SURVEYLINES - R/V RAFAEL navigation for swath bathymetry and sidescan-sonar collected during field activities 05001 and 06001, Apalachicola Bay and St. George Sound, Florida

Metadata also available as - [Outline] - [Parseable text]

Frequently-anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?

Title:
SURVEYLINES - R/V RAFAEL navigation for swath bathymetry and sidescan-sonar collected during field activities 05001 and 06001, Apalachicola Bay and St. George Sound, Florida
Abstract:
These data were collected under a cooperative mapping program between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Coastal Services Center (NOAA\CSC), and the Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR). The primary objectives of this program were to collect marine geophysical data to develop a suite of seafloor maps to better define the extent of oyster habitats, the overall seafloor geology of the bay and provide updated information for management of this resource. In addition to their value for management of the bay's oyster resources, the maps also provide a geologic framework for scientific research and the public.
High-resolution bathymetry, backscatter intensity, and seismic profile data were collected over 230 square kilometers of the floor of the bay. The study focused on the Apalachicola Bay and Western St. George Sound portions of the estuary in mostly in depths > 2.0 meters.
  1. How should this data set be cited?

    U.S. Geological Survey, 2007, SURVEYLINES - R/V RAFAEL navigation for swath bathymetry and sidescan-sonar collected during field activities 05001 and 06001, Apalachicola Bay and St. George Sound, Florida: Open-File Report 2006-1381, U.S. Geological Survey, Coastal and Marine Geology Program, Woods Hole Science Center, Woods Hole, Massachusetts.

    Online Links:

    This is part of the following larger work.

    Twichell, David C. , Andrews, Brian D. , Edmiston, H. Lee , and Stevenson, William R. , 2007, Geophysical Mapping of oyster habitats in a shallow estuary; Apalachicola Bay, Florida: Open-File Report 2006-1381, U.S. Geological Survey, Coastal and Marine Geology Program, Woods Hole Science Center, Woods Hole, Massachusetts.

    Online Links:

  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?

    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -85.095627
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -84.755168
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 29.782953
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 29.601332

  3. What does it look like?

    <http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2006/1381/GIS/thumbnails/SurveyLines.jpg> (JPEG)
    JPEG image of bathymetry and sidescan survey lines

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

    Beginning_Date: 14-Mar-2005,20060529
    Ending_Date: 13-Apr-2005,20060627
    Currentness_Reference: ground condition

  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):

      • String (1393)

    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?

    SurveyLines
    Survey navigation lines for field activities 06001 and 05001 (Source: USGS)

    FID
    Internal feature number. (Source: ESRI)

    Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated.

    Shape
    Feature geometry. (Source: ESRI)

    Coordinates defining the features.

    FeatureID
    Not used (Source: ArcMarine)

    FeatureCod
    Not used

    LineName
    name of survey line assigned for identification purposes (Source: USGS)

    Character string of containing line number and file number. Line one, file one = L1F1

    JDay
    The Julian Day that the data were collected (Source: USGS)

    SurveyID
    ID number used to identify the survey during which the data were collected. It is also used as join field with SurveyInfo Table for relationship class (Source: ArcMarine)

    ValueDefinition
    1USGS field activity number 05001
    2USGS field activity number 06001

    VehicleID
    Identification number identifying vehicle (survey platform) used to collect the data. Used as join field in relationship class to VehicleInfo table (Source: ArcMarine)

    ValueDefinition
    1USGS Research Vessel RAFAEL
    2USGS Autonomous Surface Vehicle (ASV) IRIS

    DeviceID
    Identification number used to distinguish the type of acoustic sensor (Device) used to collect the data. Also used as join field for relationship class to MeasuringDevice Table object (Source: USGS)

    ValueDefinition
    1Submetrix interferometric bathymetry
    2Klein 3000 sidescan-sonar

    SHAPE_Leng
    Length of survey line in meters. (Source: ESRI)

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?

    Brian Andrews
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Geographer
    384 Woods Hole Rd
    Woods Hole, MA 02543-1598
    USA

    508-548-8700 x2348 (voice)
    508-457-2310 (FAX)
    bandrews@usgs.gov

Why was the data set created?

These data represent trackline navigation for swath bathymetry and sidescan-sonar data collected aboard the R/V Rafael during 2005 (05001), and 2006 (06001) in Apalachicola Bay and St. George Sound, Florida. The purpose of these data is to manage the filenames and geographic locations of data that was actually collected.

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: 12-May-2007 (process 1 of 2)
    Navigation for swath bathymetry was extracted from raw sxr files and converted to ASCII text files for import to ArcGIS. Navigation for sidescan-sonar was extracted from raw xtf files and converted to ASCII text files for import to ArcGIS. The ASCII navigaton from both the bathymetry and sidescan were downsampled to one minute intervals. The one minute navigation points were then converted to a line using an ArcMap script Points_to_line v2 developed at the USGS by VeeAnn Cross

    Person who carried out this activity:

    Brian Andrews
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Geographer
    384 Woods Hole Rd.
    Woods Hole, MA 02543-1598
    USA

    508-548-8700 x2348 (voice)
    508-457-2310 (FAX)
    bandrews@usgs.gov

    Date: Jul-2007 (process 2 of 2)
    Exported feature class from personal geodatabase to a shapefile and projected to geographic.

    Person who carried out this activity:

    Brian Andrews
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Geographer
    384 Woods Hole Road
    Woods Hole, MA 02543-1598

    508-548-8700 x 2348 (voice)
    508-457-2310 (FAX)
    bandrews@usgs.gov

  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?

    RTK GPS was used to navigate the survey systems for both swath bathymetry and sidescan-sonar. The GPS antenna was mounted over the bathymetric sonar and a layback of 4 meters was used for the sidescan-sonar data.

  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?

    All systems were recorded using Real Time Kinematic GPS. The sidescan-sonar and seismic profiler were towed 4 meter behind the navigation antenna. Horizontal accuracy is assumed to be +/- 1 meter.

  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?

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

    Navigation tracklines for which there was no valid data were deleted.

  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 should not be used at resolutions for which they are not intended.
Public domain data from the U.S. Government are freely redistributable with proper metadata and source attribution. Please recognize the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) as the source of this information.

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

    Brian Andrews
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Geographer
    384 Woods Hole Rd.
    Woods Hole, MA 02543-1598
    USA

    508-548-8700 x2348 (voice)
    508-457-2310 (FAX)
    bandrews@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 data set has been used by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), 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.
    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?

    The data are available in Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) shapefile format. The user must have ArcGIS or ArcView 3.3 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 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: 27-Aug-2007
Metadata author:
U.S. Geological Survey
c/o Brian Andrews
Geographer
384 Woods Hole Rd.
Woods Hole, MA 02543-1598
USA

508-548-8700 x2348 (voice)
508-457-2310 (FAX)
bandrews@usgs.gov

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

Generated by mp version 2.9.2 on Mon Aug 27 12:27:35 2007