{
    "tag": 13705,
    "title": "Surficial Sediment Data Collected During U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) RV Rafael cruise 2011-006-FA in Block Island Sound off Southwestern Rhode Island (2011_006BISSEDDATA.SHP, Geographic, WGS84)",
    "pubdate": "2012",
    "sername": null,
    "series_name": null,
    "issue": "2012-1005",
    "publish": null,
    "publisher_name": null,
    "onlink": "https:\/\/cmgds.marine.usgs.gov\/catalog\/whcmsc\/open_file_report\/ofr2012-1005\/2011_006bisseddata.shp.faq.html",
    "format": null,
    "email": null,
    "descript": "The USGS, in cooperation with NOAA, is producing detailed maps of the seafloor off southern New England. The current phase of this cooperative research program is directed toward analyzing how bathymetric relief relates to the distribution of sedimentary environments and benthic communities. As part of this program, digital terrain models (DTMs) from bathymetry collected as part of NOAA's hydrographic charting activities are converted into ESRI raster grids and imagery, verified with bottom sampling and photography, and used to produce interpretations of seabed geology and hydrodynamic processes. Although each of the 7 continuous-coverage, completed surveys individually provides important benthic environmental information, many applications require a geographically broader perspective. For example, the usefulness of individual surveys is limited 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 the 7 contiguous multibeam bathymetric DTMs into one dataset that covers much of Block Island Sound. The new dataset is adjusted to mean lower low water, is provided in UTM Zone 19 NAD83 and geographic WGS84 projections, and is gridded to 4-m resolution. This resolution is adequate for seafloor-feature and process interpretation, but small enough to be queried and manipulated with standard GIS programs and to allow for future growth. Natural features visible in the grid include boulder lag deposits of submerged moraines, sand-wave fields, and scour depressions that reflect the strength of the oscillating tidal currents. Bedform asymmetry allows interpretations of net sediment transport. 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 off this portion of the Rhode Island coast. Interpretations were derived from the multibeam echo-sounder data and the ground-truth data used to verify them. For more information on the ground-truth surveys see http:\/\/woodshole.er.usgs.gov\/operations\/ia\/public_ds_info.php?fa=2011-006-FA",
    "lang": null,
    "journal": null,
    "pwid": null,
    "originator": [
        {
            "name": "Poppe, Lawrence J.",
            "role": "Author"
        },
        {
            "name": "Danforth, William W.",
            "role": "Author"
        },
        {
            "name": "McMullen, Katherine Y.",
            "role": "Author"
        },
        {
            "name": "Blankenship, M. A.",
            "role": "Author"
        },
        {
            "name": "Glomb, K. A.",
            "role": "Author"
        },
        {
            "name": "Wright, D. B.",
            "role": "Author"
        },
        {
            "name": "Smith, S. M.",
            "role": "Author"
        }
    ],
    "index_term": [
        {
            "thcode": 2,
            "code": "474",
            "name": "geospatial datasets",
            "scope": "Collections of related digital information that are geographically referenced."
        },
        {
            "thcode": 2,
            "code": "493",
            "name": "grain-size analysis",
            "scope": "Method of studying soils, sediments, sands, or rock by determining the size, distribution, and proportion of selected particles."
        },
        {
            "thcode": 2,
            "code": "706",
            "name": "marine geology",
            "scope": "Branch of geology concerned with the composition, geologic history, and earth processes of the ocean floor and the continental margin."
        },
        {
            "thcode": 2,
            "code": "2078",
            "name": "navigational data",
            "scope": "Geospatial data indicating the locations of instruments, vessels, aircraft, or other vehicles used to collect scientific observations.  These data include horizontal coordinates in sequence, and may include time or vertical position."
        },
        {
            "thcode": 2,
            "code": "1025",
            "name": "sea-floor characteristics",
            "scope": "Geomorphic features and geographic, compositional, and textural variation in the materials composing the ocean floor. Includes both large-scale structures (such as seamounts and rises) and fine-scale variations in rocks and deposits on the sea floor."
        },
        {
            "thcode": 15,
            "code": "007",
            "name": "environment",
            "scope": "Environmental resources, protection and conservation, for example environmental pollution, waste storage and treatment, environmental impact assessment, monitoring environmental risk, nature reserves, landscape, water quality, air quality, environmental modeling"
        },
        {
            "thcode": 15,
            "code": "008",
            "name": "geoscientificInformation",
            "scope": "Information pertaining to earth sciences, for example geophysical features and processes, geology, minerals, sciences dealing with the composition, structure and origin of the earth's rocks, risks of earthquakes, volcanic activity, landslides, gravity information, soils, permafrost, hydrogeology, groundwater, erosion"
        },
        {
            "thcode": 15,
            "code": "013",
            "name": "location",
            "scope": "Positional information and services, for example addresses, geodetic networks, geodetic control points, postal zones and services, place names, geographic names"
        },
        {
            "thcode": 15,
            "code": "014",
            "name": "oceans",
            "scope": "Features and characteristics of salt water bodies (excluding inland waters), for example tides, tidal waves, coastal information, reefs, maritime, outer continental shelf submerged lands, shoreline"
        }
    ],
    "place_term": [],
    "image": [
        {
            "name": "https:\/\/pubs.usgs.gov\/of\/2012\/1005\/data\/sediment\/2011_006bisseddata.gif",
            "description": "Thumbnail image showing the locations of sediment data collected during Rafael cruise 2011-006-FA in Block Island Sound, offshore southwestern Rhode Island"
        }
    ],
    "fan": []
}