Bathymetric contours of the continental margin offshore of Washington, Oregon, and California based on data available in the late 1980s.

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What does this data set describe?

Title:
Bathymetric contours of the continental margin offshore of Washington, Oregon, and California based on data available in the late 1980s.
Abstract:
Bathymetric contours (contour interval 100 m) of the continental margin offshore of Washington, Oregon, and California (cowbat) were compiled from various sources available in the late 1980s and used to construct 1:1,000,000-scale maps (Chase and others, 1992a, 1992b; Grim and others, 1992). The contours range from 200 to 5300 m depth.
Supplemental_Information:
Additional information about the field activities from which this dataset was derived are available online. Survey or activity names used in earlier publications were not standardized. The "AKA" (also known as) designation is our current best guess at the identity of the activity.

K-73-NC (AKA K-1-73-NC) - https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=k173nc

Bartlett 72 (AKA B-1-72-SC) - https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=b172sc

L-10-76-NC (AKA L-10-76-HW) https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=l1076hw

L-2-77-NC - https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=l277nc

S-3-78-NC (AKA S-3-78-SC) https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=s378sc

Although this Federal Geographic Data Committee-compliant metadata file is intended to document the dataset in nonproprietary form, this metadata file may include some ArcGIS-specific terminology.

Data Source 1 (32° to 41°N lat.; Chase and others, 1992a, 1992b; http://pubs.usgs.gov/imap/2089/c/)

Bathymetric contours between 32°N and 41°N. were digitized from a map by Chase and others (1981) and from the unpublished large scale versions of that map (T. E. Chase, unpub. data, 1981). Chase and others (1981 and unpub. data) obtained the data for the area seaward of the continental slope (-2000 m depth) primarily from the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey (C&GS) 1955 Pacific Exploratory Survey, a systematic and detailed (~8-nmi-trackline spacing) survey between Mexico and Canada. The USGS provided data from cruises S3-78-NC, L2-77-NC, L10-76-NC, K-73-NC, and Bartlett 72. Data were also obtained from Scripps Institution of Oceanography cruises Blue Flash, Kayak B, Scan I, and Seven Tow (Chase and Menard, 1971; Chase and others, 1975). The 200-m contour was derived from the National Ocean Service charts 1206N-16 (1975a) and 1306N-20 (1975b), and C&GS charts 1206N-15 (1967a) and 1306N-19 (1967b). Sea-floor depths were corrected for sound velocity in sea water using Matthew's (1939) tables.

----------------------

Data source 2 (40° to 49°N lat.; Grim and others, 1992; http://pubs.usgs.gov/imap/2091/c/)

Bathymetric contours for 40° to 49°N lat. were compiled from five sources: a published map (Chase and others, 1981), NOAA digital bathymetric data from the Juan De Fuca Ridge, NOAA digital bathymetric data from the continental slope off the coast of Oregon, and unpublished maps of the Gorda Ridge (M.L. Holmes, unpub. data, 1989) and the sea floor west of 130° W. (T.E. Chase, unpub. data, 1990). The areas of the map compiled from each of these sources are indicated in figure 4.

For Area 1 (fig. 4) data used in the region seaward of the continental slope (~2000-m depth) were obtained primarily by the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey (C&GS) during the 1955 Pacific Exploratory Survey, a systematic and detailed (~8-nmi-trackline spacing) survey between Mexico and Canada. Data were also obtained from Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) cruises Kayak E, Scan I, and Seven Tow (Chase and Menard, 1971; Wilde and others, 1977, 1978, 1979). The 200-m contour was derived from C&GS charts 1308N-12, 1308N-17, and 1308N-22 (Coast and Geodetic Survey, 1968a, 1968b, 1969).

The data contoured in Area 2 (fig. 4) were collected by NOAA from 1980 to 1990 in support of ongoing plate-boundary dynamics studies. The research program, originally part of the National Ocean Service (NOS), later became the VENTS research program, based at NOAA's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory in Newport, Oreg. All data were collected using Sea Beam multibeam sonar systems.

Area 3 (fig. 4) contours are based on high-resolution bathymetric data collected, to date, in about 45 percent of the West Coast Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) by the NOS using multibeam, swath-sounding techniques. When this map and two adjacent map panels were compiled, only the data from Area 3 were available for inclusion.

The primary source of the data contoured in Area 4 (fig. 4) was the C&GS 1955 Pacific Exploratory Survey. Interpretation was aided by data from the USGS, the University of Washington, and SIO. Since compilation of the data from Area 1 (Chase and others, 1981), bathymetric surveys have revealed a high degree of roughness of the sea floor in the West Coast EEZ. In an attempt to depict this roughness, the contours in Area 4 have been drawn with a rippled appearance.

The data contoured in Area 5 (fig. 4) were obtained in 1983 by the Hawaii Institute of Geophysics using the SeaMARC II swath-mapping system (Blackinton and Hussong, 1983). The survey, concentrated in the axial and near axial zone of the Gorda Ridge and in the eastern part of the Blanco Fracture Zone, was part of a USGS-Minerals Management Service cooperative study on mineral resources in the U.S. EEZ. These data were partially published by Clague and Holmes (1986). Area 5 also was surveyed as part of the VENTS program. Contours of those data were used to verify the contours from the SeaMARC II data.

At adjoining boundaries, the various datasets were in very good agreement. Automated and interactive computer techniques were used to link contours between datasets where no adjustment was required for smooth joining of the contours. When an adjustment was needed, contours in the gaps between datasets were manually drawn, digitized, and interactively linked to the contours from adjacent datasets.

NOS survey positioning was determined using the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83) spheroid whereas this map was compiled using the North American Datum of 1927(NAD 27) spheroid. At 1:1,000,000 scale, the difference between the two, which is approximately 100 m on the Earth's surface in the mapped area, is almost imperceptible.

REFERENCES CITED

Amante, C. and Eakins, B.W., 2009, ETOPO1 1 Arc-Minute Global Relief Model: Procedures, Data Sources and Analysis: NOAA National Geophysical Data Center, Boulder CO, NOAA Technical Memorandum NESDIS NGDC-24. doi:10.7289/V5C8276M, accessed 6 Feb 2009.

Blackinton, J.G., and Hussong, D.M., 1983, First results of a combination side-scan sonar and seafloor mapping system (SeaMARC II), Houston, Texas, May 2-5, 1983, Offshore Technology Conference, Proceedings, p. 307-314.

Chase, T.E., and Menard, H.W., 1971, Bathymetric atlas of the northeastern Pacific Ocean: U.S. Naval Oceanographic Office Publication 1303, scale 1:2,000,000 at 33° latitude, 48 p.

Chase, T.E., Wilde, Pat, and Normark, W.R., 1975, Oceanographic data of the Monterey Deep Sea Fan: San Diego, University of California, Institute of Marine Resources Publication TR 58, scale 1:898,524 at 35° latitude.

Chase, T.E., Wilde, Pat, Normark, W.R., Miller, C.P., Seekins, B.A., and Young, J.D., 1981, Offshore topography of the Western United States between 32° and 49° North latitudes: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 81-443, scale 1:864,518 at 38° latitude, 2 sheets.

Clague, D.A. and Holmes, M.L., 1986, Geology, petrology, and mineral potential of the Gorda Ridge, in Scholl, D.W., Grantz, Arthur, and Vedder, J.G., eds., Geology and resource potential of the continental margin of Western North America and adjacent ocean basins - Beaufort Sea to Baja California, v. 6 of Circum-Pacific Council for Energy and Mineral Resources Earth Science Series: Houston, Texas, Circum-Pacific Council for Energy and Mineral Resources, p. 563-580.

Matthews, D.J., 1939, Tables of the velocity of sound in pure water and sea water (2d ed.): London, Admiralty, Hydrographic Department, H.D. 282, 52 p.

National Ocean Service, 1975a, Hungington Beach to Punta Sal Si Puedes: National Ocean Service Bathymetric Map 1206N-16, scale 1:250,000.

National Ocean Service, 1975b, Cape San Martin to Point Conception: National Ocean Service Bathymetric Map 1306N-20, scale 1:250,000.

U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, 1967a, Santa Barbara to Huntington Beach : Coast and Geodetic Survey Bathymetric Map 1206N-15, scale 1:250,000.

U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, 1967b, Southwest of Santa Rosa Island: Coast and Geodetic Survey Bathymetric Map 1306N-19, scale 1:250,000.

U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, 1968a, Umpqua River to Cape Ferrelo: Coast and Geodetic Survey Bathymetric Map 1308N-17, scale 1:250,000.

U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, 1968b, Tillamook Head to Heceta Head: Coast and Geodetic Survey Bathymetric Map 1308N-22, scale 1:250,000.

U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, 1969, Point St. George to Point Delgada: Coast and Geodetic Survey Bathymetric Map 1308N-12, scale 1:250,000.

Wilde, Pat, Chase, T.E., Holmes, M.L., Normark, W.R., and Thomas, J.A., 1977, Oceanographic data off Washington 46° to 49° North including the Nitinat Deep Sea Fan: Berkeley, University of California, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory Publication 223, scale 1:748,602 at 47° latitude.

Wilde, Pat, Chase, T. E., Holmes, M.L., Normark, W.R., Thomas, J.A., McCulloch, D.S., Carlson, P.R., Kulm, L.D., and Young, J.D., 1979, Oceanographic data off Oregon 43° to 46° North including the Astoria Deep Sea Fan: Berkeley, University of California, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory Publication 253, scale 1:776,073 at 45° latitude.

Wilde, Pat, Chase, T.E ., Holmes, M.L., Normark, W.R., Thomas, J.A., McCulloch, D.S., and Kulm, L.D., 1978, Oceanographic data off northern California-southern Oregon 40° to 43°.
  1. How might this data set be cited?
    Grim, Muriel S., Chase, Thomas E., and Wong, Florence L., 2015, Bathymetric contours of the continental margin offshore of Washington, Oregon, and California based on data available in the late 1980s.: U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Santa Cruz and Menlo Park, CA.

    This is part of the following larger work.

    Wong, Florence L., and Grim, Muriel S., 2015, Depth-to-basement, sediment-thickness, and bathymetry data for the Deep-Sea Basins offshore of Washington, Oregon, and California: Open-File Report 2015-1118, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

    Online Links:

  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?
    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -132.0250
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -115.9524
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 49.0077
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 29.9298
  3. What does it look like?
    http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2015/1118/images/cowbat_shp.jpg (JPEG)
    thumbnail map of cowbat.shp contours
  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?
    Calendar_Date: 1991
    Currentness_Reference:
    ground condition
  5. What is the general form of this data set?
    Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: vector digital data
  6. How does the data set represent geographic features?
    1. How are geographic features stored in the data set?
      This is a Vector data set. It contains the following vector data types (SDTS terminology):
      • String (6406)
    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 0.0001. Longitudes are given to the nearest 0.0001. Latitude and longitude values are specified in Decimal seconds. The horizontal datum used is D_WGS_1984.
      The ellipsoid used is WGS_1984.
      The semi-major axis of the ellipsoid used is 6378137.0.
      The flattening of the ellipsoid used is 1/298.257223563.
  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?
    Attribute Table
    Table containing attribute information associated with the dataset. (Source: Producer defined)
    depth_m
    Water depth in meters below sea level. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-5300
    Maximum:-200
    Units:meter
    length_m
    Length of line segments in meters. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:9
    Maximum:1136099
    Units:meter
    Entity_and_Attribute_Overview:
    The entity and attribute information provided here describes the tabular data associated with the dataset. Please review the detailed descriptions that are provided (the individual attribute descriptions) for information on the values that appear as fields/table entries of the dataset.
    Entity_and_Attribute_Detail_Citation:
    The entity and attribute information was generated by the individual and/or agency identified as the originator of the dataset. Please review the rest of the metadata record for additional details and information.

Who produced the data set?

  1. Who are the originators of the data set? (may include formal authors, digital compilers, and editors)
    • Muriel S. Grim
    • Thomas E. Chase
    • Florence L. Wong
  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
    US

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

Why was the data set created?

These data are provided to complete a compilation of legacy data, but any users seeking bathymetric data for analysis or display are referred to more recently compiled data such as ETOPO1 (Amante and Eakins, 2009).

How was the data set created?

  1. From what previous works were the data drawn?
    Grim and others (1991) (source 1 of 1)
    Grim, Muriel S., 1991, GLORIA imagery and bathymetry from the U.S. EEZ off Washington, Oregon, and California.

    Type_of_Source_Media: Digital and/or Hardcopy Resources
    Source_Contribution: files of coordinate data for bathymetric contours
  2. How were the data generated, processed, and modified?
    Date: 1992 (process 1 of 4)
    Converted coordinate data from Grim and others (1991) to ArcInfo coverage.
    Date: 2011 (process 2 of 4)
    Converted ArcInfo coverage to shapefile and projected to geographic coordinates.
    Date: 19-Oct-2020 (process 3 of 4)
    Edited metadata to add keywords section with USGS persistent identifier as theme keyword. No data were changed. Person who carried out this activity:
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Attn: VeeAnn A. Cross
    Marine Geologist
    384 Woods Hole Road
    Woods Hole, MA

    508-548-8700 x2251 (voice)
    508-457-2310 (FAX)
    vatnipp@usgs.gov
    Date: 21-Oct-2021 (process 4 of 4)
    Edited metadata to add USGS Thesaurus keywords and perform minor edits to bring the metadata up to current PCMSC standards. No data were changed. The metadata available from a harvester may supersede metadata bundled within a download file. Users are advised to compare the metadata dates to determine which metadata file is most recent. Person who carried out this activity:
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Attn: Susan Cochran
    Geologist
    2885 Mission Street
    Santa Cruz, CA

    831-460-7545 (voice)
    scochran@usgs.gov
  3. What similar or related data should the user be aware of?
    Chase, T.E., Wilde, P., Normark, W.R., Evenden, G.I., Miller, C.P., Seekins, B.A., Young, J.O., Grim, M.S., and Lief, C.J., 1992, Map Showing Bottom Topography of the Pacific Continental Margin, Point Conception to Point Loma: Miscellaneous Investigations Series I-2089-C.

    Other_Citation_Details:
    scale denominator 1000000; Chase and others (1992a); http://pubs.usgs.gov/imap/2089/c/
    Chase, T.E., Wilde, P., Normark, W.R., Evenden, G.I., Miller, C.P., Seekins, B.A., Young, J.O., Grim, M.S., and Lief, C.J., 1992, Map Showing Bottom Topography of the Pacific Continental Margin, Cape Mendocino to Point Conception: Miscellaneous Investigations Series I-2090-C.

    Other_Citation_Details:
    scale denominator 1000000; Chase and others (1992b); http://pubs.usgs.gov/imap/2090/c/
    Grim, M.S., Chase, T.E., Evenden, G.I., Holmes, M.L., Normark, W.R., Wilde, P., Fox, C.G., Lief, C.J., and Seekins, B.A., 1992, Map Showing Bottom Topography of the Pacific Continental Margin, Strait of Juan de Fuca to Cape Mendocino: Miscellaneous Investigations Series I-2091-C.

    Other_Citation_Details:
    scale denominator 1000000; Grim and others (1992); http://pubs.usgs.gov/imap/2091/c/
    Amante, C., and Eakins, B.W., 2009, ETOPO1 1 Arc-Minute Global Relief Model: Procedures, Data Sources and Analysis.

    Other_Citation_Details:
    NOAA Technical Memorandum NESDIS, NGDC-24, 19 p., http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/global/relief/ETOPO1/docs/ETOPO1.pdf

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

  1. How well have the observations been checked?
    Not determined.
  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?
    A surface interpolated from the contours in this dataset was compared to ETOPO1 bathymetric data (Amante and Eakins, 2009). Ridges, seamounts, and other seafloor features are offset by as much as 10 km.
  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?
    A surface interpolated from the contours in this dataset was compared to ETOPO1 bathymetric data (Amante and Eakins, 2009). A depth difference calculation determined that COWBATG underestimates heights and elevations with a standard deviation of 130, partly attibutable to horizontally displaced features.
    
                  MIN             MAX            MEAN            STDV
     -1983.217        2848.723          -4.279         129.323 (meters)
    
  4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?
    Complete.
  5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?
    Attributes mean the same thing throughout the dataset.

How can someone get a copy of the data set?

Are there legal restrictions on access or use of the data?
Access_Constraints: None
Use_Constraints:
These data are not to be used at scales greater than 1:800,000.

This information is not intended for navigational purposes.

Read and fully comprehend the metadata prior to data use. Uses of these data should not violate the spatial resolution of the data. Where these data are used in combination with other data of different resolution, the resolution of the combined output will be limited by the lowest resolution of all the data.

Acknowledge the U.S. Geological Survey in products derived from these data. Share data products developed using these data with the U.S. Geological Survey.

This database has been approved for release and publication by the Director of the USGS. Although this database has been subjected to rigorous review and is substantially complete, the USGS reserves the right to revise the data pursuant to further analysis and review. Furthermore, it is released on condition that neither the USGS nor the U.S. Government may be held liable for any damages resulting from its authorized or unauthorized use.

Although this Federal Geographic Data Committee-compliant metadata file is intended to document these data in nonproprietary form, as well as in ArcGIS format, this metadata file may include some ArcGIS-specific terminology.
  1. Who distributes the data set? (Distributor 1 of 1)
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Attn: Florence L. Wong
    Geologist, GIS Coordinator
    USGS, MailStop 999, 345 Middlefield Road
    Menlo Park, CA
    USA

    (650) 329-5327 (voice)
    (650) 329-5190 (FAX)
    fwong@usgs.gov
  2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set? cowbat.shp.zip
  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?

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:
Last modified: 21-Oct-2021
Metadata author:
U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
Attn: PCMSC Science Data Coordinator
2885 Mission Street
Santa Cruz, CA
US

831-427-4747 (voice)
pcmsc_data@usgs.gov
Metadata standard:
Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata (FGDC-STD-001-1998)

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