MS_AL_Cores_XYZ_metadata: Benthic foraminiferal data from sedimentary cores collected in the Grand Bay (Mississippi) and Dauphin Island (Alabama) salt marshes

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Frequently anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?

Title:
MS_AL_Cores_XYZ_metadata: Benthic foraminiferal data from sedimentary cores collected in the Grand Bay (Mississippi) and Dauphin Island (Alabama) salt marshes
Abstract:
Microfossil (benthic foraminifera) data from coastal areas were collected from state and federally managed lands within the Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve and Grand Bay National Wildlife Refuge, Grand Bay, Mississippi/Alabama; federally managed lands of Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge on Cedar Island and Little Dauphin Island, Alabama; and municipally managed land around Dauphin Island, Alabama. Samples were analyzed and quantified for foraminiferal census in order to document changes to the coastal wetlands, estuarine environments, and to aid in paleoenvironmental reconstruction. These data provide a baseline dataset for use in future wetland change descriptive and predictive studies and assessments. The data presented here were collected as part of the U.S. Geological Survey’s Sea-level and Storm Impacts on Estuarine Environments and Shorelines (SSIEES) project (https://coastal.er.usgs.gov/ssiees), Barrier Island Evolution Research (BIER) project (https://coastal.er.usgs.gov/bier), and National Fish and Wildlife Foundation-funded Alabama Barrier Island Restoration Feasibility Study (a collaborative study between the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers, Mobile District; the State of Alabama; and the USGS [https://www.usgs.gov/centers/spcmsc/science/alabama-barrier-island-restoration-study]). These projects aim to assess ecological and societal vulnerability that results from long- and short-term physical changes to barrier islands and coastal wetlands. Two sampling surveys were conducted between 2014 and 2015: 14CCT01 (15–19 September 2014; 2014-323-FA), and 15BIM09 (18–20 August 2015; 2015-322-FA). During those two trips, seven Russian peat auger cores were taken from marsh locations. Three cores from Dauphin Island were subsampled and stained with rose Bengal (rB) in the field to indicate life. Four further cores from Dauphin Island and Grand Bay were not stained. At the St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center all cores were subsampled resulting in a total of 74 subsamples. Samples were processed in the laboratory to four size fractions (63–125 μm, 125–250 μm, 250–850 μm, and >850 μm), of which the 125–250 μm and 250–850 μm fractions were picked at equal proportions of total sample and reported combined (125–850 μm). For additional information regarding foraminiferal collection and/or processing methods, refer to Ellis and others (2017). Further data collected on and surrounding Dauphin Island is presented in Ellis and others (2017) and Ellis and others (2018).
Supplemental_Information:
To ensure that USGS-St. Petersburg data management protocols were followed, each survey was assigned the following USGS field activity number (FAN): 2014-323-FA (September 2014, Project ID 14CCT01), and 2015-322-FA (August 2015, Project ID 15BIM09). Additional survey and data details are available from the U.S. Geological Survey Coastal and Marine Geoscience Data System (CMGDS) at, http://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/.
  1. How might this data set be cited?
    Haller, Christian, Smith, Christopher G., McCloskey, Terrence A., Adams, C. Scott, Marot, Marci E., and Ellis, Alisha M., 20180417, MS_AL_Cores_XYZ_metadata: Benthic foraminiferal data from sedimentary cores collected in the Grand Bay (Mississippi) and Dauphin Island (Alabama) salt marshes: U.S. Geological Survey Data Release doi.org/10.5066/F7445KSG, U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg, FL.

    Online Links:

  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?
    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -88.3979
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -88.1100
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 30.3894
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 30.2532
  3. What does it look like?
  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?
    Beginning_Date: 15-Sep-2014
    Ending_Date: 20-Aug-2015
    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?
      This is a Vector data set. It contains the following vector data types (SDTS terminology):
      • Point (7)
    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 0.0197873567. Longitudes are given to the nearest 0.0228037225. Latitude and longitude values are specified in Decimal degrees. The horizontal datum used is North American Datum 1983.
      The ellipsoid used is Geodectic Reference System 80.
      The semi-major axis of the ellipsoid used is 6378137.0.
      The flattening of the ellipsoid used is 1/298.257222101.
      Vertical_Coordinate_System_Definition:
      Altitude_System_Definition:
      Altitude_Datum_Name: North American Vertical Datum of 1988
      Altitude_Resolution: 0.001
      Altitude_Distance_Units: meters
      Altitude_Encoding_Method: Attribute values
  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?
    MS_AL_Cores_XYZ.csv
    Comma separated values text file defining the station locations and elevations of benthic foraminifera sediment cores collected from Grand Bay (Mississippi) and Dauphin Island (Alabama) (USGS FANs 2014-323-FA and 2015-322-FA). (Source: USGS)
    Core_ID
    Sediment core identifier, grouped by project name. The core ID naming scheme explanation is as follows: "14CCT01" = USGS project name. Prefix: "GB" = Grand Bay, "DA" = Dauphin island. Suffix: "R" = Russian peat auger. Replicate core suffix (if replicate collected): "FA". (Source: USGS) Character string
    Lat_NAD83
    Latitude of station location, in decimal degrees (NAD83) (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:30.25321
    Maximum:30.38936
    Units:Decimal degrees
    Resolution:0.00001
    Long_NAD83
    Longitude of site location, in decimal degrees (NAD83) (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-88.39787
    Maximum:-88.109994
    Units:Decimal degrees
    Resolution:0.000001
    Horiz_error_(m)
    Error of horizontal measurement of station location, in meters (GEOID 12A). N/A = not applicable (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:0.001
    Maximum:0.002
    Units:Meters
    Resolution:0.001
    Elev_NAVD88_(m)
    Elevation (orthometric height) of station location, in meters (GEOID 12A). N/A = not applicable (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:0.0963
    Maximum:0.2645
    Units:Meters
    Resolution:0.0001
    Elev_error_(m)
    Error of calculated elevation (orthometric height) of station location, in meters (GEOID 12A). N/A = not applicable (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:0.002
    Maximum:0.0164
    Units:Meters
    Resolution:0.0001
    Base_station_PID
    Geodetic benchmark permanent identifier. N/A = not applicable (Source: USGS) Character string

Who produced the data set?

  1. Who are the originators of the data set? (may include formal authors, digital compilers, and editors)
    • Christian Haller
    • Christopher G. Smith
    • Terrence A. McCloskey
    • C. Scott Adams
    • Marci E. Marot
    • Alisha M. Ellis
  2. Who also contributed to the data set?
    U.S. Geological Survey, Coastal and Marine Geology Program, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center
  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

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

Why was the data set created?

Dissemination of benthic foraminiferal assemblage count data from subsurface sediment samples collected from eastern Mississippi Sound between September 2014 and August 2015. This dataset, MS_AL_Cores_XYZ.csv, includes processed coordinate and elevation data collected at each sample location.

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: 2012 (process 1 of 4)
    A GPS base station was erected for each sampling survey at a NGS benchmark located closest to the survey's sampling sites. DGPS receivers recorded the 12-channel full-carrier-phase positioning signals (L1/L2) from satellites via the Thales choke ring antenna on the base station and an Ashtech Geodetic antenna on the rover. This DGPS instrument combination was duplicated on the rover unit. The base station receiver and the rover receiver record their positions concurrently at 1-second (s) recording intervals throughout the survey. Occupation times at the sample sites ranged from 5 to 30 minutes. Person who carried out this activity:
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Attn: Nancy DeWitt
    Geologist
    600 4th Street South
    St. Petersburg, FL
    USA

    (727) 502-8000 (voice)
    ndewitt@usgs.gov
    Date: 2012 (process 2 of 4)
    The coordinate values of the GPS base station are the time-weighted average of values obtained from OPUS. The base station coordinates were imported into GrafNav and GrafNet (Waypoint Product Group) and the GPS data from the rover were post-processed to the concurrent GPS session data at the base station. The GPS data were processed and exported in the World Geodetic System of 1984 (WGS84) (G1150) geodetic datum. Person who carried out this activity:
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Attn: Nancy DeWitt
    Geologist
    600 4th Street South
    St. Petersburg, FL
    USA

    (727) 502-8000 (voice)
    ndewitt@usgs.gov
    Date: 2013 (process 3 of 4)
    Sample locations were transformed from the GPS acquisition datum (WGS84) to the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD83) and the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD88) orthometric elevation (geoid model of 2012, GEOID12A) using NOAA VDatum version 3.3 transformation software (http://vdatum.noaa.gov/). Person who carried out this activity:
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Attn: Nancy DeWitt
    Geologist
    600 4th Street South
    St. Petersburg, FL
    USA

    (727) 502-8000 (voice)
    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?
    Ellis, A.M., Shaw, J.E., Osterman, L.E., and Smith, C.G., 20171128, Distribution of foraminifera in Chincoteague Bay and the marshes of Assateague Island and the adjacent vicinity, Maryland and Virginia: U.S. Geological Survey Data Series Data Series 1060.

    Online Links:

    Ellis, A.M., Marot, M.E., Smith, C.G., and Wheaton, C.J., 20170620, The physical characteristics of the sediments on and surrounding Dauphin Island, Alabama: U.S. Geological Survey Data Series Data Series 1046.

    Online Links:

    Ellis, A.M., Smith, C.G., and Marot, M.E., 20180322, The sedimentological characteristics and geochronology of the marshes of Dauphin Island, Alabama: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report OFR2017-1165.

    Online Links:

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

  1. How well have the observations been checked?
    The positional accuracy of the sample locations was determined by the accuracy of the raw position data recorded by the GPS antenna during data collection. Differential Geographic Positioning System (DGPS) coordinates were obtained using post-processing software packages (National Geodetic Survey's On-Line Positioning User Service (OPUS), version 2.2 and Waypoint Product Group's GrafNav and GrafNet, version 8.30).
  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?
    All static base station sessions were processed through the On-Line Positioning User Service (OPUS) maintained by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Geodetic Survey (NGS), and the results were entered into a spreadsheet to compute a final, time-weighted positional coordinate (latitude, longitude, and ellipsoid height). Base station positional error for each GPS session was calculated as the absolute value of the final position minus the session position value. The maximum horizontal error of the base station coordinates used for post-processing the sample locations was 0.00018 seconds latitude and 0.00045 seconds longitude.
  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?
    All static base station sessions were processed through OPUS maintained by NOAA and the NGS. The base location results from OPUS were entered into a spreadsheet to compute a final, time-weighted positional coordinate (latitude, longitude, and ellipsoid height). Base station positional error for each GPS session was calculated as the absolute value of the final position minus the session position value. For this survey, the standard deviation or the base station ellipsoid height was 0.014 meters (m) and the maximum vertical error for the base station was +/- 0.015 m. All sample locations were post-processed to the base station coordinate.
  4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?
    This dataset includes the locations of 7 marsh sediment cores collected in Grand Bay (Mississippi) and Dauphin Island (Alabama).
  5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?
    This dataset contains the post-processed GPS and DGPS coordinates for samples collected during two separate surveys in 2014 and 2015. Sample locations were recorded at the time of collection using two Asthech Z-Extreme SMG-ZX-3 receivers (and others), one at a benchmark base-station and one roving in the field.

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 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: Christopher G. Smith
    Research Geologist
    600 4th Street South
    St. Petersburg, FL
    USA

    727-502-8000 (voice)
    cgsmith@usgs.gov
  2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set? MS_AL_Cores_XYZ.csv
  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, 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. 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?
    • Availability in digital form:
      Data format: This zip archive includes a comma separated values files, and accompanying metadata for xyz coordinate and elevation data obtained from GPS equipment collected from Grand Bay and Dauphin Island salt marshes during 14CCT01 (15–19 September 2014; 2014-323-FA), and 15BIM09 (18–20 August 2015; 2015-322-FA). in format Compressed (zip) archive Tabular data
      Network links: https://coastal.er.usgs.gov/data-release/doi-F7445KSG/data/MS_AL_Cores_XYZ.zip
    • Cost to order the data: None

  5. What hardware or software do I need in order to use the data set?
    The comma separated file (.csv) was created in Microsoft Excel 2010 and can be opened using Microsoft Excel 2007 or higher; these data may also be viewed using the free Microsoft Excel Viewer (http://office.microsoft.com/).

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:
Last modified: 27-Sep-2023
Metadata author:
U.S. Geological Survey
Attn: Christopher G. Smith
Research Geologist
600 4th Street South
St. Petersburg, FL
USA

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