Detailed grain-size data of estuarine, barrier island, and shoreface environments around Dauphin Island, Alabama, USA

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Frequently anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?

Title:
Detailed grain-size data of estuarine, barrier island, and shoreface environments around Dauphin Island, Alabama, USA
Abstract:
In 2015, scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center (USGS SPCMSC) conducted sediment sampling surveys on and around the barrier islands of Dauphin Island and Little Dauphin Island, Mobile County, Alabama (AL) under USGS Field Activity Number (FAN) 2015-322-FA (sub-FAN 15BIM09). The study investigated surficial sediment surrounding Dauphin Island and surrounding environments to inform sediment transport model scenarios of coastal change. This data release provides the average grain-size distribution computed from multiple runs of the 240 samples, each from a unique site, which is a subset of samples report in and methods detailed in in Data Series 1046 (Ellis and others, 2017). Sediments were collected from coastal sub-environments including dunes, beaches, protected bays, and open water. The sampling efforts by the USGS were part of a larger study to assess the current state and future function of Dauphin Island, Alabama and assess what types of restoration efforts are feasible, sustainable, and can be resilient to future storms. The data collected and presented in this data release will be utilized by modelers in an attempt to address these questions using hindcast / nowcast modeling as it relates to baseline condition and storm events. This study was funded by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, which is administered by the Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund, following extensive consultation with the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. This report supplements the prior Data Series by providing each samples detailed grain distribution used by Ellis and others (2017) to compute traditional grain-size summary statistics.
Supplemental_Information:
The data provided in this data release are the average grain-size distribution used to compute standard groundwater summary metrics. Following USGS SPCMSC data management protocols, this survey was assigned a USGS field activity number (FAN), 2015-322-FA. Additional survey and data details are available on the Coastal and Marine Geoscience Data System (CMGDS) at https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2015-322-FA.
  1. How might this data set be cited?
    Ellis, Alisha M., Zaremba, Nicholas J., Wheaton, Cathryn J., Vargas, Joseph M., Smith, Christopher G., and Jenkins, Robert L. III, 20241107, Detailed grain-size data of estuarine, barrier island, and shoreface environments around Dauphin Island, Alabama, USA:.

    This is part of the following larger work.

    Ellis, Alisha M., Zaremba, Nicholas J., Wheaton, Cathryn J., Vargas, Joseph M., Smith, Christopher G., and Jenkins, Robert L. III, 20241107, Detailed Grain-Size Data of Estuarine, Barrier Island, and Shoreface Environments Around Dauphin Island, Alabama, USA: U.S. Geological Survey data release doi:10.5066/P14RPHBB, U.S. Geological Survey - St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, St. Petersburg, FL.

    Online Links:

  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?
    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -88.34300
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -88.04000
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 30.30000
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 30.17000
  3. What does it look like?
  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?
    Beginning_Date: 12-Aug-2015
    Ending_Date: 20-Aug-2015
    Currentness_Reference:
    ground condition
  5. What is the general form of this data set?
  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?
  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?
    Detailed_Grain_Size_Data.csv, Detailed_Grain_Size_Data.xlsx
    Average grain-size distribution averaged from LS200 output listing the class weight retained in each aperture bin as a percent of the total sample weight averaged for all runs where standard deviation was less than 1.5 (Ellis and others, 2017). Files are provided comma-separated values (.csv) and Microsoft Excel (.xlsx) formats. (Source: USGS)
    Sample Identity:
    Sample identification (Source: USGS) Character string containing the sample identification information (including sub-FAN, 15BIM09) and set number.
    Aperture (microns)
    Coulter software bin aperture, in microns (Source: Beckman Coulter LS200 Software)
    Range of values
    Minimum:0.393
    Maximum:1913.438
    Average Class Weight Retained (%)
    The percent of that class weight retained of the total sample for the given bin aperture averaged for all applicable runs. (Source: Beckman Coulter LS200 Software)
    Range of values
    Minimum:0
    Maximum:14.534

Who produced the data set?

  1. Who are the originators of the data set? (may include formal authors, digital compilers, and editors)
    • Alisha M. Ellis
    • Nicholas J. Zaremba
    • Cathryn J. Wheaton
    • Joseph M. Vargas
    • Christopher G. Smith
    • Robert L. Jenkins III
  2. Who also contributed to the data set?
    This study was funded by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, which is administered by the Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund, following extensive consultation with the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
  3. To whom should users address questions about the data?
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Attn: Christopher G. Smith
    Research Geologist
    600 4th Street South
    St. Petersburg, FL
    USA

    (727) 502-8035 (voice)
    cgsmith@usgs.gov

Why was the data set created?

The Detailed_Grain_Size_Data dataset includes a comma-separated values file (.csv) and Microsoft Excel file (.xlsx) summarizing particle size analysis results from samples collected on and around Dauphin Island, Alabama, August 12 - 20, 2015 by the U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center.

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: 2015 (process 1 of 2)
    Surface sediment samples were collected from 240 individual sites on and around Dauphin Island by hand, PONAR grab, or a VanVeen sediment sampler attached to a miniSEABOSS. Samples were transported to the USGS St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center (SPCMSC) for analysis Prior to particle size analysis, sediment samples which appeared to consist of greater than 5 percent organic material had the organic matter chemically removed from the samples using approximately 8 milliliters (mL) of 30 percent hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) overnight. The H2O2 was then evaporated through slow heating on a hot plate, and the sediment was washed and centrifuged twice with deionized water. Samples which appeared to consist of less than 5 percent organic material were dried at 60 degrees Celsius (°C). To prevent shell fragments from damaging the Coulter LS200, particles greater than 1 millimeter (mm) in diameter were separated from all samples prior to analysis with a number 18 (1000 micrometers) U.S. standard sieve, which meets the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) E11 standard specifications for determining particle size with woven-wire test sieves. The samples were washed through the sieve with filtered municipal water and a few milliliters of sodium hexametaphosphate solution to act as a deflocculant. The sediment slurry was sonicated with a wand sonicator for 30–60 seconds before being introduced into the Coulter LS200 to break down aggregated particles. Two subsamples from each sample were processed through the Coulter LS200 with a minimum of four runs apiece. The Coulter LS200 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. The particles scatter light into characteristic refraction patterns that are measured by an array of photodetectors as intensity per unit area and recorded as relative volume for 92 size-classification channels, or bins. Person who carried out this activity:
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Attn: Christopher G. Smith
    Research Geologist
    600 4th Street South
    St. Petersburg, FL
    USA

    (727) 502-8035 (voice)
    cgsmith@usgs.gov
    Date: 2015 (process 2 of 2)
    The raw grain-size data were then run through the free software program, GRADISTAT version 8, (Blott and Pye, 2001; kpal.co.uk/gradistat), which calculates the mean, median, sorting, skewness, and kurtosis of each sample geometrically in metric units and logarithmically in phi units (Φ) (Krumbein, 1934) 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) based on a modified Wentworth (1922) size scale. A macro function in Microsoft Excel, developed by the USGS SPCMSC, was applied to the data to calculate the average and standard deviation for each sample set (8 runs per sample). Runs that varied from the set average by more than ± 1.5 standard deviations were removed from the results, and the sample average was recalculated using the remaining runs. The average grain-size distribution (92-bins) for 240 samples are provided in this data release. Other relevant data for these samples are available in Ellis and others (2017). Person who carried out this activity:
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Attn: Christopher G. Smith
    Research Geologist
    600 4th Street South
    St. Petersburg, FL
    USA

    (727) 502-8035 (voice)
    cgsmith@usgs.gov
  3. What similar or related data should the user be aware of?
    Ellis, Alisha M., Marot, Marci E., Smith, Christopher G., and Wheaton, Cathryn J., 20170620, The physical characteristics of the sediments on and surrounding Dauphin Island, Alabama: U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 1046, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia.

    Online Links:

    Blott, Simon J., and Pye, Kenneth, 20010928, GRADISTAT: A grain size distribution and statistics package for the analysis of unconsolidated sediments: Earth Surface Processes and Landforms Volume 26, Issue 11.

    Online Links:

    Other_Citation_Details: Pages 1237-1248
    Folk, Robert L., and Ward, William C., 19570301, Brazos River bar: A study in the significance of grain size parameters: Journal of Sedimentary Petrology Volume 27, No. 1.

    Online Links:

    Other_Citation_Details: Pages 3-26
    Krumbein, William C., 19340801, Size frequency distributions of sediments: Journal of Sedimentary Petrology Volume 4, No. 2.

    Online Links:

    Other_Citation_Details: Pages 65-77
    Wentworth, Chester K., 1922, A scale of grade and class terms for clastic sediments: Journal of Geology Volume 30, No. 5.

    Online Links:

    Other_Citation_Details: Pages 377-392

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

  1. How well have the observations been checked?
    The grain-size distribution data represent sample averages calculated from the raw Coulter data. All but one sample (15BIM09-DA234S) had a statistically robust bin average consisting of six, seven, or all eight runs; while 15BIM09-DA234S had only three runs used to compute the bin averages. The exact number of runs for each sample is available in Ellis and others (2017) and can be cross referenced by sample identification.
  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?
    This is a complete detailed grain-size dataset consisting of 240 surface sediment samples from 240 sampling sites collected on and around Dauphin Island, Alabama.
  5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?
    The complete grain-size dataset, including average of the 92 bins, are provided in this data release.

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 Public domain data from the U.S. Government are freely redistributable with proper metadata and source attribution. The U.S. Geological Survey requests that it be acknowledged 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: USGS SPCMSC Data Management
    600 4th Street South
    Saint Petersburg, FL
    United States

    727-502-8000 (voice)
    gs-g-spcmsc_data_inquiries@usgs.gov
  2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set? Detailed_Grain_Size_Data.csv, Detailed_Grain_Size_Data.xlsx
  3. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?
    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, or for general or scientific purposes, 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. Any use of trade, firm, or product name is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.
  4. How can I download or order the data?

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:
Last modified: 07-Nov-2024
Metadata author:
U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center
Attn: USGS SPCMSC Data Management
600 4th Street South
Saint Petersburg, FL
United States

727-502-8000 (voice)
gs-g-spcmsc_data_inquiries@usgs.gov
Metadata standard:
Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata (FGDC-STD-001-1998)
This page is <https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/catalog/spcmsc/Detailed_Grain_Size_metadata.faq.html>
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