MCMASTER60_PROJECT: Sediments of Narragansett Bay

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Frequently-anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?

Title: MCMASTER60_PROJECT: Sediments of Narragansett Bay
Abstract:
Gravel, sand, silt, and clay contents were determined for samples from Narragansett Bay and the adjacent Rhode Island Shelf. In the Narragansett Bay system, clayey silt and sand-silt-clay are the most abundant sediments. Sand is abundant locally and on the inner shelf. In general, toward the lower passages of the Bay the sediments show a progressive change to coarser textures.
  1. How should this data set be cited?

    McMullen, Katherine, 2007, MCMASTER60_PROJECT: Sediments of Narragansett Bay:, 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.

    Online Links:

    Other_Citation_Details: 1 DVD-ROM

  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?

    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -71.441192
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -71.161483
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 41.766614
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 41.433918

  3. What does it look like?

    <http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2006/1199/data/sediment/mcmaster60_wgs84/mcmaster60_wgs84.gif> (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: 1960
    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 (493)

    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 0.0001. Longitudes are given to the nearest 0.0001. 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?

    mcmaster60.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
    Project ID assigned to the dataset for future identification. (Source: Compiler)

    Value Definition
    MCMASTER1960 Scientist and year of publication

    AREA
    Geographic area where samples were collected. (Source: Compiler)

    Value Definition
    NARRAGANSETT BAY  

    SAMPLE
    Station where sample was collected (Source: Scientist)

    Numerics and characters designating a station

    LATITUDE
    Latitude coordinate of sample location (Source: Data Compiler)

    Range of values
    Minimum: 41.4340
    Maximum: 41.7667
    Units: Decimal Degrees
    Resolution: 0.0001

    LONGITUDE
    Longitude of sample location (Source: Data Compiler)

    Range of values
    Minimum: -714417
    Maximum: -71.1620
    Units: Decimal Degrees
    Resolution: 0.0001

    GRAVEL
    Percentage of gravel in the sample (Source: Scientist)

    Range of values
    Minimum: 0
    Maximum: 100
    Units: percent
    Resolution: 0.1

    SAND
    Percentage of sand in the sample (Source: Scientist)

    Range of values
    Minimum: 0
    Maximum: 98.6
    Units: percent
    Resolution: 0.1

    SILT
    Percentage of silt in the sample (Source: Scientist)

    Range of values
    Minimum: 0
    Maximum: 83.7
    Units: percent
    Resolution: 0.1

    CLAY
    Percentage of clay in the sample (Source: Scientist)

    Range of values
    Minimum: 0
    Maximum: 38.5
    Units: percent
    Resolution: 0.1

    SHEPARD_CL
    Sediment classification based on the scheme described by Shepard (1954) (Source: Compiler)

    Value Definition
    CLAYEY SILT clayey silt content
    GRAVEL gravel content
    GRAVELLY SEDIMENT gravelly sediment content
    SAND sand content
    SAND SILT CLAY sand silt clay content
    SANDY SILT sandy silt content
    SILT silt content
    SILTY SAND silty sand content

    Character string containing textural description based on Shephard's classification scheme

    Entity_and_Attribute_Overview:
    Grain size data, textural classification, navigation, and identifiers for grab samples collected and published by R.L. McMaster

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 R.L. McMaster. Credit Larry Poppe for entering the data from the source report and 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 sediment data used in the interpretations published by McMaster (1960).

How was the data set created?

  1. From what previous works were the data drawn?

    (source 1 of 1)
    McMaster, R.L., 1960, Sediments of Narragansett Bay and Rhode Island Sound, Rhode Island: Journal of Sedimentary Petrology v. 30, no. 2, p. 249-274..

    Type_of_Source_Media: paper

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

    Date: 05-Sep-2002 (process 1 of 2)
    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 into 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:
    • mcmaster60.txt

    Data sources produced in this process:

    • mcmaster60.shp
    • mcmaster60.dbf
    • mcmaster60.shx

    Date: 2006 (process 2 of 2)
    The original dataset was converted from North American Datum of 1927 to WGS1984.

    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:
    • mcmaster60.shp

    Data sources produced in this process:

    • mcmaster60_Project.shp

  3. What similar or related data should the user be aware of?

    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, Woods Hole, MA.

    Online Links:

    Other_Citation_Details: 1 DVD-ROM

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 compilers in a consistent manner.

  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?

    The navigational methods used to position the stations are not discussed in the source text. Horizontal accuracy is unknown.

  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?

    Tides are less than 2 m.

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

    Sample locations and textural data are provided for 493 stations.

  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?

    Downloadable Data

  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 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 ESRI's 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 the data

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:
Last modified: 14-Nov-2006
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)
Metadata extensions used:

Generated by mp version 2.8.6 on Tue Nov 14 09:02:12 2006