Composite bathymetric surface of the northern Cascadia Margin offshore Washington

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Frequently anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?

Title:
Composite bathymetric surface of the northern Cascadia Margin offshore Washington
Abstract:
Composite 30-m resolution bathymetric surface of northern Cascadia Margin offshore Washington. The bathymetric surface is available as a GeoTIFF file.
Supplemental_Information:
Additional information about the field activities from which these data were derived is available online at:
http://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2018-642-FA http://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2021-010-FA http://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2022-605-DD
Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.
Although this Federal Geographic Data Committee-compliant metadata file is intended to document the data set in nonproprietary form, as well as in Esri format, this metadata file may include some Esri-specific terminology.
  1. How might this data set be cited?
    Beeson, Jeffrey W., Dartnell, Peter, and Watt, Janet T., 20250423, Composite bathymetric surface of the northern Cascadia Margin offshore Washington: data release DOI: 10.5066/P14SLWTD, U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Santa Cruz, California.

    Online Links:

    Other_Citation_Details:
    Suggested Citation: Beeson, J.W., Dartnell, P., Watt, J.T., 2025, Composite bathymetric surface of the northern Cascadia Margin offshore Washington: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P14SLWTD.
  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?
    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -127.042
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -123.379
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 48.534
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 46.195
  3. What does it look like?
    NorthernCascadia_composite_bathymetry_UTM10_NAD83_QV.jpg (JPEG)
    Preview image of the northern Cascadia Margin composite bathymetric surface
  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?
    Beginning_Date: 2006
    Ending_Date: 2022
    Currentness_Reference:
    ground condition at time data were collected.
  5. What is the general form of this data set?
    Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: GeoTIFF
  6. How does the data set represent geographic features?
    1. How are geographic features stored in the data set?
      This is a Raster data set. It contains the following raster data types:
      • Dimensions 8663 x 6760 x 1, type Grid Cell
    2. What coordinate system is used to represent geographic features?
      Grid_Coordinate_System_Name: Universal Transverse Mercator
      Universal_Transverse_Mercator:
      UTM_Zone_Number: 10
      Transverse_Mercator:
      Scale_Factor_at_Central_Meridian: 0.9996
      Longitude_of_Central_Meridian: -123.00000
      Latitude_of_Projection_Origin: 0.00000
      False_Easting: 500000.0
      False_Northing: 0.00
      Planar coordinates are encoded using coordinate pair
      Abscissae (x-coordinates) are specified to the nearest 30.0
      Ordinates (y-coordinates) are specified to the nearest 30.0
      Planar coordinates are specified in Meters
      The horizontal datum used is NAD83.
      The ellipsoid used is GRS80.
      The semi-major axis of the ellipsoid used is 6378137.00.
      The flattening of the ellipsoid used is 1/298.257223563.
      Vertical_Coordinate_System_Definition:
      Altitude_System_Definition:
      Altitude_Datum_Name: instantaneous sea level
      Altitude_Resolution: 0.1
      Altitude_Distance_Units: meters
      Altitude_Encoding_Method:
      Explicit elevation coordinate included with horizontal coordinates
  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?
    NorthCascadia_composite_bathymetry_UTM10_NAD83.tif
    Raster values represent depth in meters. (Source: Producer defined)
    NorthernCascadia_composite_bathymetry_data_sources.xlsc (.csv)
    Table containing attribute information associated with the data set. (Source: USGS)
    Ship
    name of the survey vessel (Source: USGS) name of the survey vessel
    Cruise ID
    Cruise Identifier (Source: USGS) unique cruise identification assigned by each institution
    Year
    Year of data collection (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:2006
    Maximum:2023
    Multibeam
    multibeam system used to collect data (Source: USGS) type and model of various instrument(s) used to collect the multibeam data on each cruise
    Organization
    Group, Organization, Agency, Program, or Project that collected the data (Source: USGS) Group, Organization, Agency, Program, or Project that collected the data
    Source
    data source URL (Source: USGS) data source URL
    Entity_and_Attribute_Overview:
    The complete 30-m resolution "NorthCascadia_composite_bathymetry_UTM10_NAD83.tif" grid was originally archived as a TIFF image with the following attributes. 
    Cell size = 30.0
Number of rows = 8663
Number of columns = 6760

Data type = floating point

Boundary
Xmin = 186946
Xmax = 389714
Ymin = 5124384
Ymax = 5384252

Statistics
Minimum value = -2787.04
Maximum value = -111.72
Mean = -1805.94
Standard deviation = 748.77

Coordinate system description
Projection  UTM
Zone  10
Datum  NAD83
Units  meter
    Entity_and_Attribute_Detail_Citation: U.S. Geological Survey

Who produced the data set?

  1. Who are the originators of the data set? (may include formal authors, digital compilers, and editors)
    • Jeffrey W. Beeson
    • Peter Dartnell
    • Janet T. Watt
  2. Who also contributed to the data set?
  3. To whom should users address questions about the data?
    U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
    Attn: PCMSC Science Data Coordinator
    2885 Mission Street
    Santa Cruz, CA

    831-427-4747 (voice)
    pcmsc_data@usgs.gov

Why was the data set created?

To produce a composite 30-m resolution bathymetric surface of the northern Cascadia Margin offshore Washington State. This bathymetric grid is a cooperative project between the U.S. Geological Survey and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL) and Oregon State University. The surface was generated to assist research projects studying offshore geohazards, which include mapping faults, submarine landslides, sediment transport pathways, and sea-floor seeps. These data are not intended to be used for navigation.

How was the data set created?

  1. From what previous works were the data drawn?
    NOAA multibeam (source 1 of 2)
    National Ocean Service (NOS), NOAA, 2025, NOS Hydrographic Survey Collection: NOAA National Center for Environmental Information (NCEI), online.

    Online Links:

    Type_of_Source_Media: online database
    Source_Contribution:
    Multibeam data from surveys offshore Washington. For detailed information on the sources used, see the table of data sources in the Support File section of this data release.
    GMRT bathymetry (source 2 of 2)
    Global Multi-Resolution Topography Synthesis (GMRT), 2025, Global Multi-Resolution Topography (GMRT) synthesis data set: Global Multi-Resolution Topography Synthesis (GMRT), online.

    Online Links:

    Type_of_Source_Media: online database
    Source_Contribution: Bathymetric data
  2. How were the data generated, processed, and modified?
    Date: 2024 (process 1 of 3)
    NOAA PMEL created a composite multibeam bathymetric surface of the northern Cascadia Margin region generated from publicly available data. Person who carried out this activity:
    NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory and Oregon State University
    Attn: Dr. Jeffrey Beeson
    2115 SE Oregon State University Drive
    Newport, OR

    NA (voice)
    jeff.beeson@noaa.gov
    Data sources used in this process:
    • NOAA multibeam
    Date: 2024 (process 2 of 3)
    The USGS received the NOAA PMEL bathymetric surface in geographic coordinates. The USGS projected the original bathymetric surface to UTM, zone 10, NAD83 coordinates at 30-m spatial resolution. Shallower water bathymetry data on the continental shelf were clipped from the surface. Data sources used in this process:
    • NOAA multibeam
    Date: 2025 (process 3 of 3)
    Multibeam data from four surveys offshore Washington (W00306, W00311, W00353, W00445) were downloaded from NOAA National Center for Environmental Information (https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/maps/bathymetry/) in Bathymetric Attributed Grid (BAG) format. In ArcGIS Pro, surfaces were projected to UTM, zone 10, NAD83 coordinates and resampled to 30-m spatial resolution if needed. Bathymetric data were downloaded from the Global Multi-Resolution Topography Synthesis (GMRT) website (https://www.gmrt.org/). In ArcGIS Pro, all the bathymetric surfaces were merged in the following order: four BAG surveys, NOAA PMEL, GMRT. The composite grid was exported as a GeoTIFF grid in UTM, zone 10, NAD83 coordinates. A spreadsheet (CSV format) of data sources used to generate the surface is included in the Support File section of the data release. The spreadsheet information includes, ship, cruise ID, year, multibeam system, organization, and source URL. Data sources used in this process:
    • NOAA multibeam
    • GMRT bathymetry
  3. What similar or related data should the user be aware of?

How reliable are the data; what problems remain in the data set?

  1. How well have the observations been checked?
    No formal attribute accuracy tests were conducted.
  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?
    The composite bathymetric surface was generated from a combination of dedicated multibeam surveys, processed bathymetric surfaces received from other institutions, as well as transit data (ancillary data collected while a ship was underway). The bathymetry data were collected over a span of nearly 16 years using various models of echosounders, GPS systems, position and motion compensation systems, sound velocity profilers, and tide measurements. Some datasets provide metadata and reports describing mapping procedures and data quality, including uncertainty measurements and comparisons with other bathymetry data. The horizontal accuracy of bathymetry data in this data release may be lower than stated in the reports due to further data processing.
  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?
    The composite bathymetric surface was generated from a combination of dedicated multibeam surveys, processed bathymetry surfaces received from other institutions, as well as transit data (ancillary data collected while a ship was underway). The bathymetry data were collected over a span of nearly 16 years using various models of echosounders, GPS systems, position and motion compensation systems, sound velocity profilers, and tide measurements. Some datasets provide metadata and reports describing mapping procedures and data quality, including uncertainty measurements and comparisons with other bathymetry data. The vertical accuracy of bathymetry data in this data release may be lower than stated in the reports due to further data processing.
  4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?
    Dataset is considered complete for the information presented, as described in the abstract. Users are advised to read the rest of the metadata record carefully for additional details.
  5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?
    No formal logical accuracy tests were conducted.

How can someone get a copy of the data set?

Are there legal restrictions on access or use of the data?
Access_Constraints No access constraints
Use_Constraints USGS-authored or produced data and information are in the public domain from the U.S. Government and are freely redistributable with proper metadata and source attribution. Please recognize and acknowledge the NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory and the U.S. Geological Survey as the originators of the dataset and in products derived from these data. The surface was generated to assist research projects studying offshore geohazards, which include mapping faults, submarine landslides, sediment transport pathways, and sea-floor seeps. The bathymetry grid is not intended to be used for navigation.
  1. Who distributes the data set? (Distributor 1 of 1)
    U.S. Geological Survey - CMGDS
    2885 Mission Street
    Santa Cruz, CA

    1-831-427-4747 (voice)
    pcmsc_data@usgs.gov
  2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set? These data are available in GeoTIFF format, including a tif world file (.tfw) and CSDGM FGDC-compliant metadata.
  3. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?
    Unless otherwise stated, all data, metadata, and related materials are considered to satisfy the quality standards relative to the purpose for which the data were collected. Although these data and associated metadata have been reviewed for accuracy and completeness and approved for release by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), no warranty expressed or implied is made regarding the display or utility of the data on any other system or for general or scientific purposes, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty.
  4. How can I download or order the data?
    • Availability in digital form:
      Data format: Downloadable zip file contains the TIFF (.tif) and the projection file (.tfw). in format GeoTIFF (version ArcMap (version 10.3.1)) Size: 117
      Network links: https://doi.org/10.5066/P14SLWTD
    • Cost to order the data: None.

  5. What hardware or software do I need in order to use the data set?
    The downloadable data file has been compressed with the "zip" command and can be unzipped with Winzip (or other tool) on Windows systems. To utilize these data, the user must have software capable of uncompressing the WinZip file and importing and viewing a GeoTIFF file.

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:
Last modified: 23-Apr-2025
Metadata author:
U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
Attn: PCMSC Science Data Coordinator
2885 Mission Street
Santa Cruz, CA

831-427-4747 (voice)
pcmsc_data@usgs.gov
Metadata standard:
Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata (FGDC-STD-001-1998)
This page is <https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/catalog/pcmsc/DataReleases/CMGDS_DR_tool/DR_P14SLWTD/NorthernCascadia_composite_bathymetry_UTM10_NAD83_metadata.faq.html>
Generated by mp version 2.9.51 on Fri Apr 25 14:57:28 2025