caribis - Caribbean Island Nations Coastline Boundaries

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Frequently-anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?

Title: caribis - Caribbean Island Nations Coastline Boundaries
Abstract:
The Caribbean Island Nation data set is a shapefile polygon modeling the coastlines of the countries in the region. Shapefile format provides compatibility with georeferenced raster imagery used in a Geographic Information System (GIS). In addition, this data set provides a relational perspective view (s) in a GIS of the survey area surrounding the Puerto Rico trench.
  1. How should this data set be cited?

    Williams, Glynn, 2004, caribis - Caribbean Island Nations Coastline Boundaries: Open-File Report 2004-1400, U.S. Geological Survey, Woods Hole, MA.

    Online Links:

    This is part of the following larger work.

    Brink, Uri ten , Danforth, William, Polloni, Chris, Parker, Castle Eugene , Uozumi, Toshi, and Williams, Glynn, 2004, Project PROBE Leg II - Final Report and Archive of Swath Bathymetric Sonar, CTD/XBT and GPS Navigation Data Collected During USGS Cruise 03008 (NOAA Cruise RB0303) Puerto Rico Trench 18 February - 7 March, 2003: Open-file Report 2004-1400, U.S. Geological Survey, Coastal and Marine Geology Program, Woods Hole, Massachusetts.

    Online Links:

  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?

    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -84.953339
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -59.426949
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 26.929165
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 10.037498

  3. What does it look like?

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

    Calendar_Date: 1998
    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):

      • G-polygon (24)

    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 D_WGS_1984.
      The ellipsoid used is WGS_1984.
      The semi-major axis of the ellipsoid used is 6378137.000000.
      The flattening of the ellipsoid used is 1/298.257224.

      Vertical_Coordinate_System_Definition:
      Altitude_System_Definition:
      Altitude_Datum_Name: assumed sea level
      Altitude_Resolution: 1
      Altitude_Distance_Units: meters
      Altitude_Encoding_Method: Attribute values
      Depth_System_Definition:

  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?

    caribis
    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.

    CNTRY_NAME
    country name. (Source: ESRI)

    Coordinates defining the features.

    COUNT
    the square miles of an area (Source: ESRI)

    FIRST_FIPS
    First order of an abbreviation (Source: Federal Infomration Processing Standards (FIPS))

    FIRST_REGI
    First order name of a region (Source: Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS))

    FIRST_CONT
    First order name of a continent (Source: Information Processing Standards (FIPS))

    SUM_POP_AD
    The administrative sum of a population (Source: Information Processing Standards (FIPS))

    SUM_SQKM_A
    The sum of the squared kilometer area (Source: Information Processing Standards (FIPS))

    SUM_SQMI_A
    The sum of the square miled area (Source: Information Processing Standards (FIPS))

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?

    U.S. Geological Survey

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

    U.S. Geological Survey
    c/o Glynn Williams (ed.)
    Spatial Data Technician
    384 Woods Hole Road
    Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543-2310
    USA

    508.548.8700 x2290 (voice)
    508.457.2310 (FAX)
    gwilliams@usgs.gov

    Hours_of_Service: 8:00AM to 5:00PM; M-F

Why was the data set created?

To supplement the main featured mosaic image of the Puerto Rico trench survey area in a GIS.

How was the data set created?

  1. From what previous works were the data drawn?

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

    Date: 23-Jul-2004 (process 1 of 1)
    This data set is a subset of another Caribbean Island vector data set found in ESRI's Data & Maps CD-ROM; 19990801.

    Person who carried out this activity:

    Glynn Williams
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Spatial Analyst
    384 Woods Hole Road
    Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543-1598
    USA

    508.548.8700.x2290 (voice)
    508-457-2310 (FAX)
    gwilliams@usgs.gov

    Hours_of_Service: 8AM to 5PM; M-F
  3. What similar or related data should the user be aware of?

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

  1. How well have the observations been checked?

  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?

  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?

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

    complete

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

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: These data are not to be used for navigation purposes.

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

    Uri ten Brink
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Research Scientist
    384 Woods Hole Road
    Woods Hole, MA 02543-1598
    USA

    508.548.8700.x2396 (voice)
    508.457.2310 (FAX)
    utenbrink@usgs.gov

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

    Downloadable Data: Open-File Report 2004-1400

  3. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?

    Although this dataset 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 Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc. (ESRI) shapefile format. The user must have ArcView 3.+ or ArcGIS 8.+ to read and process the data file. In lieu of ArcView/ArcGIS, the user may utilize another GIS application package capable of importing data.

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:
Last modified: 02-Nov-2004
Metadata author:
U.S. Geological Survey
c/o Glynn Williams
Spatial Data Technician
384 Woods Hole Road
Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543-1598
USA

508.548.8700 x2290 (voice)
508.457.2310 (FAX)
gwilliams@usgs.gov

Hours_of_Service: 8:00AM to 5:00PM; M-F
Metadata standard:
FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata (FGDC-STD-001-1998)
Metadata extensions used:

Generated by mp version 2.8.18 on Fri Dec 17 15:19:44 2004