Skip Links

USGS - science for a changing world

U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2015-1153

Sea-Floor Texture and Physiographic Zones of the Inner Continental Shelf From Salisbury to Nahant, Massachusetts, Including the Merrimack Embayment and Western Massachusetts Bay


Skip past contents information

References Cited

Ackerman, S.D., Butman, Bradford, Barnhardt, W.A., Danforth, W.W., and Crocker, J.M., 2006, High-resolution geologic mapping of the inner continental shelf—Boston Harbor and approaches, Massachusetts: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2006–1008, 1 DVD-ROM. [Also available at http://woodshole.er.usgs.gov/pubs/of2006-1008/].

Andrews, B.D., Ackerman, S.D., Baldwin, W.E., and Barnhardt, W.A., 2010, Geophysical and sampling data from the inner continental shelf—Northern Cape Cod Bay, Massachusetts: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2010–1006, 1 DVD-ROM. [Also available at https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2010/1006/].

Barnhardt, W.A., Ackerman, S.D., Andrews, B.D., and Baldwin, W.E., 2010, Geophysical and sampling data from the inner continental shelf—Duxbury to Hull, Massachusetts: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2009–1072, 1 DVD-ROM. [Also available at https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2009/1072/].

Barnhardt, W.A., Andrews, B.D., Ackerman, S.D., and Baldwin, W.E., 2009, High-resolution geologic mapping of the inner continental shelf—Cape Ann to Salisbury Beach, Massachusetts: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2007–1373, 1 DVD-ROM. [Also available at https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2007/1373/].

Barnhardt, W.A., Andrews, B.D., and Butman, Bradford, 2006, High-resolution geologic mapping of the inner continental shelf—Nahant to Gloucester, Massachusetts: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2005–1293, 1 DVD-ROM. [Also available at https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2005/1293/].

Barnhardt, W.A., Kelley, J.T., Dickson, S.M., and Belknap, D.F., 1998, Mapping the gulf of Maine with side-scan sonar—A new bottom-type classification for complex seafloors: Journal of Coastal Research, v. 14, no. 2, p. 646–659.

Boothroyd, J.C., and Sirkin, Les., 2002. Quaternary geology and landscape development of Block Island and adjacent regions, in Paton, P.W., Gould, L.L., August, P.V., and Frost, A.O., eds., The ecology of Block Island: Kingston, R.I., The Rhode Island Natural History Survey, p. 13–27.

Bothner, M.H., Parmenter, C.M., Twichell, D.C., Polloni, C.F., and Knebel, H.J., 1992, A geologic map of the sea floor in western Massachusetts Bay, constructed from digital sidescan sonar images, photography, and sediment samples: U.S. Geological Survey Digital Data Series, DDS–3, 1 CD-ROM. [Also available at https://pubs.usgs.gov/dds/dds3/].

Bothner, W.A., Simpson, R.W., Eskenasy, Diane, Shride, A.F., Oldale, R.N., Gage, T.B., 1983, Preliminary interpretation of marine sparker reflection profiles offshore from Cape Ann, Massachusetts, to Hampton, New Hampshire: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 1983–460, 29 p., 2 pls.

Butman, Bradford, Alexander, P.S., Scotti, A., Beardsley, R.C., and Anderson, S.P., 2006, Large internal waves in Massachusetts Bay transport sediments offshore: Continental Shelf Research, v. 26, no. 17–18, p. 2029–2049. [Also available at https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.csr.2006.07.022.]

Butman, Bradford, Hayes, Laura, Danforth, W.W. and Valentine, P.C., 2003a, Sea floor topography of quadrangle 2 in western Massachusetts Bay offshore of Boston, Massachusetts: U.S. Geological Survey Investigations Series Map I–2732–A, 1 sheet, scale 1:25,000. [Also available at https://pubs.usgs.gov/imap/i-2732a/.]

Butman, Bradford, Hayes, Laura, Danforth, W.W., and Valentine, P.C., 2003b, Shaded relief and seafloor topography of quadrangle 2 in western Massachusetts Bay offshore of Boston, Massachusetts: U.S. Geological Survey Geologic Investigations Series Map I–2732–B, scale 1:25,000. [Also available at https://pubs.usgs.gov/imap/i-2732b/.]

Butman, Bradford, Hayes, Laura, Danforth, W.W., and Valentine, P.C., 2003c, Backscatter intensity and shaded relief of quadrangle 2 in western Massachusetts Bay offshore of Boston, Massachusetts: U.S. Geological Survey Geologic Investigations Series Map I–2732–C, 1 sheet, scale 1:25,000. [Also available at https://pubs.usgs.gov/imap/i-2732c/.]

Butman, Bradford, Sherwood, C.R., and Dalyander, P.S., 2008, Northeast storms ranked by wind stress and wave-generated bottom stress observed in Massachusetts Bay, 1990–2006: Continental Shelf Research, v. 28, no. 10–11, p. 1231–1245. [Also available at https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.csr.2008.02.010.]

Butman, Bradford, Valentine, P.C., Danforth, W.W., Hayes, Laura, Serrett, L.A., and Middleton, T.J., 2004, Shaded relief, backscatter intensity and sea floor topography of Massachusetts Bay and the Stellwagen Bank region, offshore of Boston, Massachusetts: U.S. Geological Survey Geologic Investigation Map I–2734, 2 sheets, scale 1:125,000. [Also available at https://pubs.usgs.gov/imap/i2734/.]

Butman, Bradford, Valentine, P.C., Middleton, T.J., and Danforth, W.W., 2007, A GIS library of multibeam data for Massachusetts Bay and the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, offshore of Boston, Massachusetts: U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 99, 1 DVD-ROM. [Also available at https://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/99/.]

Cameron, Barry, and Naylor, R.S., 1976, General geology of southeastern New England, in Cameron, Barry, ed., Geology of southeastern New England—A guidebook for field trips to the Boston area and vicinity, in Cameron, Barry, ed., New England Intercollegiate Geological Conference, 68th annual meeting, Boston, Mass., 1976: Princeton, N.J., Science Press, p. 13–27.

Donnelley, J.P., 2006, A revised late Holocene sea-level record for northern Massachusetts, USA: Journal of Coastal Research, v. 22, p. 1051–1061.

Edwards, G.B., 1988, Late Quaternary geology of northeastern Massachusetts and Merrimack Embayment, western Gulf of Maine: Boston, Mass., Boston University, master’s thesis, 213 p.

FitzGerald, D.M., and Hein, C.J., 2009, Documenting sand and gravel resources on the inner continental shelf—Merrimack Embayment, New England: U.S. Minerals Management Service, 100 p., accessed August 27, 2015, at http://www.boem.gov/Non-Energy-Minerals/MA_2009_Fitzgerald.aspx.

FitzGerald, D.M., van Heteren, Sytze, and Rosen, P.S., 1994, New England barriers, in Davis, R.A., Jr., ed., Geology of Holocene barrier island systems: Berlin, Springer-Verlag, p. 305–394.

Folger, D.W., O’Hara, C.J., and Robb, J.M., 1975, Maps showing bottom sediments on the continental shelf off the northeastern United States—Cape Ann, Massachusetts to Casco Bay, Maine: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Investigations Series Map I–839, 2 sheets.

Ford, K.H. and Voss, S.E., 2010, Seafloor sediment composition in Massachusetts determined using point data: Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries Technical Report TR–45, 21 p., accessed June 4, 2013, at http://www.mass.gov/eea/docs/dfg/dmf/publications/tr-45.pdf.

Gutierrez, B.T., Butman, Bradford, and Blackwood, D.S., 2000, Photographs of the sea floor in western Massachusetts Bay, offshore of Boston, Massachusetts: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 00–427 [Also available at https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2000/of00-427/mbaygis/mb_pages/toc_isbl.htm.]

Hein, C.J., FitzGerald, D.M., and Barnhardt, W.A., 2007, Holocene reworking of a sand sheet in the Merrimack Embayment, western Gulf of Maine: Journal of Coastal Research, International Coastal Symposium (ICS) 2007 Proceedings, p. 863–867.

Hein, C.J., FitzGerald, D.M., Barnhardt, W.A., and Stone, B.D., 2013, Onshore-offshore surficial geologic map of the Newburyport East and northern half of the Ipswich quadrangles, Massachusetts: Massachusetts Geological Survey, Geologic Map, GM–13–01.

Hein, C.J., FitzGerald, D.M., Carruthers, E.A., Stone, B.D., Barnhardt, W.A., and Gontz, A.M., 2012, Refining the model of barrier island formation along a paraglacial coast in the Gulf of Maine: Marine Geology, v. 307–310, p. 40–57.

Jenness Enterprises, 2015, Raster- and TIN-based analytic tools—DEM Surface Tools v. 2.1.375: Jenness Enterprises ArcGIS Tools Web page, accessed July 15, 2015, at http://www.jennessent.com/arcgis/arcgis_extensions.htm.

Joint Airborne Lidar Bathymetry Technical Center of Expertise and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 2008, Massachusetts lidar grid data in coastal areas: San Diego, Calif., Fugro Pelagos, Inc. digital data.

Kaye, C.A. and Barghoorn, E.S., 1964, Late Quaternary sea-level change and crustal rise at Boston, Massachusetts, with a note on the autocompaction of peat: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 75, p. 63–80.

Keene, H.W., 1971, Post glacial submergence and salt marsh evolution in New Hampshire: Maritime Sediments, v. 7, p. 64–68.

Kelley, J.T., Barnhardt, W.A., Belknap, D.F., Dickson, S.M., and Kelley, A.R., 1996, The seafloor revealed—The geology of the northwestern Gulf of Maine inner continental shelf: Maine Geological Survey Open-File Report 96–6, 55 p. [Also available at http://www.maine.gov/doc/nrimc/mgs/explore/marine/seafloor/contents.htm.]

Kelley, J.T., and Belknap, D.F., 1991, Physiography, surficial sediments and Quaternary stratigraphy of the inner continental shelf and nearshore region of the Gulf of Maine: Continental Shelf Research, v. 11, p. 1265–1283.

Knebel, H.J., and Circe, R.C., 1995, Seafloor environments within the Boston Harbor-Massachusetts Bay sedimentary system—A regional synthesis: Journal of Coastal Research, v. 11, no. 1, p. 230–251.

Larson, G.J., 1982, Nonsynchronous retreat of ice lobes from southeastern Massachusetts, in Larson, G.J., and Stone, B.D., eds., Late Wisconsinan glaciation of New England: Dubuque, Iowa, Kendall/Hunt, p. 101–113.

Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management, [2015], Sediment mapping—Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Mapping’s seafloor and habitat mapping program: Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management Web page, accessed [July 15, 2015], at http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/czm/program-areas/seafloor-and-habitat-mapping/sediment-mapping/.

McMullen, K.Y., Paskevich, V.F., and Poppe, L.J., 2011, GIS data catalog (version 2.2), in Poppe, L.J., Williams, S.J., and Paskevich, V.F., eds., 2005, USGS east-coast sediment analysis—Procedures, database, and GIS data: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2005–1001. [Also available at http://woodshole.er.usgs.gov/openfile/of2005-1001/htmldocs/datacatalog.htm.]

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and University of New Hampshire, 2005, Gulf of Maine mapping initiative, priority 1 area survey report: Newport, Rhode Island, Science Applications International Corporation Document 05–TR–017, 22 p., 7 appendixes. [Also available at http://surveys.ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/MB/ocean/atlantic_surveyor/GOMMI05/multibeam/data/version1/metadata/GOMMI05.pdf.]

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2006, Descriptive report—Hydrographic survey H11421: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration S-A902-TJ-05, 12 p. [Also available at http://surveys.ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/NOS/coast/H10001-H12000/H11421/DR/H11421.pdf.]

Newman, W.A., Berg, R.C., Rosen, P.S. and Glass, H.D., 1990, Pleistocene stratigraphy of the Boston Harbor drumlins, Massachusetts: Quaternary Research, v. 32, no. 2, p. 148–159.

Oldale, R.N., 1988, A late Wisconsinan marine incursion into Cape Cod Bay, Massachusetts: Quaternary Research, v. 30, p. 237–250.

Oldale, R.N., 2001, Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket—The geologic story revised and updated: East Orleans, Mass., Parnassus Imprints, 208 p.

Oldale, R.N, and Bick, Jennifer, 1987, Maps and seismic profiles showing geology of the inner continental shelf, Massachusetts Bay, Massachusetts: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF–1923, 4 sheets.

Oldale, R.N., Colman, S.M., and Jones, G.A., 1993, Radiocarbon ages from two submerged strandline features in the western Gulf of Maine and a sea-level curve for the northeastern Massachusetts coastal region: Quaternary Research, v. 40, p. 38–45.

Oldale, R.N., Knebel, H.J., and Bothner, M.H., 1994, Submerged and eroded drumlins off northeastern Massachusetts: Geomorphology, v. 9, p. 301–309.

Oldale, R.N., and O’Hara, C.J., 1984, Glaciotectonic origin of the Massachusetts coastal end moraines and a fluctuating late Wisconsinan ice margin: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 95, p. 61–74.

Oldale, R.N., and Wommack, L.E., 1987, Maps and seismic profiles showing geology of the inner continental shelf, Cape Ann, Massachusetts to New Hampshire: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map MF–1892, 4 sheets.

Oldale, R.N., Wommack, L.E., and Whitney, A.B., 1983, Evidence for a postglacial low relative sea-level stand in the drowned delta of the Merrimack River, western Gulf of Maine: Quaternary Research, v. 19, p. 325–336.

Pendleton, E.A., Baldwin, W.E., Barnhardt, W.A., Ackerman, S.D., Foster, D.S., Andrews, B.D., and Schwab, W.C., 2013, Shallow geology, seafloor texture, and physiographic zones of the inner continental shelf from Nahant to northern Cape Cod Bay, Massachusetts: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2012–1157, 53 p. [Also available at https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2012/1157/.]

Poppe, L.J., Pakevich, V.F., Butman, B., Ackerman, S.D., Danforth, W.W., Foster, D.S., and Blackwood, D.S., 2005, Geological interpretation of bathymetric and backscatter imagery of the seafloor off eastern Cape Cod, Massachusetts: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2005–1048, 1 DVD-ROM. [Also available at http://woodshole.er.usgs.gov/pubs/of2005-1048/index.htm.]

Schlee, J.S., Folger, D.W., and O’Hara, C.J., 1973, Bottom sediments of the continental shelf off the northeastern United States—Cape Cod to Cape Ann, Massachusetts: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Geologic Investigations Map I746.

Stone, B.D., and Borns, H.W., Jr., 1986, Pleistocene glacial and interglacial stratigraphy of New England, Long Island, and adjacent Georges Bank and Gulf of Maine, in Sibrava, Vladimir, Bowen, D.Q., and Richmond, G.M., eds., Quaternary glaciations in the northern hemisphere: Quaternary Science Reviews, v. 5, p. 39–52.

Stone B.D., and Peper, J.D., 1982, Topographic control of the deglaciation of eastern Massachusetts—Ice lobation and the marine incursion, in Larson, G.J., and Stone, B.D., eds., Late Wisconsinan glaciation of New England: Dubuque, Iowa, Kendall/Hunt, p. 145–166.

Stone, B.D., Stone, J.R., and McWeeney, L.J., 2004, Where the glacier met the sea—Late Quaternary geology of the northeast coast of Massachusetts from Cape Ann to Salisbury, trip B–3 in Hanson, L.S., ed., Guidebook for field trips from Boston, MA to Saco Bay, ME—New England Intercollegiate Geological Conference, 96th annual meeting, Salem, Mass., 2004, proceedings: Salem, Mass., Salem State College, 25 p.

Uchupi, Elazar, Giese, G.S., Aubrey, D.G., and Kim, D.J., 1996, The late Quaternary construction of Cape Cod, Massachusetts—A reconsideration of the W.M. Davis model: Geological Society of America Special Paper, v. 309, 69 p. [Also available at http://specialpapers.gsapubs.org/content/309/1.full.pdf.]

Warner, J.C., Butman, Bradford, and Dalyander, P.S., 2008, Storm-driven sediment transport in Massachusetts Bay: Continental Shelf Research, v. 28, p. 257–282. [Also available athttps://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.csr.2007.08.008.]

Wentworth, C.K., 1922, A scale of grade and class terms for clastic sediments: Journal of Geology, v. 30, p. 377–392.

Zen, E-an, Goldsmith, Richard, Ratcliffe, N.M., Robinson, Peter, and Stanley, R.S., 1983, Bedrock geologic map of Massachusetts: U.S. Geological Survey, 3 sheets, scale 1:250,000.

Accessibility FOIA Privacy Policies and Notices

Take Pride in America logo USA.gov logo U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey
URL: http://pubsdata.usgs.gov/pubs/of/2015/1153/html/ofr20151153_reference.html
Page Contact Information: GS Pubs Web Contact
Page Last Modified: Wednesday, 07-Dec-2016 21:45:32 EST