Alpha spectroscopy radioisotopic data for box core sediments collected from Barnegat Bay, New Jersey in May 2014 (U.S. Geological Survey Field Activity Number 2014-310-FA)

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Frequently anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?

Title:
Alpha spectroscopy radioisotopic data for box core sediments collected from Barnegat Bay, New Jersey in May 2014 (U.S. Geological Survey Field Activity Number 2014-310-FA)
Abstract:
Barnegat Bay, located along the eastern shore of New Jersey, was significantly impacted by Hurricane Sandy in October 2012. Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) developed a multidisciplinary study of sediment transport and hydrodynamics to understand the mechanisms that govern estuarine and wetland responses to storm forcing. This report details the physical and chemical characteristics of surficial and downcore sediments from two areas within the bay. Eleven sites were sampled in both the central portion of the bay near Barnegat Inlet and in the southern portion of the bay in Little Egg Harbor. Laboratory analyses include Be-7, Pb-210, bulk density, porosity, x-radiographs, and grain-size distribution. These data will serve as a critical baseline dataset for understanding the current sedimentological regime and can be applied to future storms for understanding estuarine and wetland evolution. This report serves as an archive for sedimentological and radiochemical data derived from the surface sediments and box cores. Downloadable data are available as Excel spreadsheets, PDF files, and JPEG files, and includes sediment core data plots and x-radiographs, as well as, physical-properties, grain-size, alpha-spectoscopy, and gamma-spectroscopy data. Federal Geographic Data Committee metadata are available for analytical datasets in the data downloads page of this report.
Supplemental_Information: None
  1. How might this data set be cited?
    Marot, Marci E., and Ellis, Alisha M., 20160415, Alpha spectroscopy radioisotopic data for box core sediments collected from Barnegat Bay, New Jersey in May 2014 (U.S. Geological Survey Field Activity Number 2014-310-FA): U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 993.

    Online Links:

    This is part of the following larger work.

    Marot, Marci E., Smith, Christopher G., Ellis, Alisha M., and Wheaton, Cathryn J., 20160415, Evaluating the Potential Effects of Hurricanes On Long-term Sediment Accumulation in Two Micro-tidal Sub-estuaries: Barnegat Bay and Little Egg Harbor, New Jersey, USA: U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 993, 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: -74.32585
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -74.12662
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 39.57150
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 39.78782
  3. What does it look like?
  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?
    Beginning_Date: 12-May-2014
    Ending_Date: 14-May-2014
    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?
  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?
    14BRN Box Core Alpha Spec Data.xlsx
    Alpha spectroscopy radiochemistry results of sediment cores collected from Barnegat Bay, New Jersey. (Source: USGS)
    Core ID
    Box core site number (Source: USGS) Core site identification number assigned by USGS scientist.
    Depth (cm)
    Sample interval depth range measured from top of the core (cm). (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:0-1
    Maximum:34-35
    Pb-210 Activity (dpm/g)
    Total Pb-210 specific activity measured in disintegrations per minute per gram of dry sediment at the date of field sample collection. (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:0.18
    Maximum:2.46
    Pb-210 Error (+/- dpm/g)
    Total Pb-210 specific activity counting error measured in disintegrations per minute per gram of dry sediment at the date of field sample collection. (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:0.010
    Maximum:0.076

Who produced the data set?

  1. Who are the originators of the data set? (may include formal authors, digital compilers, and editors)
    • Marci E. Marot
    • Alisha M. Ellis
  2. Who also contributed to the data set?
    U.S. Geological Survey
  3. To whom should users address questions about the data?
    U.S. Geological Survey - St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center
    Attn: Marci E. Marot
    Geologist
    600 4th Street South
    St. Petersburg, FL
    US

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

Why was the data set created?

The 14BRN_Alpha_Spec_Data.zip file includes all alpha spectroscopy radiochemistry analysis results from the eight box cores collected from Barnegat Bay, New Jersey in May 2014 (USGS FAN 2014-310-FA) by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), 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: 2014 (process 1 of 3)
    In the field, the cores were sectioned at 1-cm intervals for the length of the core, placed in individual storage bags, and stored on ice. The section core samples were transported to the USGS SPCMSC. Person who carried out this activity:
    U.S. Geological Survey St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center
    Attn: Marci E. Marot
    Geologist
    600 4th Street South
    St. Petersburg, FL
    U.S.

    (727) 502-8000 (voice)
    mmarot@usgs.gov
    Date: 2014 (process 2 of 3)
    Each subsample (approximately 35-50 grams of wet sediment) was oven-dried at 60°C for 48 hours. The dried sediment was homogenized to a fine powder using a porcelain mortar and pestle. Total Pb-210 (via granddaughter polonium-210; [Po-210]) was determined by alpha spectroscopy following the procedure of Marot and Smith (2012). Briefly, approximately 5 g of sediment was spiked with 0.5 mL of Po-209 of known activity (12 decays per minute per milliliter [dpm mL-1]). Sediments were leached with a combination of concentrated nitric and hydrochloric acid with the addition of 30 % hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) to remove organics. Sediments were taken to near dryness and re-saturated three times with hydrochloric acid until all nitric acid was removed. Po-209 and Po-210 were electroplated onto silver planchets and counted on an alpha spectrometer. Count rate efficiencies for Po-209 were determined and applied to Po-210 counts. Total Pb-210 is then assumed to be in secular equilibrium with Po-210 in the down-core sediment. Person who carried out this activity:
    U.S. Geological Survey St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center
    Attn: Marci E. Marot
    Geologist
    600 4th Street South
    St. Petersburg, FL
    U.S.

    (727) 502-8000 (voice)
    mmarot@usgs.gov
    Date: 13-Oct-2020 (process 3 of 3)
    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?

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

  1. How well have the observations been checked?
    The radioisotopic activities reported in the Microsoft Excel spreadsheets include the counting error for all samples.
  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 processed alpha spectroscopy radiochemistry data file for USGS FAN 2014-310-FA (14BRN).
  5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?
    The data include core ID, sample depth interval in core (cm), total Pb-210 activity, and total Pb-210 counting error.

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: Marci E. Marot
    600 4th Street South
    St. Petersburg, FL
    U.S.

    502-8000 (voice)
    mmarot@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?
    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?
    The spreadsheet included in this .zip file 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. The .zip file also contains comma-delimited files (.csv) of the radiochemsitry data for each core. The .csv data files contain the tabular data in plain text and may be viewed with a standard text editor.

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:
Last modified: 13-Oct-2020
Metadata author:
U.S. Geological Survey St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center
Attn: Marci E. Marot
Geologist
600 4th Street South
St. Petersburg, FL
U.S.

(727) 502-8000 (voice)
mmarot@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/ds993_Alpha_Spec-metadata.faq.html>
Generated by mp version 2.9.50 on Tue Sep 21 18:18:54 2021