Baldwin, Wayne, 2016, Physiographic Zones of the Sea Floor for Vineyard and western Nantucket Sounds, Massachusetts (polygon shapefile, Geographic, WGS84): Open-File Report 2016-1119, U.S. Geological Survey, Coastal and Marine Geology Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, Woods Hole, MA.This is part of the following larger work.Online Links:
Baldwin, Wayne E. , Foster, David S. , Pendleton, Elizabeth A. , Barnhardt, Walter A. , Schwab, William C. , Andrews, Brian D. , and Ackerman, Seth D. , 2016, Shallow Geology, Sea-Floor Texture, and Physiographic Zones of Vineyard and western Nantucket Sounds, Massachusetts: Open-File Report 2016-1119, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.Online Links:
This is a Vector data set. It contains the following vector data types (SDTS terminology):
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.
Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated.
Coordinates defining the features.
| Value | Definition |
|---|---|
| Rocky Zone | Rocky zones are rugged areas of high bathymetric relief, characterized by fields of mounded boulders and cobble near the terminal moraines, to relatively flat, gravel-covered, and isolated till highs in central portions of the sounds. Water depths range from 1 to 30 m. Although boulders and coarse-grained sediment are found within all physiographic zones defined here, they dominate the sea floor in rocky rones. |
| Nearshore Basin | Nearshore basins are areas of shallow, low relief sea floor adjacent to the mainland and separated from offshore areas by islands and shoals. Water depths range from 0 to 35 m. Along their landward margins, the basin sediment merges with the intertidal zone, often a nearshore ramp, in a gradational contact. |
| Nearshore Ramp | Nearshore ramps are areas of gently sloping sea floor with generally shore-parallel bathymetric contours. Water depths range from 0 to 30 m. This zone is covered by primarily sandy sediment, though patches of cobbles and boulders crop out on the sea floor in places. Nearshore ramps are typically adjacent to arcuate shoreline areas and grade into deeper-water nearshore basin, hardbottom plain, or outer basin zones. |
| Ebb Tidal Delta | Ebb-tidal deltas are lobate sandy shoals found on the side of inlets that form through the interaction of waves and ebbing tidal currents. Water depths range from 1 to 14 m. Ebb-tidal deltas in the study area are located on the soundward sides of several bays located along the south coast of Cape Cod on Nantucket Sound, as well as adjacent to tidal passages between the Elizabeth Islands |
| Hard-Bottom Plains | Hard-bottom plains are mostly low-relief but rough zones of sea floor composed primarily of coarse sands and gravels that are situated adjacent and between the shoal/sand wave zones in the sounds. Water depths range from 4 to 30 m. |
| Outer Basin | Outer basins are low-relief and mostly smooth zones of sea floor located in water depths greater than 30 m. The only outer basin identified in the study area lies beyond the western mouth of Vineyard Sound, on the margin of Rhode Island Sound. The broad depression is characterized by primarily muddy sands |
| Coastal Embayment | Coastal embayments include several small bays and harbors in the vicinity of Woods Hole and along the shorelines of the Elizabeth Islands. |
| Shell Zones | Shell zones are areas that are nearly completely covered by carbonate shells. A portion of sea floor between L’Hommediue and Hedge Fence shoals in western Nantucket Sound was mapped where high densities of slipper shells (Crepidula fornicata) cover the sea floor. Despite high acoustic backscatter in sidescan-sonar data, sediment samples recovered primarily muddy sediments beneath the shells. The shell zone water depths range from 15 to 18 m. |
| Shoal - Sand Waves | Shoal/sand wave areas are sea-floor zones dominated by linear to sinuous, high relief bedforms (up to 16 m locally) primarily composed of sandy sediments that have been reworked from adjacent glacial deposits by energetic tidal currents. Water depths range from approximately 3 to 30 m. The largest shoals form elongate chains in central portions of the Sounds that geologic and geophysical data suggest are at least partly cored by Pleistocene glacial material, which crops out at the sea floor locally along their lengths. |
| Range of values | |
|---|---|
| Minimum: | 0.000939 |
| Maximum: | 72.066428 |
| Units: | square kilometers |
| Resolution: | 0.000001 |
508-548-8700 x2226 (voice)
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These sea floor physiographic zones were created from geophysical and sample data collected from Vineyard and western Nantucket Sounds, and are used to characterize the sea floor in the area. Physiographic zone maps are important data layers for marine resource managers charged with protecting fish habitat, delineating marine boundaries, and assessing environmental change due to natural or human impacts.
Poppe, L.J., Ackerman, S.D., Foster, D.S., Blackwood, D.S., Butman, B., Moser, M.S., and Stewart, H.F., 2007, Sea-floor character and surface processes in the vicinity of Quicks Hole, Elizabeth Islands, Massachusetts: Open-File Report 2006-1357, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.Online Links:
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, Reston, VA.Online Links:
Pendleton, E.A., Twichell, D.C., Foster, D.S., Worley, C.R, Irwin, B.J., and Danforth, W.W., 2012, High-resolution geophysical data from the sea floor surrounding the Western Elizabeth Islands, Massachusetts: Open-File Report 2011-1184, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.Online Links:
Andrews, B.D., Ackerman, S.D., Baldwin, W.E., Foster, D.S., and Schwab, W.C., 2014, High-Resolution Geophysical Data from the Inner Continental Shelf at Vineyard Sound, Massachusetts: Open-File Report 2012-1006, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.Online Links:
Pendleton, E.A., Andrews, B.D., Danforth, W.W., and Foster, D.S., 2014, High-resolution geophysical data collected aboard the U.S. Geological Survey research vessel Rafael to supplement existing datasets from Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound, Massachusetts: Open-File Report 2013-1020, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.Online Links:
Ford, K.H., Huntley, E.C., Sampson, D.W., and Voss, S., Unpublished Material, Massachusetts Sediment Database.
Poppe, L.J., McMullen, K.Y., Foster, D.S., Blackwood, D.S., Williams, S.J., Ackerman, S.D., Barnum, S.R., and Brennan, R.T., 2008, Sea-floor character and sedimentary processes in the vicinity of Woods Hole, Massachusetts: Open File Report 2008-1004, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.Online Links:
Ackerman, S.D., Pappal, A.L., Huntley, E.C., Blackwood, D.S., and Schwab, W.C., 2015, Geological Sampling Data and Benthic Biota Classification: Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound, Massachusetts: Open file Report 2014-1221, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.Online Links:
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - Joint Airborne Lidar Bathymetry Center of Expertise, 2009, 2005 - 2007 US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Topo/Bathy Lidar: Maine, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island: NOAA National Ocean Service (NOS), Coastal Services Center (CSC), Charleston, SC.Online Links:
- <http://coast.noaa.gov/dataviewer/?action=advsearch&qType=in&qFld=ID&qVal=116>
- <ftp://coast.noaa.gov/pub/DigitalCoast/lidar1_z/geoid12a/data/116>
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2008, Descriptive report, navigable area survey H11920, Vineyard Sound, Massachusetts, Gay Head to Cedar Tree Neck: National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration - National Ocean Survey, Norfolk, VA.Online Links:
- <http://surveys.ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/NOS/coast/H10001-H12000/H11920/>
- <http://surveys.ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/NOS/coast/H10001-H12000/H11920/DR/H11920.pdf>
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2008, Descriptive report, navigable area survey H11921, Vineyard Sound, Massachusetts, Sow and Pigs reef to Quicks Hole: National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration - National Ocean Survey, Norfolk, VA.Online Links:
- <http://surveys.ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/NOS/coast/H10001-H12000/H11921/>
- <http://surveys.ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/NOS/coast/H10001-H12000/H11921/DR/H11921.pdf>
NOAA National Geophysical Data Center, 2015, NOS Hydrographic Survey Data.Online Links:
Person who carried out this activity:
508-5488700 x2226 (voice)
508-457-2310 (FAX)
wbaldwin@usgs.gov
Person who carried out this activity:
508-548-8700 x2226 (voice)
508-457-2310 (FAX)
wbaldwin@usgs.gov
Person who carried out this activity:
508-548-8700 x2226 (voice)
508-457-2310 (FAX)
wbaldwin@usgs.gov
Kelley, J.T., Barnhardt, W.A., Belknap, D.F., Dickson, S.M., and Kelley, A.R., 1998, The Seafloor Revealed: The Geology of the Northwestern Gulf of Maine Inner Continental Shelf: Maine Geological Survey Open-File Report 96-6, Maine Geological Survey, Natural Resources Information and Mapping Center, Augusta, Maine.Online Links:
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 14(2), Coastal Education and Research Foundation, Inc., Royal Palm Beach, FL.
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: Open-File Report 2005-1001, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.Online Links:
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, Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, New Bedford, MA.Online Links:
These data were produced qualitatively from acoustic and sample data with varying resolutions. Horizontal uncertainty associated with sample collection especially, can be quite high (100's of meters), much higher than positional uncertainty associated with acoustic data (usually less than <10's of meters). The date of sample collection and ship station positioning all contribute to sample position uncertainty. These qualitatively derived polygons outlining sea floor features are estimated to be within 50 meters, horizontally, but locally may be higher when sediment texture delineation is based on sample information alone.
These physiographic zones are defined for areas where source data exists. In general, gaps in the coverage coincide with gaps in the source data. However, some small data gaps were interpreted through extrapolation. Areas of lower data quality and incomplete coverage are noted in a data confidence attribute field.
These data were drawn and vetted for accuracy using the source input rasters and point sample data described in the processing steps and source contributions. Overlapping features and unintentional gaps within the survey area were identified using the topology checker in ArcMap (version 9.3.1) and corrected or removed.
Not all digitized sea floor features contained sample information, so often the sea floor texture is characterized by the nearest similar feature that contains a sample. Conversely, sometimes a digitized feature contained multiple samples and not all of the samples within the feature were in agreement (of the same texture). In these cases all data were considered, and the dominant sediment texture from sample analyses did not necessarily determine the primary texture assigned to a polygon. Samples from rocky areas often only consist of bottom photographs, because large particle size often prevents the recovery of a sediment sample. Bottom photo classification can be subjective, such that determining the sediment type that is greater than 50% of the view frame is estimated by the interpreter and may differ among interpreters. Bottom photo transects often reveal changes in the sea floor over distances of less than 100 m and these changes are often not observable in acoustic data. Heterogeneous sea floor texture can change very quickly, and many small-scale changes will not be detectable or mappable at a scale of 1:25,000. The boundaries of polygons are often inferred on the basis of sediment samples, and even boundaries that are traced on the basis of amplitude changes in geophysical data are subject to migration. Polygon boundaries should be considered an approximation of the location of a change in texture.
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. Additionally, there are limitations associated with qualitative sediment mapping interpretations. Because of the scale of the source geophysical data and the spacing of samples, not all changes in sea floor texture are captured. The data were mapped between 1:5,000 and 1:20,000, but the recommended scale for application of these data is 1:25,000.
508-548-8700 x2226 (voice)
508-457-2310 (FAX)
wbaldwin@usgs.gov
VineyardNantucketSound_Pzones.zip from USGS Open File Report 2016-1119. WinZip v. 14.5 file that contains qualitatively derived polygons that define sea floor physiographic zones in Vineyard and western Nantucket Sounds, MA and the associated metadata
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 U.S. Geological Survey 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
| Data format: | WinZip v. 14.5 file contains qualitatively derived polygons that define sea floor physiographic zones in Vineyard and western Nantucket Sounds, MA and the associated metadata in format Shapefile (version ArcMap 9.3.1) Esri Polygon Shapefile Size: 0.475 |
|---|---|
| Network links: |
<https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2016/1119/GIS_catalog/PhysiographicZones/VineyardNantucketSound_Pzones.zip> <https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2016/1119/ofr2016-1119-data_catalog.html> |
These data are available in Environmental Systems Research Institute (Esri) shapefile format. The user must have software capable of importing and processing this data type.
508-548-8700 x2226 (voice)
508-457-2310 (FAX)
wbaldwin@usgs.gov
