USGS Open-File Report 2006-1195: README

U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2006-1195

Surficial sediment character of the Louisiana offshore continental shelf region: A GIS Compilation

README

Readme

BACKGROUND

This report contains a compilation of available textural data and numeric data based on lithologic descriptions generated from surficial sediment samples from offshore the Louisiana coast of the United States. These data are a subset of the usSEABED data for the Gulf of Mexico as described in Buczkowski and others (2006). More than 340,500 samples containing sediment grain size and lithology have been compiled as part of the U.S. Geological Survey's Marine Aggregate Resources and Processes and National Benthic Habitats projects. These data are being used to update the current maps on surficial sediment distribution for the Louisiana/Ship Shoal region.

Many of these data layers were compiled using gray literature or unpublished sources and have not been available in digital form prior to publication of USGS DS-146. These data have been converted to Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc. (ESRI) "shapefile" format for use in the project Geographic Information System (GIS), and data are supplied with complete FGDC compliant metadata. Sediment data and sample identifiers are also supplied in flat-file format and Microsoft Excel spreadsheet files for those users who may not have GIS access.

CD-ROM CONTENTS

There are three top-level files and three top-level directories contained on this CD-ROM.

The top-level files are:

readme.txt (the ASCII version of this file) - This file contains a description of this CD-ROM and may be viewed or printed by the user with any system program capable of opening an ASCII text file.
index.htm - This file is intended to be the starting point for CD-ROM access. It is written in the Hyper-Text Markup Language utilized by the World Wide Web (WWW) project and must be opened with a WWW browser. Once opened, the user may browse the CD-ROM's contents as they would browse pages from the WWW.
la.apr - An ArcView 3.3 project file containing the GIS data layers. This file facilitates the viewing of the shapefiles and related image data sets. If the user does not have ArcView available, they may access the shapefiles by downloading ESRI's ArcExplorer software at no charge from the ESRI Web site

The three main directories include:

Directory htmldocs/

This directory contains five directories and sub-directories used to format the HTML files and supporting graphics to allow the user access to the report via any World Wide Web browser. The major sub-directories/files include the following:

LA.css/ - this file is the cascading style sheet used to format the layout of the HTML pages

files/ - this directory contains files offered in the various HTML pages

images/ - this directory contains images used in the HTML page layouts

Directory data/

This directory contains four subdirectories that contain the various GIS data layers and appropriate metadata. The sub-directories including the following data:

basemaps/ - basemap data used in the ArcView project file. Basemap data include a general US land and coastline shapefile, U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone and the 3 nautical mile state and Federal boundary.

bathymetry/ - this directory contains the bathymetric file for the Louisiana study region.

stations/ - this directory contains information on available sea floor images from the Louisiana region.

DOWNLOADING FILES AND IMAGES

Downloading a selected file with Microsoft Internet Explorer

To download a data file while using Microsoft Internet Explorer, the user should select the desired file by placing the system pointer on the file name from the data list and pressing the right mouse button. This will display a pull-down menu from which the user should drag the mouse to highlight "Save target as ..." and release the mouse button. Internet explorer will then prompt the user to specify the name and location of where the selected data file should be saved.

Downloading a selected file with Netscape

To download a data file while using the Netscape browser, the user should select the desired file by placing the system pointer on the file name from the data list and pressing and holding the right mouse button. This will display a pull-down menu from Netscape. The user should drag the mouse to highlight "Save this link as ..." and release the mouse button. Netscape will then prompt the user to specify the name and location of where the selected data file should be saved. Different operating systems and newer versions of Netscape might work somewhat differently.

TECHNICAL NOTES

This disk has been tested for use on computers having Windows 98/NT/2000/XP and Macintosh operating systems.

Access to the data and information contained in this report was developed using the HyperText Markup Language (HTML) utilized by the World Wide Web (WWW) project. This allows the user to access the information using WWW information browsers (i.e., Microsoft Internet Explorer, Netscape). To start, open the file 'index.htm' at the top-level directory of this disc with your browser.

There are Internet links to USGS collaborators and Web sites included in this report. These links are only accessible if access to the Internet is available when browsing the CD-ROM, and if those linked sites are operating.

Sub-Menus
README | Background | Directory|

Accessibility FOIA Privacy Policies and Notices

U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey
URL: http://pubsdata.usgs.gov/pubs/of/2006/1195/htmldocs/readme.htm
Page Contact Information: Publishing Services
Page Last Modified: Saturday, 12-Jan-2013 22:32:38 EST