H11322OUTLINE: Outline of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Survey H11322 Study Area

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

Frequently-anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?

Title:
H11322OUTLINE: Outline of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Survey H11322 Study Area
Abstract:
The United States Geological Survey (USGS) is working cooperatively with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to interpret the surficial geology in estuaries along the coast of the northeastern United States. The purpose of our present study is to define the sea floor morphology and sedimentary environments in an area of Rhode Island Sound using sidescan-sonar imagery and bathymetry data collected aboard the NOAA Ship RUDE, along with historic seismic records. The mosaic, bathymetry, and their interpretations 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 basemaps 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, Katherine, 2009, H11322OUTLINE: Outline of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Survey H11322 Study Area: Open-File Report 2008-1181, 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., Haupt, T.A., and Crocker, J.M., 2009, Sidescan-Sonar Imagery and Surficial Geologic Interpretations of the Sea Floor in Western Rhode Island Sound: Open-File Report 2008-1181, 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: -71.437523
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -71.324153
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 41.328082
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 41.254769

  3. What does it look like?

    <http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2008/1181/data/basemaps/outline/h11322outline.gif> (GIF)
    Thumbnail image showing the extent and coverage of the NOAA H11322 sidescan-sonar mosaic.

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

    Calendar_Date: 2009
    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 (1)

    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 0.000001. Longitudes are given to the nearest 0.000001. 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?

    h11322outline
    Outline of study area (Source: h11322_1m_sss_geo_str.tif)

    FID
    Internal feature number. (Source: ESRI)

    Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated.

    Shape
    Feature geometry. (Source: ESRI)

    ID
    Automatically generated attribute when the shapefile was created. (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?

    Please credit Katherine McMullen, U.S. Geological Survey, for completing the interpretation.

  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 GIS overlay is a component of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Survey H11322, Rhode Island Sound, GIS database and contains the outline of the sidescan-sonar mosaic for the study area.

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: 2007 (process 1 of 2)
    The H11322 sidescan-sonar mosaic was imported into the ArcView GIS project view. The mosaic area was outlined using the polygon tool.

    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:
    • h11322_1m_sss_geo_str.tif

    Data sources produced in this process:

    • h11322outline.dbf
    • h11322outline.shp
    • h11322outline.shx

    Date: 2008 (process 2 of 2)
    Shapefile projection was defined as geographic WGS84 in ArcGIS 9.2 using the define projection tool.

    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:
    • h11322outline.shp

    Data sources produced in this process:

    • h11322outline.prj

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

    McMullen, K.Y., Poppe, L.J., Twomey, E.R., Danforth, W.W., Haupt, T.A., and Crocker, J.M., 2007, Sidescan-Sonar Imagery, Multibeam Bathymetry, and Surficial Geologic Interpretations of the Sea Floor in Rhode Island Sound, off Sakonnet Point, Rhode Island: Open-File Report 2007-1150, U.S. Geological Survey, Coastal and Marine Geology Program, Woods Hole Science Center, Woods Hole, MA.

    Online Links:

    McMullen, K.Y., Poppe, L.J., Denny, J.F., Haupt, T.A., and Crocker, J.M., 2008, Sidescan-Sonar Imagery and Surficial Geologic Interpretations of the Sea Floor in Central Rhode Island Sound: Open-File Report 2007-1366, U.S. Geological Survey, Coastal and Marine Geology Program, Woods Hole Science Center, Woods Hole, MA.

    Online Links:

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?

    The entire sidescan-sonar mosaic area is covered by this outline.

  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:
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)

    U.S. Geological Survey
    c/o Larry Poppe
    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: Outline of NOAA Survey H11322 Sidescan-Sonar Mosaic

  3. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?

    Neither the U.S. Government, the Department of the Interior, nor the USGS, nor any of their employees, contractors, or subcontractors, make any warranty, express or implied, nor assume any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, nor represent that its use would not infringe on privately owned rights. 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 are available in the ESRI shapefile format. The user must have Environmental Systems Research Institute's (ESRI) ArcView 3.0 or greater or ArcGIS 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. A free GIS data viewer, ArcExplorer, is available from the ESRI website at www.esri.com

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:
Last modified: 16-Jan-2009
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 2.8.25 on Fri Jan 16 11:21:35 2009