RAFA08012_BPHOTOGRAPHS: SEABOSS Images from the Cruise RAFA08012 in JPEG Format

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Frequently-anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?

Title:
RAFA08012_BPHOTOGRAPHS: SEABOSS Images from the Cruise RAFA08012 in JPEG Format
Abstract:
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management (MA CZM), is producing detailed geologic maps of the coastal sea floor. Imagery, originally collected by NOAA for charting purposes, provides a fundamental framework for research and management activities along this part of the Massachusetts coastline, shows the composition and terrain of the seabed, and provides information on sediment transport and benthic habitat. Interpretive data layers were derived from multibeam echo-sounder and sidescan-sonar data collected in the vicinity of Edgartown Harbor, Massachusetts. During August 2008 seismic-reflection profiles were acquired, and during September 2008 bottom photographs and surficial sediment data were acquired as part of two ground-truth reconnaissance surveys.
  1. How should this data set be cited?

    Poppe, L.J., 2009, RAFA08012_BPHOTOGRAPHS: SEABOSS Images from the Cruise RAFA08012 in JPEG Format: Open-File Report 2009-1001, U.S. Geological Survey, Coastal and Marine Geology Program, USGS Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, Woods Hole, MA.

    Online Links:

    This is part of the following larger work.

    Poppe, L.J., McMullen, K.Y., Foster, D.S., Blackwood, D.S., Williams, S.J., Ackerman, S.D., Moser, M.S., and Glomb, K.A., 2010, Geological Interpretation of the Sea Floor Offshore of Edgartown, Massachusetts: Open-File Report 2009-1001, U.S. Geological Survey, Coastal and Marine Geology Program, USGS Woods Hole Coastal and Marine 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: -70.548900
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -70.440133
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 41.439350
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 41.387533

  3. What does it look like?

    <https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2009/1001/data/botphotos/rafa08012_bphotographs.gif> (GIF)
    Thumbnail image showing location and extent of bottom photo locations in the vicinity of Edgartown Harbor, Massachusetts

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

    Beginning_Date: 08-Sep-2008
    Ending_Date: 09-Sep-2008
    Currentness_Reference: ground condition

  5. What is the general form of this data set?

    Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: raster digital data

  6. How does the data set represent geographic features?

    1. How are geographic features stored in the data set?

      This is a Raster data set.

    2. What coordinate system is used to represent geographic features?

  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?


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?

    Larry 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 dataset is to release the mid-resolution and full-resolution JPEG images of bottom photographs acquired with a small SEABOSS system during USGS survey 08012 conducted September 8-9, 2008.

How was the data set created?

  1. From what previous works were the data drawn?

    (source 1 of 1)
    Source_Contribution:
    The Mini SEABOSS was designed specifically for the USGS Woods Hole Science Center's 26-foot research boat Rafael. This system is equipped with two video cameras, a digital still camera, and a van Veen grab sampler. This system, weighing approximately 185 lbs, can be used to depths up to 40 meters. The grab itself is raised and lowered with a 3/16-inch Aramid fiber winch-line with a breaking strength of 5,600 pounds. The davit is secured when the Mini SEABOSS is in the water. The electrical cable is on a spring-wound take-up reel with electrical slip rings that is mounted aft of the sampler. This arrangement protects the 0.38-in. multi-conductor cable and keeps the Mini SEABOSS correctly oriented with the boat. This multi-conductor cable enables communication between the ship's lab and the Mini SEABOSS system. The digital camera, a Minolta Dimage 7Hi, is mounted in a machined Delrin housing with a flat port and is set for 2560 x 1920 pixel images at the "fine" setting for compression. This allows the camera to be used for over 200 images with a 1 GB Compact Flash card without downloading. The system also has a 50 Watt/second flash unit powered by 8 AA batteries. Two battery-powered lasers are set 15 cm apart for scale measurements. The red laser dots can usually be seen in the photo depending on the bottom type and the distance to the sea floor. A third battery powered laser is positioned at an angle so that when it intersects the other lasers, the Mini SEABOSS is at the optimum height off the bottom for a still photograph. The camera is set to a manual focus and set to a default focus distance once the camera is powered up. The default focus distance is slightly less than the optimum height above the seafloor to account for optical distortion under water.

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

    Date: 2008 (process 1 of 4)
    The USGS Mini SEABOSS system was deployed to capture still photos and bottom imagery in the vicinity of Edgartown Harbor, offshore Massachusetts. This system was used to obtain 3 to 6 still photographs at each station as the RV Rafael drifted over the seabed for 2 to 5 minutes. The third laser on the system was set to an angle such that the optimum photograph height was 60 cm. The default focus on the camera was set to 50 cm. The imaged area is most often within .3 to 1 meter from left to right. Other camera settings are as follows: aperture is set at f/8; shutter speed is 1/350 second; digital Effects settings are Color +1, Contrast +1, and Filter +1 (Warming). The camera time is set to GMT. A total of 161 images of the seafloor were acquired. Although the images themselves have no georeferencing information, the navigation related to each photograph is available in an ESRI formatted shapefile: rafa08012_botphotos.shp. This data can be downloaded from the following locations: <https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2009/1001/data/botphotos/rafa08012_botphotos.zip>; <https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2009/1001/html/catalog.html>

    Person who carried out this activity:

    Dann Blackwood
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Photographer
    384 Woods Hole Road
    Woods Hole, MA 02543-1598
    USA

    (508) 548-8700 x2227 (voice)
    (508) 457-2310 (FAX)
    dblackwood@usgs.gov

    Date: 2008 (process 2 of 4)
    The digital images were recorded on a flash card within the camera. Because this was a fairly short cruise, with few photos, the images were not transferred from the camera until post-cruise, back in the lab. This transfer was accomplished by removing the card from the camera and using a card reader connected to a Mac OSX system.

    Person who carried out this activity:

    Dann Blackwood

    Date: 2008 (process 3 of 4)
    The original JPEG images were renamed from the sequential, camera automatic filename to a filename reflecting station location. This was done for each individual file in Windows Explorer.

    Person who carried out this activity:

    Larry Poppe
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Geologist
    384 Woods Hole Road
    Woods Hole, MA 02536
    USA

    508-548-8700 x2314 (voice)
    508-457-2310 (FAX)
    lpoppe@usgs.gov

    Date: 2008 (process 4 of 4)
    The full-resolution JPEG images (2560x1920 pixels) were downsampled using Photoshop CS to create JPEG images with 600 x 450 pixels. The filename indicates that the image is the mid-resolution version. For instance, the full-resolution JPEG image - e1a.jpg - was downsampled to produce e1a_mr.jpg.

    Person who carried out this activity:

    Dann Blackwood

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

    Blackwood, D.B., and Parolski, K.F., 2001, Seabed observation and sampling system: Sea Technology February 2001, v. 44, no. 2, Sea Technology.

    Valentine, P.C., Blackwood, D.B., and Parolski, K.F., 2002, Seabed observation and sampling system: Fact Sheet 136-01, 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?

    All 161 images of the sea floor collected on RAFA08012 cruise with the mini SEABOSS system are included. Gaps in the file names are not missing bottom photos. These gaps were caused when test photos taken on deck and photos taken in the upper water column during 'false trips' were deleted from the dataset.

  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:
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)

    Larry 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?

    This dataset has been approved for release and publication by the USGS. Although it has been subjected to rigorous review and is substantially complete, the USGS reserves the right to revise the data pursuant to further analysis and review. Furthermore, it is released on condition that neither the USGS nor the United States Government may be held liable for any damages resulting from its authorized or unauthorized use. 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 as JPEG images. To utilize these data, the user must have an image viewer capable of opening JPEG images.

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:
Last modified: 31-Aug-2009
Metadata author:
Larry 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 2.9.6 on Mon Aug 31 10:58:44 2009