RAFA09059_RPBOTPHOTOS: Locations of Sea-Floor Photographs Acquired During U.S. Geological Survey Cruise 09059 Offshore of Rocky Point, New York (Geographic)

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Frequently-anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?

Title:
RAFA09059_RPBOTPHOTOS: Locations of Sea-Floor Photographs Acquired During U.S. Geological Survey Cruise 09059 Offshore of Rocky Point, New York (Geographic)
Abstract:
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), is producing detailed geologic maps of the coastal sea floor. Bathymetry and sidescan-sonar imagery, originally collected by NOAA for charting purposes, provides a fundamental framework for research and management activities in Long Island Sound, shows the composition and terrain of the seabed, and provides information on sediment transport and benthic habitat. During October 2008 NOAA completed hydrographic survey H11251 offshore of Rocky Point, New York and during November 2009, bottom photographs and surficial sediment data were acquired as part of a ground-truth reconnaissance survey of this area. Interpretive data layers were derived from the multibeam echo-sounder and sidescan-sonar data and the ground-truth data used to verify them. For more information on the ground-truth survey see <http://quashnet.er.usgs.gov/data/2009/09059/>
  1. How should this data set be cited?

    Poppe, Larry, 2010, RAFA09059_RPBOTPHOTOS: Locations of Sea-Floor Photographs Acquired During U.S. Geological Survey Cruise 09059 Offshore of Rocky Point, New York (Geographic): Open-File Report 2010-1007, U.S. Geological Survey, Coastal and Marine Geology Program, 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., Ackerman, S.D., Blackwood, D.S., Irwin, B.J., Schaer, J.D., Lewit, P.G., and Doran, E.F., 2010, Sea-floor geology and character offshore of Rocky Point, New York: Open-File Report 2010-1007, U.S. Geological Survey, Coastal and Marine Geology Program, 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: -72.400520
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -72.351914
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 41.152065
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 41.109868

  3. What does it look like?

    <https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2010/1007/data/botphotos/rafa09059_rpbotphotos.gif> (GIF)
    Thumbnail image showing location and extent of bottom photo locations offshore of Rocky Point, New York

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

    Calendar_Date: 10-Nov-2009
    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):

      • Entity point (160)

    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?

    rafa09059_rpbotphotos
    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.

    STATION
    Sequential identifier assigned to each sample site (Source: USGS)

    Characters and numerics identifying sampling sites

    PHOTO
    Sequential identifier assigned to each photograph (Source: USGS)

    Characters and numerics identifying photos. Combination of station and photo number.

    DATE
    Month, day, and year when the photograph was taken (Source: USGS)

    Character String: Months, days, and year as m/d/yyyy

    LATITUDE
    Latitude coordinate of photo location, WGS84 (Source: USGS)

    Range of values
    Minimum: 41.109868
    Maximum: 41.152065
    Units: Decimal degrees
    Resolution: 0.000001

    LONGITUDE
    Longitude coordinate of photo location, WGS84 (Source: USGS)

    Range of values
    Minimum: -72.400520
    Maximum: -72.351914
    Units: Decimal degrees
    Resolution: 0.000001

    DEVICE
    Equipment used to collect the photograph (Source: USGS)

    Value Definition
    SMALL SEABOSS GRAB USGS Small Seabed Observation and Sampling System (SEABOSS)

    CRUISEID
    Cruise identifier (Source: USGS)

    Value Definition
    RAFA09059 Ship and field activity serial number assigned by Woods Hole Science Center data archives

    PROJECTID
    Name of project for which the photographs were taken. (Source: USGS)

    Value Definition
    ROCKY POINT Project name assigned by Woods Hole Science Center data archives

    PRINCIPAL
    Name of Chief scientist during the cruise (Source: USGS)

    Value Definition
    LPOPPE Larry Poppe

    Entity_and_Attribute_Overview:
    Data layer attributes include date, time and position photograph was acquired, station and photograph identifiers for photographs collected within the study area during cruise RAFA09059.

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 locations and identifiers of 75 bottom photographs collected at 19 stations on topographic and backscatter data of the sea floor offshore of Rocky Point, New York in geographic, WGS84.

How was the data set created?

  1. From what previous works were the data drawn?

    (source 1 of 1)

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

    Date: 2009 (process 1 of 2)
    Navigation (degrees with decimal minutes to six places) and time recorded by HYPACK was correlated with the times in the EXIF header of the digital photographs were used to identify and register the still photographs. The times in the EXIF header, which were set by the photographer, are in UTC (hours:minutes:seconds). These locations were checked against the navigation on the videotape (degrees with decimal minutes to three places) and in cruise logs for verification; there was little offset. This information was manually input into an Excel 2003 (.xls) file and exported to create an ASCII file of this information. Shapefiles were created in ArcView 3.3 from the ASCII comma-delimited files by creating an Event Theme and then converting it to a shapefile.

    Person who carried out this activity:

    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

    Data sources used in this process:
    • rafa09059_rpbotphotos.xls
    • rafa09059_rpbotphotos.txt

    Data sources produced in this process:

    • rafa09059_rpbotphotos.shp

    Date: 2010 (process 2 of 2)
    ArcGIS 9.2 was used to define the projection of the ESRI shapefile as geographic WGS84 using ArcToolbox - Data Management Tools - Projections and Transformations - Define Projection.

    Person who carried out this activity:

    Larry 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

    Data sources used in this process:
    • rafa09059_rpbotphotos.shp

    Data sources produced in this process:

    • rafa09059_rpbotphotos.prj

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

    Blackwood, D., and Parolski, K., 2001, Seabed observation and sampling system: Sea Technology v. 42, no. 2, p. 39-43.

    Poppe, L.J., DiGiacomo-Cohen, M.L., Doran, E.F., Smith, S.M., Stewart, H.F., and Forfinski, N.A., 2007, Geological interpretation and multibeam bathymetry of the sea floor in the vicinity of the Race, eastern Long Island Sound: Open-File Report 2007-1012, U.S. Geological Survey, Coastal and Marine Geology Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, Woods Hole, MA.

    Online Links:

    Poppe, L.J., Denny, J.F., Williams, S.J., Moser, M.S., Forfinski, N.A., Stewart, H.F., and Doran, E.F., 2007, The geology of Six Mile Reef, eastern Long Island Sound: Open-File Report 2007-1191, U.S. Geological Survey, Coastal and Marine Geology Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, Woods Hole, MA.

    Online Links:

    McMullen, K.Y., Poppe, L.J., Danforth, W.W., Blackwood, D.S., Schaer, J.D., Ostapenko, A.J., Glomb, K.A., and Doran, E.F., 2010, Surficial Geology of the Sea Floor in Long Island Sound Offshore of Plum Island, New York: Open-File Report 2010-1005, U.S. Geological Survey, Coastal and Marine Geology Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine 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?

    All attributes were checked in a consistent manner

  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?

    Navigation was by differential GPS. Although GPS gave the ship's position rather than that of the SEABOSS, water depths were generally shallow and scope of the cable minimal. Therefore, SEABOSS offset from the antenna was less than 5 m.

  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?

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

    Locations of all still photographs of the sea floor collected within the study area during the R/V RAFAEL cruise 09059 were included in this data set. Station numbers range from RP8 to RP26; there are no stations RP1-RP7.

  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 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 3)

    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?

    Neither the U.S. Government, the Department of the Interior, nor the USGS, nor the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), nor the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (CT DEP) 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, NOAA, or the CT DEP 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?

    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 importing data. A free data viewer, ArcExplorer, capable of displaying the data is available from ESRI at www.esri.com. The user must have software capable of uncompressing archived zip files, such as Winzip or Pkware. The Excel (2003) and TEXT versions of the data are also available in the WinZip file.

  1. Who distributes the data set? (Distributor 2 of 3)

    Larry Poppe
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Geologist
    384 Woods Hole Road
    Woods Hole, MA 02543-1598

    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?

    Neither the U.S. Government, the Department of the Interior, nor the USGS, nor the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 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 or NOAA 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?

    These data are available as a generic ASCII formatted text file. The user must have a software program capable of reading the comma-delimited data file.

  1. Who distributes the data set? (Distributor 3 of 3)

    Larry 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?

    Neither the U.S. Government, the Department of the Interior, nor the USGS, nor the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 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 or NOAA 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?

    These data are available as an Excel formatted (.xls) file created with Excel 2003. The user must have a software program capable of reading Excel files.

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:
Last modified: 29-Mar-2010
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 Mar 29 12:50:14 2010