H11995_INTERP: Interpretation of Bottom Features from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Survey H11995 in Rhode Island Sound (Geographic, WGS84)

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Frequently-anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?

Title:
H11995_INTERP: Interpretation of Bottom Features from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Survey H11995 in Rhode Island Sound (Geographic, WGS84)
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, originally collected by NOAA for charting purposes, provides a fundamental framework for research and management activities along this part of Rhode Island Sound, shows the composition and terrain of the seabed, and provides information on sediment transport and benthic habitat. Interpretations were derived from the multibeam echo-sounder data collected in Rhode Island Sound. During June 2011, bottom photographs and surficial sediment data were acquired as part of a ground-truth reconnaissance survey of these areas. For more information on the ground-truth survey see <http://woodshole.er.usgs.gov/operations/ia/public_ds_info.php?fa=2011-006-FA>.
  1. How should this data set be cited?

    U.S. Geological Survey, 2012, H11995_INTERP: Interpretation of Bottom Features from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Survey H11995 in Rhode Island Sound (Geographic, WGS84): Open-File Report 2012-1004, 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.

    McMullen, K.Y., Poppe, L.J., Ackerman, S.D., Worley, C.R., Nadeau, M.A., and Hoy, M.V. Van , 2012, Sea-floor geology in central Rhode Island Sound south of Sakonnet Point, Rhode Island: Open-File Report 2012-1004, U.S. Geological Survey, Coastal and Marine Geology Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, Woods Hole, MA.

    Online Links:

    Other_Citation_Details: DVD-ROM

  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?

    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -71.266014
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -71.095326
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 41.335726
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 41.256682

  3. What does it look like?

    <http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2012/1004/data/interpret/h11995_interp.gif> (GIF)
    Thumbnail image showing the interpreted bottom features within NOAA survey H11995

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

    Calendar_Date: 2012
    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 (25)

    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?

    h11995_interp
    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.

    ID
    Internal feature number (Source: ESRI)

    LABEL
    Interpretation of features from NOAA H11995 multibeam bathymetry data and USGS 2011-006-FA sediment and photograph data (Source: compiler)

    ValueDefinition
    MegaripplesAreas of megaripples
    Scour_outliersAreas of scour depressions and associated erosional outliers
    BouldersAreas of boulders on the sea floor

    Entity_and_Attribute_Overview:
    Shapefile containing interpretations of the sea floor in the Rhode Island Sound study area. Shapefile shows distributions of megaripples, scour depressions and erosional outliers, and boulders. It is possible to have polygons that overlap, as more than one feature may be present in a location. Areas within the study area that are not outlined are areas of predominately undisturbed modern marine sediments.

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?

    U.S. Geological Survey
    c/o Katherine McMullen
    Field and Laboratory Technician
    384 Woods Hole Road
    Woods Hole, MA 02543-1598

    508-548-8700 x2277 (voice)
    508-457-2310 (FAX)
    kmcmullen@usgs.gov

Why was the data set created?

To release interpretations of bottom features based on bathymetry data collected during NOAA survey H11995 and sediment samples and bottom photography collected during USGS survey 2011-006-FA in Rhode Island Sound in a geographic, WGS84 coordinate system.

How was the data set created?

  1. From what previous works were the data drawn?

    (source 1 of 1)
    Type_of_Source_Media: DVD-ROM
    Source_Contribution:
    The original acoustic data acquired during NOAA survey H11995 aboard the NOAA ship Thomas Jefferson collected from Aug. 21, 2008 to Sept. 30, 2008 and the sediment samples and bottom photography collected during USGS survey 2011-006-FA on June 15, 2011.

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

    Date: 2011 (process 1 of 2)
    The geographic GeoTIFF images of the multibeam data from survey H11995 and the point data layer from grain-size analyses of sediments collected from this survey area were imported into the ArcView 3.3 GIS project view. Bottom features were interpreted based on the bathymetry, bottom photography, and textural analyses. The individually interpreted features (i.e. scour and megaripples) were outlined using the available graphic tools then converted to an ESRI shapefile using ArcView 3.3.

    Person who carried out this activity:

    Katherine McMullen
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Field and Laboratory Technician
    384 Woods Hole Road
    Woods Hole, MA 02543-1598

    508-548-8700 x2277 (voice)
    508-457-2310 (FAX)
    kmcmullen@usgs.gov

    Data sources used in this process:
    • h11995_mb2m_geo.tif
    • 2011-006_995seddata.shp
    • 2011-006_995botphotos.shp

    Data sources produced in this process:

    • h11995_interp.shp

    Date: 2011 (process 2 of 2)
    ArcGIS 9.2 was used to define the projection of the ESRI shapefile as Geographic WGS84 and to create the .prj file.

    Person who carried out this activity:

    Katherine McMullen
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Field and Laboratory Technician
    384 Woods Hole Road
    Woods Hole, MA 02536
    USA

    508-548-8700 x2277 (voice)
    508-457-2310 (FAX)
    kmcmullen@usgs.gov

    Data sources used in this process:
    • h11995_interp.shp

    Data sources produced in this process:

    • h11995_interp.prj

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

    Poppe, L.J., McMullen, K.Y., Ackerman, S.D., Blackwood, D.S., Irwin, B.J., Schaer, J.D., and Forrest, M.R., 2011, Sea-Floor Geology and Character of Eastern Rhode Island Sound West of Gay Head, Massachusetts: Open-File Report 2011-1004, U.S. Geological Survey, Coastal and Marine Geology Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, Woods Hole, MA.

    Online Links:

    Other_Citation_Details: DVD-ROM
    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 Coastal and Marine 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 Coastal and Marine Science Center, Woods Hole, MA.

    Online Links:

    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 Coastal and Marine Science Center, Woods Hole, MA.

    Online Links:

    McMullen, K.Y., Poppe, L.J., Ackerman, S.D., Blackwood, D.S., Schaer, J.D., Nadeau, M.A., and Wood, D.A., 2011, Surficial geology of the sea floor in central Rhode Island Sound, southeast of Point Judith, Rhode Island: Open-File Report 2011-1005, 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?

  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?

    Navigation for the sediment samples and bathymetry data, which the interpretation was based on, was by differential GPS.

  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?

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

    All collected data were processed and used to produce this dataset.

  5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?

    No additional checks for 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:
The interpretation was completed at map scales less than 1:10,000, and is not intended for use with smaller map scales. 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

    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?

    The user must be capable of uncompressing WinZip files. Also, 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.

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:
Last modified: 14-Feb-2012
Metadata author:
U.S. Geological Survey
c/o Katherine McMullen
Field and Laboratory Technician
384 Woods Hole Road
Woods Hole, MA 02543-1598

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 Tue Feb 14 14:19:12 2012