H11310SEDENVIRONS: Sedimentary Environments of NOAA H11310 Sidescan Sonar Mosaic in Central Narragansett Bay

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Frequently-anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?

Title:
H11310SEDENVIRONS: Sedimentary Environments of NOAA H11310 Sidescan Sonar Mosaic in Central Narragansett Bay
Abstract:
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) is working cooperatively with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) to interpret the surficial geology in estuaries along the coast of the northeastern United States. The purpose of our present study is to interpret the distributions of surficial sediments and sedimentary environments in an area of Narragansett Bay using sidescan sonar imagery, high-resolution bathymetry, and sediment data. The mosaic presented herein covers an area of the sea floor in central Narragansett Bay. The mosaic and their interpretations (represented in part by this data layer) serve many purposes, including: (1) defining the geological variability of the sea floor, which is one of the primary controls of benthic habitat diversity; (2) improving our understanding of the processes that control the distribution and transport of bottom sediments and the distribution of benthic habitats and associated infaunal community structures; and (3) providing a detailed framework for future research, monitoring, and management activities. The sidescan sonar mosaics also serve as base maps for subsequent sedimentological, geochemical, and biological observations, because precise information on environmental setting is important for selection of sampling sites and for accurate interpretation of point measurements.
  1. How should this data set be cited?

    McMullen, K.Y., 2007, H11310SEDENVIRONS: Sedimentary Environments of NOAA H11310 Sidescan Sonar Mosaic in Central Narragansett Bay: Open-File Report 2006-1199, U.S. Geological Survey, Coastal and Marine Geology Program, Woods Hole Science Center, Woods Hole, MA.

    Online Links:

    This is part of the following larger work.

    McMullen, K.Y., Poppe, L.J., Signell, R.P., Denny, J.F., Crocker, J.M., Beaver, A.L., and Schattgen, P.T., 2007, Surficial Geology in Central Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island: Interpretations of Sidescan Sonar and Multibeam Bathymetry: Open-File Report 2006-1199, U.S. Geological Survey, Coastal and Marine Geology Program, Woods Hole Science Center, Woods Hole, MA 02543.

    Online Links:

    Other_Citation_Details: 1 DVD-ROM

  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?

    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -71.422822
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -71.286811
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 41.594512
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 41.523670

  3. What does it look like?

    <http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2006/1199/data/interpretation/sedenviron/h11310sedenvirons.gif> (GIF)
    Overview image showing the interpretion of the sedimentary environments of NOAA H11310 sidescan sonar mosaic and multibeam bathymetry image.

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

    Calendar_Date: 2007
    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 (15)

    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 0.000000. Longitudes are given to the nearest 0.000000. 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.

  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?

    h11310sedenvirons

    FID
    Internal feature number. (Source: ESRI)

    Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated.

    Shape
    Feature geometry. (Source: ESRI)

    Coordinates defining the features.

    ID
    Assigned ID number (Source: ESRI)

    LABEL
    Interpretation of sidescan sonar mosaic and multibeam bathymetry sedimentary environments (Source: compiler)

    Value Definition
    erosion or nondeposition  
    sorting and reworking  
    deposition  

    Character String

    Entity_and_Attribute_Overview:
    Polygons are attributed as features based on the interpretation of the sidescan sonar mosaic and multibeam bathymetry sedimentary environments (erosion or nondeposition, sorting and reworking, and deposition).

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?

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

    U.S. Geological Survey
    c/o Katherine McMullen
    Sediment Lab Technician
    384 Woods Hole Road
    Woods Hole, MA 02543
    USA

    (508) 548-8700 x2277 (voice)
    (508) 457-2310 (FAX)
    kmcmullen@usgs.gov

Why was the data set created?

This data layer is a component of the H11310 Survey, GIS database and represents an interpretation of the sidescan sonar mosaic for the study area. The interpretation can be used as an overlay for the mosaic image and shows the sedimentary environments of the study area such as erosion or nondeposition, sorting and reworking, and deposition.

How was the data set created?

  1. From what previous works were the data drawn?

    h11310_1m_sss_geo1_wgs84_inv.tif (source 1 of 2)
    U.S. Geological Survey, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2007, h11310_1m_sss_geo1_wgs84_inv.tif.

    Type_of_Source_Media: DVD-ROM
    Source_Scale_Denominator: 1 meter resolution
    Source_Contribution:
    Modified sidescan sonar mosaic (originally created by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)). The sonar image was visually interpreted to create this data layer.

    h11310_wgs84 (source 2 of 2)
    U.S. Geological Survey, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2007, wgs84_inv.

    Type_of_Source_Media: DVD-ROM
    Source_Scale_Denominator: 1 meter resolution
    Source_Contribution:
    Modified multibeam bathymetry image (originally created by NOAA). The bathymetry image was visually interpreted to create this data layer.

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

    Date: 2006 (process 1 of 2)
    The sidescan sonar imagery and multibeam bathymetry were interpreted to create the shapefiles representing the sedimentary environments (erosion or nondeposition, sorting and reworking, and deposition).

    Person who carried out this activity:

    Katherine McMullen
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Sediment Lab Technician
    384 Woods Hole Road
    Woods Hole, MA 02543
    USA

    (508) 548-8700 x2277 (voice)
    (508) 457-2310 (FAX)
    kmcmullen@usgs.gov

    Data sources used in this process:
    • h11310_wgs84
    • h11310_1m_sss_geo1_wgs84_inv.tif

    Data sources produced in this process:

    • erosion.shp
    • deposition.shp
    • sorting.shp

    Date: 2006 (process 2 of 2)
    The shapefiles were combined and polygons were attributed.

    Person who carried out this activity:

    Katherine McMullen
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Sediment Lab Technician
    384 Woods Hole Road
    Woods Hole, MA 02543
    USA

    (508) 548-8700 x2277 (voice)
    (508) 457-2310 (FAX)
    kmcmullen@usgs.gov

    Data sources used in this process:
    • erosion.shp
    • deposition.shp
    • sorting.shp

    Data sources produced in this process:

    • sedenvirons.shp

  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?

    Attributes have been visually checked by the compilers.

  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?

    Navigation was by differential GPS; positional accuracy to less than 10 m.

  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?

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

    Layer is complete as interpreted for these features.

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

    Several shapefiles representing various features identified on the mosaic were combined to create this data layer. The layers were edited and processed in a consistent manner.

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:
Public domain data are freely redistributable with proper metadata and source attribution. Please recognize the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) as the originator of this dataset.

  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
    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?

    Downloadable Data

  3. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?

    Although these data have been used by the U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Department of the Interior, no warranty expressed or implied is made by the U.S. Geological Survey as to the accuracy of the data. Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

  4. How can I download or order the data?

  5. What hardware or software do I need in order to use the data set?

    These data are available in Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) shapefile format. The user must have ArcGIS or ArcView 3.0 or greater software to read and process the data file. In lieu of ArcView or ArcGIS, the user may utilize another GIS application package capable of the importing data. A free data viewer, arcexplorer, capable of displaying the data is available from ESRI at www.esri.com.

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:
Last modified: 14-Nov-2006
Metadata author:
U.S. Geological Survey
c/o Katherine McMullen
Sediment Lab Technician
384 Woods Hole Road
Woods Hole, MA 02543
USA

(508) 548-8700 x2277 (voice)
(508) 457-2310 (FAX)
kmcmullen@usgs.gov

Metadata standard:
FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata (FGDC-STD-001-1998)
Metadata extensions used:

Generated by mp version 2.8.6 on Tue Nov 14 08:59:07 2006