Combined multibeam and bathymetry data from Rhode Island Sound and Block Island Sound: a regional perspective
Open-File Report
2014-1012
Prepared in cooperation with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
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Abstract
Detailed bathymetric maps of the sea floor in Rhode Island and Block Island Sounds are of great interest to the New York, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts research and management communities because of this area's ecological, recreational, and commercial importance. Geologically interpreted digital terrain models from individual surveys provide important benthic environmental information, yet many applications of this information require a geographically broader perspective. For example, individual surveys are of limited use for the planning and construction of cross-sound infrastructure, such as cables and pipelines, or for the testing of regional circulation models. To address this need, we integrated 14 contiguous multibeam bathymetric datasets that were produced by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration during charting operations into one digital terrain model that covers much of Block Island Sound and extends eastward across Rhode Island Sound. The new dataset, which covers over 1244 square kilometers, is adjusted to mean lower low water, gridded to 4-meter resolution, and provided in Universal Transverse Mercator Zone 19, North American Datum of 1983 and geographic World Geodetic Survey of 1984 projections. This resolution is adequate for sea-floor feature and process interpretation but is small enough to be queried and manipulated with standard Geographic Information System programs and to allow for future growth. Natural features visible in the data include boulder lag deposits of winnowed Pleistocene strata, sand-wave fields, and scour depressions that reflect the strength of oscillating tidal currents and scour by storm-induced waves. Bedform asymmetry allows interpretations of net sediment transport. Anthropogenic features visible in the data include shipwrecks and dredged channels. Together the merged data reveal a larger, more continuous perspective of bathymetric topography than previously available, providing a fundamental framework for research and resource management activities offshore of Rhode Island.
Suggested Citation
Poppe, L., McMullen, K.Y., Danforth, W.W., Blankenship, M.R., Clos, A.R., Glomb, K.A., Lewit, P.G., Nadeau, M.A., Wood, D.A., Parker, C.E., 2014, Combined multibeam and bathymetry data from Rhode Island Sound and Block Island Sound: a regional perspective: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2014-1012, HTML Index, https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20141012.
ISSN: 2331-1258 (online)
Study Area
| Publication type | Report |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | USGS Numbered Series |
| Title | Combined multibeam and bathymetry data from Rhode Island Sound and Block Island Sound: a regional perspective |
| Series title | Open-File Report |
| Series number | 2014-1012 |
| DOI | 10.3133/ofr20141012 |
| Year Published | 2014 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | U.S. Geological Survey |
| Publisher location | Reston, VA |
| Contributing office(s) | Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center |
| Description | HTML Index |
| Country | United States |
| State | Rhode Island |
| Other Geospatial | Block Island Sound;Rhode Island Sound |
| Datum | NAD 83 |
| Projection | Universal Transverse Mercator Zone 19 |
| Additional Online Files (Y/N) | Y |