENV
    Verbal description of the sediment texture. (Source: Scientist)

    Character string containing verbal description of the sediments at each station.

    Entity_and_Attribute_Overview:
    Description of sediments, navigation and sample identifiers published by Willett (1972).

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 review the cross reference information for the original data set credit to Willett (1972). Polly Hastings for digitizing the sample locations; 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 set is to release a digital version of the data contained in Willett (1972)

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

    (source 1 of 1)
    Willett, C.F., 1972, Summary of the Massachusetts Coastal Mineral Inventory Survey: Raytheon Company Report, Raytheon Comany, Lexington, MA.

    This is part of the following larger work.

    FitzGerald, M.G., 1980, Anthropogenic Influence of the Sedimentary Regime of an Urban Estuary - Boston Harbor: Doctoral Dissertation 297 p., Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA.

    Type_of_Source_Media: paper

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

    Date: 13-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 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:
    • willett72.txt

    Data sources produced in this process:

    • willett72.shp
    • willett72.dbf
    • willett72.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 the compilers in a consistent manner.

  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?

    Navigation methods were not reported. Navigational accuracy is unknown.

  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?

    Tides are about 3 m.

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

    Sample locations, descriptions of the sedimentary environment, and sample identifiers are provided for 89 samples.

  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, willett72.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: 26-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 Wed Mar 26 10:11:31 2003

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