Cat Island marine core grain-size data from field activity 10BIM06

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Frequently anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?

Title:
Cat Island marine core grain-size data from field activity 10BIM06
Abstract:
Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center (SPCMSC), in collaboration with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), conducted geophysical and sedimentological surveys around Cat Island, the westernmost island in the Mississippi-Alabama barrier island chain. The objectives of the study were to understand the geologic evolution of Cat Island relative to other barrier islands in the northern Gulf of Mexico and to identify relationships between the geologic history, present day morphology, and sediment distribution. This report serves as an archive of 11 terrestrial and 29 marine sediment vibracores collected August 4-6 and October 20-22, 2010. Geographic Information System (GIS) data products include marine and terrestrial core locations and 2007 shoreline. Additional files included: marine and terrestrial core description logs, core photos, grain-size analysis, optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating and Carbon-14 dating locations and results, Field Activity Collection System (FACS) logs, and formal Federal Geographic Data Committee (FDGC) metadata (please refer to the data products and downloads page at http://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/xxx/Data_Products_and_Downloads_Cat_cores.html).
Supplemental_Information:
Samples for grain-size analysis were collected from the top, middle, and bottom of each lithologic unit in approximately 2-3 cm intervals. Grain-size analyses on the core sediment samples were performed using a Coulter LS 200 (https://www.beckmancoulter.com/) particle-size analyzer, which uses laser diffraction to measure the size distribution of sediments ranging in size from 0.4 microns (µm) to 2 millimeter (mm) (clay to very coarse-grained sand). A total of 367 core samples were analyzed. In order to prevent shell fragments from damaging the LS 200, particles greater than 1 mm in diameter were separated from all samples prior to analysis using a number 18 (1000 µm) U.S. standard sieve, which meets the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) E11 standard specifications for determining particle size using woven-wire test sieves. Two subsamples from each sample were processed through the LS 200 a minimum of three runs each. The LS 200 measures the particle-size distribution of each sample by passing sediment suspended in solution between two narrow panes of glass in front of a laser. Light is scattered by the particles into characteristic refraction patterns measured by an array of photodetectors as intensity per unit area and recorded as relative volume for 92 size-related channels (bins). The size-classification boundaries for each bin were specified based on the ASTM E11 standard. The raw grain-size data were then run through the free, widely available program GRADISTAT (Blott and Pye, 2001; http://www.kpal.co.uk/gradistat.html), which calculates the geometric (in metric units) and logarithmic (in phi units, F; Krumbein, 1934) mean, mode, sorting, and skewness of each sample using the Folk and Ward (1957) method. GRADISTAT also calculates the fraction of sediment from each sample by size category (for example, clay, coarse silt, fine sand, etc.) based on a modified Wentworth (1922) size scale. A macro developed by the USGS was applied to calculate the average and standard deviation of each sample set (6 runs per sample), and highlight runs that varied from the set average by more than ±1.5 standard deviations. Those runs were removed from the results and the sample average was recalculated using the other five runs. The individual core and sample GRADISTAT files associated with this project(10BIM06_GrainSize_Gradistat.zip)are available for download at https://doi.org/10.3133/ds834/data/tables/10BIM06_GrainSize_Gradistat.zip. Results from this output table were summarized in file 10BIM06_GrainSize_Summary_Statistics.xlsx which is available for download at https://doi.org/10.3133/ds834/data/tables/10BIM06_GrainSize_Summary_Statistics.zip. This metadata is pertinent to the summary statistics file.
  1. How might this data set be cited?
    Buster, Noreen A., and U.S. Geological Survey, 20140325, Cat Island marine core grain-size data from field activity 10BIM06: U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 834.

    Online Links:

    This is part of the following larger work.

    Buster, Noreen A., Kelso, Kyle W., Miselis, Jennifer L., and Kindinger, Jack L., 20140325, Sediment Data Collected in 2010 from Cat Island, Mississippi: U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 834, U.S. Geological Survey - St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, St. Petersburg, Florida.

    Online Links:

  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?
    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -89.197071
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -89.053196
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 30.258884
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 30.177428
  3. What does it look like?
  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?
    Beginning_Date: 20-Oct-2010
    Ending_Date: 22-Oct-2010
    Currentness_Reference:
    ground condition
  5. What is the general form of this data set?
    Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: tabular digital data
  6. How does the data set represent geographic features?
    1. How are geographic features stored in the data set?
    2. What coordinate system is used to represent geographic features?
      The map projection used is WGS 1984 UTM Zone 16N.
      Projection parameters:
      Scale_Factor_at_Central_Meridian: 0.9996
      Longitude_of_Central_Meridian: -87.0
      Latitude_of_Projection_Origin: 0.0
      False_Easting: 500000.0
      False_Northing: 0.0
      Planar coordinates are encoded using coordinate pair
      Abscissae (x-coordinates) are specified to the nearest 0.000000002220024164500956
      Ordinates (y-coordinates) are specified to the nearest 0.000000002220024164500956
      Planar coordinates are specified in Meter
      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?
    Entity_and_Attribute_Overview:
    All entity and attributes for this file were combined in one document (Cat_Island_grainsize_data_dictionary.pdf). Metadata is not complete without the data dictionary file.
    Entity_and_Attribute_Detail_Citation:
    Data Dictionary for Grain-Size Data Tables. In: Buster and others, 2013. Sediment Data Collected in 2010 from Cat Island, Mississippi: U.S. Geological Survey Data Series XXX. https://doi.org/10.3133/ds834/data/metadata/10BIM06_GrainSize_Summary_Statistics.zip

Who produced the data set?

  1. Who are the originators of the data set? (may include formal authors, digital compilers, and editors)
    • Noreen A. Buster
    • U.S. Geological Survey
  2. Who also contributed to the data set?
    U.S. Geological Survey and the Army Corps of Engineers (outside funding source). For grain-size analysis special thanks go to Carl Taylor (no longer with the USGS) for running all the grain-size samples.
  3. To whom should users address questions about the data?
    U.S. Geological Survey - St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center
    Attn: Noreen A. Buster
    Geologist
    600 4th Street South
    St. Petersburg, FL
    US

    (727) 502-8000 (voice)
    nbuster@usgs.gov

Why was the data set created?

The 10BIM06_Grainsize_Summary_Statistics.xlsx file includes all sediment grain-size analysis results from marine vibracores collected around Cat Island, Mississippi in October 2010 by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center. Multiple data types were collected throughout the duration of this project; however, only the results of the sediment component are presented in this archive data series.

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: 2011 (process 1 of 4)
    In the core-analysis laboratory at the USGS SPCMSC, each marine vibracore was cut into 1-m sections and split lengthwise. One-half of each core was described using standard sediment-logging methods, photographed, and wrapped in plastic sleeves for archive storage. The other core half was sampled at the top, middle, and bottom of each described sediment unit for grain-size analysis. Person who carried out this activity:
    U.S. Geological Survey St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center
    Attn: Noreen A. Buster
    Geologist
    600 4th Street South
    St. Petersburg, FL
    U.S.

    (727) 502-8000 (voice)
    nbuster@usgs.gov
    Date: 2011 (process 2 of 4)
    Samples for grain-size analysis were collected from the top, middle, and bottom of each lithologic unit in approximately 2-3 cm intervals from the sample half of each core. Grain-size analyses on the core sediment samples were performed using a Coulter LS 200 (https://www.beckmancoulter.com/) particle-size analyzer, which uses laser diffraction to measure the size distribution of sediments ranging in size from 0.4 microns (µm) to 2 millimeter (mm) (clay to very coarse-grained sand). A total of 367 core samples were analyzed Data Products and Downloads page) and in order to prevent shell fragments from damaging the LS 200, particles greater than 1 mm in diameter were separated from all samples prior to analysis using a number 18 (1000 µm) U.S. standard sieve, which meets the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) E11 standard specifications for determining particle size using woven-wire test sieves. Two subsamples from each sample were processed through the LS 200 a minimum of three runs each. The LS 200 measures the particle-size distribution of each sample by passing sediment suspended in solution between two narrow panes of glass in front of a laser. Light is scattered by the particles into characteristic refraction patterns measured by an array of photodetectors as intensity per unit area and recorded as relative volume for 92 size-related channels (bins). The size-classification boundaries for each bin were specified based on the ASTM E11 standard. Person who carried out this activity:
    U.S. Geological Survey St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center
    Attn: Noreen A. Buster
    Geologist
    600 4th Street South
    St. Petersburg, FL
    U.S.

    (727) 502-8000 (voice)
    nbuster@usgs.gov
    Date: 2011 (process 3 of 4)
    The raw grain-size data were then run through the free, widely available program GRADISTAT (Blott and Pye, 2001; http://www.kpal.co.uk/gradistat.html), which calculates the geometric (in metric units) and logarithmic (in phi units¦; Krumbein, 1934) mean, mode, sorting, and skewness of each sample using the Folk and Ward (1957) method. GRADISTAT also calculates the fraction of sediment from each sample by size category (for example, clay, coarse silt, fine sand, etc.) based on a modified Wentworth (1922) size scale. A macro developed by the USGS (Flocks, unpublished) was applied to calculate the average and standard deviation of each sample set (6 runs per sample), and highlight runs that varied from the set average by more than ±1.5 standard deviations. Those runs were removed from the results and the sample average was recalculated using the other five runs. All sample averages were copied to a separate worksheet and all values with associated standard deviations, were transposed for easier presentation. All samples from each core were then combined in one spreadsheet "10BIM06_GrainSize_Summary_Statistics.xlsx". This spreadsheet includes grain-size data results for all cores. Person who carried out this activity:
    U.S. Geological Survey St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center
    Attn: Noreen A. Buster
    Geologist
    600 4th Street South
    St. Petersburg, FL
    U.S.

    (727) 502-8000 (voice)
    nbuster@usgs.gov
    Date: 13-Oct-2020 (process 4 of 4)
    Added keywords section with USGS persistent identifier as theme keyword. 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
  3. What similar or related data should the user be aware of?
    Blott, S.J. and Pye, K., 2001, Gradistat: A grain size distribution and statistics package for the analysis of unconsolidated sediments: Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, v. 26, p. 1237-1248..

    Online Links:

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

  1. How well have the observations been checked?
    Sediment grain-size results shown in Excel spreadsheet include the standard deviations for all samples.
  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?
    Locations were collected on the RV Gilbert using a Garmin model 3210 GPS unit.
  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?
  4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?
    This is a complete processed marine vibracore grain-size analysis result file for the 2010 Cat Island project.
  5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?
    Both the grain-size summary statistics spreadsheet (10BIM06_GrainSize_Summary_Statistics.xlsx) along with the Gradistat output file (10BIM06_GrainSize_Gradistat.zip) constitute the grain-size data needed for interpretations. The Gradistat data files in the .zip file have not been altered except to delete unnecessary spreadsheets. In addition, the columns that represented data outside 1.5 standard deviations were highlighted in yellow. The Summary Statistics file includes all data from the Gradistat file where averages of data were recalculated without the data from the highlighted columns.

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:
The U.S. Geological Survey requests that it be referenced as the originator of this dataset in any future products or research derived from these data.
  1. Who distributes the data set? (Distributor 1 of 1)
    U.S. Geological Survey St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center
    Attn: Noreen A. Buster
    600 4th Street South
    St. Petersburg, FL
    U.S.

    (727) 502-8000 (voice)
    nbuster@usgs.gov
  2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set? Downloadable data
  3. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?
    This publication was prepared by an agency of the United States Government. Although these data have been processed successfully on a computer system at the U.S. Geological Survey, no warranty expressed or implied is made regarding the display or utility of the data on any other system, nor shall the act of distribution imply any such warranty. The U.S. Geological Survey shall not be held liable for improper or incorrect use of the data described and (or) contained herein. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof.
  4. How can I download or order the data?
  5. Is there some other way to get the data?
    none
  6. What hardware or software do I need in order to use the data set?
    This spreadsheet was created for use with Microsoft Excel 2010. It may also be viewed with the Microsoft Excel viewer or by downloading a Microsoft Compatibility Pack to view with older versions of Microsoft Excel.

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:
Last modified: 22-Sep-2021
Metadata author:
U.S. Geological Survey St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center
Attn: Noreen A. Buster
Geologist
600 4th Street South
St. Petersburg, FL
U.S.

(727) 502-8000 (voice)
nbuster@usgs.gov
Metadata standard:
FGDC Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata (FGDC-STD-001-1998)
This page is <https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/catalog/spcmsc/10BIM06_Marine_Grainsize_Summary_Statistics.faq.html>
Generated by mp version 2.9.50 on Wed Sep 22 17:19:07 2021