Information on sediment cores collected offshore Cascadia, during field activities 2020-633-FA and 2021-636-FA

Frequently anticipated questions:

• What does this data set describe?
  1. How might this data set be cited?
  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?
  3. What does it look like?
  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?
  5. What is the general form of this data set?
  6. How does the data set represent geographic features?
  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?
• Who produced the data set?
  1. Who are the originators of the data set?
  2. Who also contributed to the data set?
  3. To whom should users address questions about the data?
• Why was the data set created?
• How was the data set created?
  1. From what previous works were the data drawn?
  2. How were the data generated, processed, and modified?
  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?
  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?
  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?
  4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?
  5. How consistent are the relationships among the data, including topology?
• How can someone get a copy of the data set?
  1. Are there legal restrictions on access or use of the data?
  2. Who distributes the data?
  3. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set?
  4. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?
  5. How can I download or order the data?
• Who wrote the metadata?

What does this data set describe?

1. How might this data set be cited?
   Hill, Jenna C., SeanPaul M. La Selle, Paull, Charles K., Gwiazda, Roberto, Lundsten, Eve M., Nieminski, Nora M., McGann, Mary L., Lorenson, Thomas D., Watt, Janet T., Caissie, Beth, and Starratt, Scott W., 20260108, Information on sediment cores collected offshore Cascadia, during field activities 2020-633-FA and 2021-636-FA: data release DOI:10.5066/P1JUTTAN, U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Santa Cruz, California.

   Online Links:

   • https://doi.org/10.5066/P1JUTTAN

   This is part of the following larger work.
   Hill, Jenna C., SeanPaul M. La Selle, Paull, Charles K., Gwiazda, Roberto, Lundsten, Eve M., Nieminski, Nora M., McGann, Mary L., Lorenson, Thomas D., Watt, Janet T., Caissie, Beth, and Starratt, Scott W., 2026, Sediment core data from offshore Cascadia during field activities 2020-633-FA and 2021-636-FA: data release DOI:10.5066/P1JUTTAN, U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Santa Cruz, CA.

   Online Links:

   • https://doi.org/10.5066/P1JUTTAN

   Other_Citation_Details:

   Suggested Citation: Hill, J.C, La Selle, S.M., Paull, C.K., Gwiazda, R., Lundsten, E.M., Nieminski, N.M., McGann, M.L., Lorenson, T., Watt, J.T., Caissie, B., and Starratt, S., 2026, Sediment core data from offshore Cascadia during field activities 2020-633-FA and 2021-636-FA: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P1JUTTAN.

2. What geographic area does the data set cover?

   West_Bounding_Coordinate: -125.22413
   East_Bounding_Coordinate: -125.17323
   North_Bounding_Coordinate: 41.71185
   South_Bounding_Coordinate: 41.70170
   

3. What does it look like?
4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?

   Beginning_Date: 09-Sep-2020

   Ending_Date: 31-Aug-2021

   Currentness_Reference:

   Ground conditions at time data were collected

5. What is the general form of this data set?

   Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: CSV format tabular data
   

6. How does the data set represent geographic features?
   1. How are geographic features stored in the data set?
      This is a Point data set. It contains the following vector data types (SDTS terminology):
      • Point (45)
   2. What coordinate system is used to represent geographic features?
      Horizontal positions are specified in geographic coordinates, that is, latitude and longitude. Latitudes are given to the nearest 0.00001. Longitudes are given to the nearest 0.00001. Latitude and longitude values are specified in Decimal degrees. The horizontal datum used is WGS 1984.
      The ellipsoid used is WGS 84.
      The semi-major axis of the ellipsoid used is 6378137.0.
      The flattening of the ellipsoid used is 1/298.257224.
      

      Vertical_Coordinate_System_Definition:

      Depth_System_Definition:

      Depth_Datum_Name: Local surface for water depth
      Depth_Resolution: 1.0
      Depth_Distance_Units: meters
      Depth_Encoding_Method: Attribute values
      

7. How does the data set describe geographic features?

   2020-633-FA_2021-646-FA_cores.csv

   Comma separated value text file with name, location, and length/depth information for each core section, and an inventory of CT, MSCL, and linescan files. (Source: Producer defined)

   field_activity_number

   USGS field activity number (Source: Producer Defined) Unique identifier for the USGS field activity during which the core was collected.

   rov_dive_number

   Remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) dive number. (Source: Producer Defined) Identifier of the remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) dive number during which the core was collected.

   core_id

   The unique identifier for a core site. (Source: Producer Defined) Identifier for the type of core (VC- for vibracore) followed by a unique number for the core site.

   section_number

   Section number of core. (Source: Producer Defined)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	1
   Maximum:	2
   Units:	sections

   section_length_cm

   Length of an individual core section. (Source: Producer Defined)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	5
   Maximum:	156
   Units:	cm

   section_top_cm

   Depth at top of core section in centimeters. (Source: Producer Defined)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	0
   Maximum:	160
   Units:	cm

   section_bottom_cm

   Depth at bottom of core section in centimeters. (Source: Producer Defined)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	142
   Maximum:	186
   Units:	cm

   total_core_length_cm

   Sum of all section lengths in a core. (Source: Producer defined)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	142
   Maximum:	186
   Units:	cm

   latitude

   Latitude of sample in decimal degrees, North (Source: Onboard Hemishphere V110 GPS)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	41.70170
   Maximum:	41.71185
   Units:	decimal degrees

   longitude

   Longitude of sample in decimal degrees, East (Source: Onboard Hemishphere V110 GPS)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	-125.22413
   Maximum:	-124.17323
   Units:	decimal degrees

   water_depth_m

   Depth of seafloor at core location (Source: Estimated from position on bathymetry datasets (see vertical positional accuracy report).)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	2650
   Maximum:	3090
   Units:	meters

   date_collected

   Date of core collection in mm/dd/yyyy format. (Source: Producer defined)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	9/16/2020
   Maximum:	08/14/2021
   Units:	date

   ct_file_xz

   Filename of associated TIFF file of coronal (XZ) CT image of core section. Blank values indicate CT scans were not collected. (Source: Producer defined) Filenames start with the FA number and ROV dive number (2020_633_FA_DR1282 or 2021_636_FA_DR1376) followed by the core id, section number, 'XZView' and end with .tif file extension.

   ct_file_yz

   Filename of associated TIFF file of saggital (YZ) CT image of core section. Blank values indicate CT scans were not collected. (Source: Producer defined) Filenames start with the FA number and ROV dive number (2020_633_FA_DR1282 or 2021_636_FA_DR1376) followed by the core id, section number, and 'YZView' and end with .tif file extension.

   photo_file

   Filename of associated TIFF file of core section photograph. Blank values indicate photographs were not collected. (Source: Producer defined) Filenames start with the FA number and ROV dive number (2020_633_FA_DR1282 or 2021_636_FA_DR1376) followed by the core id, section number, 'R' indicating an embedded ruler in the image, and end with .tif file extension.

   mscl_file

   Filename of associated CSV file containing MSCL data. (Source: Producer defined) Filenames start with the FA number and ROV dive number (2020_633_FA_DR1282 or 2021_636_FA_DR1376) followed by the core id and end with .csv file extension. If a core consists of 2 sections, the CSV file contains data for both sections.

   Entity_and_Attribute_Overview: The first line of the csv file is a header line.
   Entity_and_Attribute_Detail_Citation: Producer defined
   

Who produced the data set?

1. Who are the originators of the data set? (may include formal authors, digital compilers, and editors)
   • Jenna C. Hill
   • SeanPaul M. La Selle
   • Charles K. Paull
   • Roberto Gwiazda
   • Eve M. Lundsten
   • Nora M. Nieminski
   • Mary L. McGann
   • Thomas D. Lorenson
   • Janet T. Watt
   • Beth Caissie
   • Scott W. Starratt
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?

How was the data set created?

1. From what previous works were the data drawn?
2. How were the data generated, processed, and modified?

   Date: 2021 (process 1 of 2)

   Vibracores were collected by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI), using the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Doc Ricketts aboard the R/V Western Flyer. The ROV was equipped with live-streamed high-resolution digital video, depth sensors, ultra-short baseline (USBL) tracking, scanning sonar, a vibracore system and robotically controlled arm that collected up to twenty four 20 cm long push cores and twelve 1.7 m long vibracores in 7.65 cm diameter aluminum tubes. The vibracores were sectioned at sea and transported back to the USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center for further analyses.

   Date: 2021 (process 2 of 2)

   Cores were scanned, split, and sampled at the USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center core lab in Santa Cruz, CA.

3. What similar or related data should the user be aware of?
   Hill, J.C., La Selle, S.M., Watt, J.T., Nieminski, N.M., Balster-Gee, A.F., Dal Ferro, P., Padgett, J.S., Powers, D.C., Marcuson, R.K., and Snyder, G.R., 2025, Sediment core data from offshore Cascadia during field activity 2022-653-FA.

   Online Links:

   • https://doi.org/10.5066/P1VQIJ2Q

   Other_Citation_Details:

   Hill, J.C., La Selle, S.M., Watt, J.W., Nieminski, N.M., Balster-Gee, A.F., Dal Ferro, P., Padgett, J.S., Powers, D.C., Marcuson, R.K., and Snyder, G.R., 2025, Sediment core data from offshore Cascadia during field activity 2022-653-FA: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P1VQIJ2Q. Sediment cores collected during field activity 2022-653-FA by the USGS linked here for user interest.

   Dartnell, P., Conrad, J.E., Watt, J.T., and Hill, J.C., 2021, Composite multibeam bathymetry surface and data sources of the southern Cascadia Margin offshore Oregon and northern California.

   Online Links:

   • https://doi.org/10.5066/P9C5DBMR

   Other_Citation_Details:

   Dartnell, P., Conrad, J.E., Watt, J.T., and Hill, J.C., 2021, Composite multibeam bathymetry surface and data sources of the southern Cascadia Margin offshore Oregon and northern California: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9C5DBMR

   Ryan, W.B.F., Carbotte, S.M., Coplan, J.O., O'Hara, A.M., Melkonian, A., Arko, R., Weissel, R.A., Goodwillie, A., Nitsche, F., Bonczkowski, J., and Zemsky, R., 2009, Global Multi-Resolution Topography synthesis.

   Online Links:

   • https://doi.org/10.1029/2008GC002332

   Other_Citation_Details:

   Originator: Ryan, W.B.F., Carbotte, S.M., Coplan, J.O., O'Hara, A.M., Melkonian, A., Arko, R., Weissel, R.A., Goodwillie, A., Nitsche, F., Bonczkowski, J., Zemsky, R., 2009, Global Multi-Resolution Topography synthesis: Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, v. 10, n. 3, p. 9, https://doi.org/10.1029/2008GC002332

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 horizontal positioning for vibracores was determined using a Sonardyne Ranger 2720 USBL with Lodestar AHARS equipped on the ROV Doc Ricketts.
3. How accurate are the heights or depths?
   Water depth values at core locations were estimated from multibeam bathymetric data (Dartnell and others (2021) or Ryan and others (2009)). No formal vertical accuracy tests were conducted.
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. Some cells are intentionally left blank.
5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?
   No formal logical consistency tests were conducted.

How can someone get a copy of the data set?

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? Core information is provided in a comma separated value (CSV) text file (2020-633-FA_2021-636-FA_cores.csv).
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:	Comma separated value (csv) text file of core information. in format comma delimited text
     Network links:	https://doi.org/10.5066/P1JUTTAN

   • Cost to order the data: None.

5. What hardware or software do I need in order to use the data set?
   CSV files can be viewed with any standard table editing software (for example, excel, numbers).

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:

Last modified: 08-Jan-2026

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)