Abstract:
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program (CMHRP) has actively collected geophysical and sedimentological data in the northern Gulf of Mexico for several decades, including shallow subsurface data in the form of high-resolution seismic reflection profiles (HRSP). Prior to the mid-1990s most HRSP data were collected in analog format as paper rolls of continuous profiles up to 25 meters (m) long. As part of the National Geological and Geophysical Data Preservation Program (NGGDPP,
https://datapreservation.usgs.gov/), and in collaboration with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Marine Minerals Program, scientists from the USGS St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center (USGS-SPCMSC) converted analog paper records to digital format using a large-format continuous scanner. The scanned image files were subsequently processed to fix distortions and crop out blank spaces prior to exporting as industry standard Society of Exploration Geophysicists data exchange (SEG-Y) formatted files.
This data release serves as an archive of HRSP profiles annotated with header information, converted SEG-Y files, navigation data, and cruise trackline shapefiles. The HRSP data were collected using a sparker seismic system onboard the research vessel (R/V) Amarillo and R/V Sea Raider. The two vessels collected seismic data along the northern Gulf of Mexico ranging from west of Sabine Pass, Texas to south of Marsh Island, Louisiana. The survey occurred from July 9 to September 26, 1980. Data collection and processing methods are described in USGS Data Series 1047 (Bosse and others, 2017).
To archive all digitized analog boomer seismic profile data and associated files collected along the northern Gulf of Mexico, during the R/V Amarillo and R/V Sea Raider geophysical cruises.
Supplemental_Information:
The USGS-SPCMSC currently holds 13 major geophysical surveys from the northern Gulf of Mexico in its paper repository. Over 2,000 line-kilometers (km) of data are available. Paper copies of data are difficult and expensive to duplicate and share with other facilities and cannot be analyzed using standard geographic information systems (GIS) and interpretative software. Conversion of this data into a usable digital format is necessary to archive the geologic information that otherwise might be lost, requiring additional redundant and expensive marine geophysical surveys. The USGS NGGDPP addresses the need to preserve, catalog, and provide access to geological and geophysical data for scientific research and economic development. In addition to the current efforts under the NGGDPP, four geophysical investigations from the 1980s and 1990s were previously archived through a preservation project in collaboration with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (Harrison and others, 2007; Sanford and others, 2009a, b, c). The USGS-SPCMSC scans its analog HRSP holdings using a large-format continuous scanner. The analog to digital conversion process used for this dataset is similar to the processes used previously in Harrison and others (2007) and Sanford and others (2009a, b, c). The digital files were converted into Tagged Image File Format (TIFF) for standard accessibility by raster image processors. The TIFF images of the seismic profiles were also converted into SEG-Y format. This standard non-proprietary format is the accepted industry standard for seismic data and can be accessed by all major seismic data processing and interpretation systems. Accompanying the HRSP are navigation and metadata files, which are generated for use in GIS, database and Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) services. Processed seismic profile images are also provided. The processed profiles provided in this data release are Portable Document Format (PDF) images that were created using Seismic Unix and/or ImageMagick software.
The northern Gulf of Mexico is a passive continental margin, where minimal structural change to the shallow stratigraphy has occurred during the last few thousand years (Anderson and others, 2004). Therefore, subsurface data collected from this environment for the purposes of geologic assessment can be considered useful in perpetuity. The geologic information collected by the USGS in the northern Gulf of Mexico remains a valuable resource for sea floor and stratigraphic investigations and is continuously revisited by researchers interested in Holocene and recent earth processes. For example, decades-old geologic data are commonly used in sediment resource studies in coastal Louisiana (Kindinger and others, 2001; Kulp and others, 2002; Rogers and others, 2009) and previously collected datasets across the Mississippi-Alabama shelf have been used in recent geologic-framework assessments (Roberts and others, 2004; Greene and others, 2007; Flocks and others, 2009).
The seismic data were collected using a Teledyne 40-tip Mini-Sparker and Hydrophone towed parallel to each other behind the vessels. The sparker floats 5 feet (ft) beneath the surface, while the hydrophone floats between 5 and 8 ft. Sparkers create sound waves from a collapsing bubble, which is a result of vaporizing water between positive and negative leads (Trabant, 1984). The signal emitted from the sparker source is received by a 5 m-long hydrophone streamer. The received signal was amplified and filtered using a Del Norte 502 Seismic Amplifier before being displayed on an EPC recorder. The signal was also recorded on tape by a Hewlett-Packard HP-3968 FM/Direct Recorder. The seismic returns were printed onto paper rolls as two-dimensional profiles representing shots horizontally (time along track) and depth (two-way travel time). Geographic positioning of the system was collected using a long-range navigation (LORAN-C) system and annotated onto the paper copies.
Theme:
Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: USGS Metadata Identifier
Theme_Keyword: USGS:18839f9a-c4bb-4d65-8de3-c1f204b02d21
Theme:
Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: ISO 19115 Topic Category
Theme_Keyword: geoscientificinformation
Theme_Keyword: oceans
Theme:
Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: USGS Thesaurus
Theme_Keyword: marine geology
Theme_Keyword: geology
Theme_Keyword: sediment transport
Theme_Keyword: ocean processes
Theme_Keyword: coastal processes
Theme_Keyword: seismic reflection methods
Theme:
Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: None
Theme_Keyword: Marine
Theme_Keyword: Society of Exploration Geophysicists
Theme_Keyword: SEG-Y
Theme_Keyword: R/V Amarillo
Theme_Keyword: R/V Sea Raider
Place:
Place_Keyword_Thesaurus: Geographic Names Information System (GNIS)
Place_Keyword: Gulf of Mexico
Place_Keyword: Texas
Place_Keyword: Louisiana
Place_Keyword: Sabine Pass
Place_Keyword: Holly Beach
Place_Keyword: Marsh Island
Public domain data from the U.S. Government are freely redistributable with proper metadata and source attribution. The U.S. Geological Survey requests to be acknowledged as originator of these data in future products or derivative research.
Citation_Information:
Originator:
Anderson, J.B., Rodriguez, A., Abdulah, K.C., Fillon, R.H., Banfield, L.A., McKeown, H.A., and Wellner, J.S.
Publication_Date: 20040101
Title:
Late Quaternary stratigraphic evolution of the northern Gulf of Mexico margins—A synthesis, in Anderson, J., and Fillon, R., eds., Late Quaternary stratigraphic evolution of the Northern Gulf of Mexico
Series_Information:
Series_Name: Society for Sedimentary Geology
Issue_Identification: 79
Other_Citation_Details: pages 1-23
Online_Linkage: https://doi.org/10.2110/pec.04.79.0001
Citation_Information:
Originator: Flocks, J.G., Ferina, N.F., and Kindinger, J.L.
Publication_Date: 2009
Title:
Recent geologic framework and geomorphology of the Mississippi-Alabama shelf, northern Gulf of Mexico, in, Buster, N.A., and Holmes, C.W., eds., Gulf of Mexico origin, waters, and biota: Volume III, Geology
Series_Information:
Series_Name: College Station, Texas, Texas A&M University Press
Issue_Identification: 3
Other_Citation_Details: pages 157-173
Online_Linkage: https://muse.jhu.edu/book/1783
Citation_Information:
Originator:
Harrison, A.S., Dadisman, S.V., Kindinger, J.L., Morton, R.A., Blum, M.D., Wiese, D.S., and Subino, J.A.
Publication_Date: 2007
Title:
Archive of digital and digitized analog boomer seismic reflection data collected during USGS cruise 96CCT02 in Copano, Corpus Christi, and Nueces Bays and Corpus Christi Bayou, Texas, July 1996
Series_Information:
Series_Name: U.S. Geological Survey Data Series
Issue_Identification: 296
Online_Linkage: https://doi.org/10.3133/ds296
Citation_Information:
Originator:
Kindinger, J.L., Flocks, J.G., Kulp, M.A., Penland, P.S., and Britsch, L.D.
Publication_Date: 2001
Title:
Sand resources, regional geology, and coastal processes for the restoration of the Barataria barrier shoreline
Series_Information:
Series_Name: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report
Issue_Identification: 2001-384
Other_Citation_Details: 69 pages
Online_Linkage: https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr01384
Citation_Information:
Originator:
Kulp, M.A., Howell, P.D., Adiau, S., Penland, P.S., Kindinger, J.L., and Williams, S.J.
Publication_Date: 2002
Title:
Latest Quaternary stratigraphic framework of the Mississippi River delta region
Series_Information:
Series_Name: Gulf Coast Association of Geological Societies Transactions
Issue_Identification: 52
Other_Citation_Details: pages 573-582
Online_Linkage:
Citation_Information:
Originator:
Roberts, H.H., Fillon, R.H., Kohl, B., Robalin, J.M., and Sydow, J.C.
Publication_Date: 2004
Title:
Depositional architecture of the Lagniappe Delta: Sediment characteristics, timing of depositional events, and temporal relationship with adjacent shelf-edge deltas, in Anderson, J.B., and Fillon, R., eds., Late Quaternary stratigraphic evolution of the northern Gulf of Mexico
Series_Information:
Series_Name: Society for Sedimentary Geology
Issue_Identification: 79
Other_Citation_Details: pages 142-189
Online_Linkage:
