Sediment grain-size data from sand augers collected in March/April and October 2014 from Assateague Island, Maryland (U.S. Geological Survey Field Activity Numbers [FAN] 2014-301-FA and 2014-322-FA)

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Frequently anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?

Title:
Sediment grain-size data from sand augers collected in March/April and October 2014 from Assateague Island, Maryland (U.S. Geological Survey Field Activity Numbers [FAN] 2014-301-FA and 2014-322-FA)
Abstract:
The U.S. Geological Survey has a long history of responding to and documenting the impacts of storms along the Nation’s coasts and incorporating these data into storm impact and coastal change vulnerability assessments. Although physical changes caused by tropical and extratropical storms to the sandy beaches and dunes fronting barrier islands are generally well documented, the interaction between sandy shoreline erosion and overwash with the back-barrier wetland and estuarine environments is poorly constrained. The goal of the Barrier Island and Estuarine Wetland Physical Change Assessment project is to integrate a wetland-change assessment with existing coastal-change assessments for the adjacent sandy dunes and beaches, initially focusing on Assateague Island along the Maryland and Virginia coastline. Assateague Island was impacted by waves and storm surge associated with the passage of Hurricane Sandy in October 2012, causing erosion and overwash along the ocean-facing sandy shoreline as well as erosion and overwash deposition in the back-barrier and estuarine bay environments. Data Series 999 associated with this metadata record describes sediment data collected using sand augers in active overwash zones on Assateague Island in Maryland. Samples were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) during two surveys in March/April and October 2014 (USGS Field Activity Numbers [FAN] 2014-301-FA and 2014-322-FA, respectively). The physical characteristics (for example, sediment texture or bedding structure) of and spatial differences among these deposits will provide information about overwash processes and sediment transport from the sandy barrier-island reaches to the back-barrier environments. Metrics derived from these data, such as mean grain size or deposit thicknesses, can be used to ground-truth remote sensing and geophysical data and can also be incorporated into sediment transport models. Data products, including sample location tables, descriptive core logs, core photographs and x-radiographs, the results of sediment grain-size analyses, and Geographic Information System (GIS) data files with accompanying formal Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) metadata can be downloaded from https://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/0999/ds999_data.html.
Supplemental_Information:
Grain-size analyses were performed using a Coulter LS 13 320 particle-size analyzer. A total of 400 samples (including 39 replicates) from 46 core sections were analyzed. The raw grain-size data were run through the free, widely available program GRADISTAT (Blott and Pye, 2001), which calculates the geometric (in metric units) and logarithmic (in phi units, Φ; Krumbein, 1934) mean, sorting, skewness, and kurtosis of each sample using the Folk and Ward (1957) method as well as the cumulative particle-size distribution. 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. The grain-size data are included as down-core plots with the core logs; the individual run statistics as well as the averaged run statistics and graphical class-size distributions are also available from https://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/0999/ds999_data.html.
  1. How might this data set be cited?
    Bernier, Julie C., Zaremba, Nicholas J., Wheaton, Cathryn J., Ellis, Alisha M., Marot, Marci E., and Smith, Christopher G., 2016, Sediment grain-size data from sand augers collected in March/April and October 2014 from Assateague Island, Maryland (U.S. Geological Survey Field Activity Numbers [FAN] 2014-301-FA and 2014-322-FA):.

    Online Links:

    This is part of the following larger work.

    Bernier, Julie C., Zaremba, Nicholas J., Wheaton, Cathryn J., Ellis, Alisha M., Marot, Marci E., and Smith, Christopher G., 2016, Sedimentologic characteristics of recent washover deposits from Assateague Island, Maryland: U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 999, U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg, FL.

    Online Links:

  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?
    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -75.19903
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -75.13172
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 38.10989
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 38.25004
  3. What does it look like?
  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?
    Beginning_Date: 26-Mar-2014
    Ending_Date: 30-Oct-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?
    2014-301-FA_SumStats.xlsx
    Summary grain-size data from sand augers collected in March/April 2014 (USGS FAN 2014-301-FA) provided as a Microsoft Excel workbook. The averaged results for all samples, including the number of runs used, the standard deviation of the averaged results, and graphical class-size distributions, are provided for each core on its own tab. (Source: USGS)
    2014-322-FA_Transect1_SumStats.xlsx
    Summary grain-size data from sand augers collected along transect 1 in October 2014 (USGS FAN 2014-622-FA) provided as a Microsoft Excel workbook. The averaged results for all samples, including the number of runs used, the standard deviation of the averaged results, and graphical class-size distributions, are provided for each core on its own tab. (Source: USGS)
    2014-322-FA_Transect2_SumStats.xlsx
    Summary grain-size data from sand augers collected along transect 2 in October 2014 (USGS FAN 2014-622-FA) provided as a Microsoft Excel workbook. The averaged results for all samples, including the number of runs used, the standard deviation of the averaged results, and graphical class-size distributions, are provided for each core on its own tab. (Source: USGS)
    2014-322-FA_Transect4_SumStats.xlsx
    Summary grain-size data from sand augers collected along transect 4 in October 2014 (USGS FAN 2014-622-FA) provided as a Microsoft Excel workbook. The averaged results for all samples, including the number of runs used, the standard deviation of the averaged results, and graphical class-size distributions, are provided for each core on its own tab. (Source: USGS)
    Entity_and_Attribute_Overview:
    The detailed attribute descriptions for the statistics summary workbooks are provided in the included data dictionary (Grain_Size_Data-Dictionary.pdf). These metadata are not complete without this file.
    Entity_and_Attribute_Detail_Citation:
    Data dictionary for grain-size data tables, in: Bernier, J.C., Zaremba, N., Wheaton, C.J., Ellis, A.M., Marot, M.E., and Smith, C.G., 2015, Sedimentologic characteristics of recent washover deposits from Assateague Island, Maryland: U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 999, https://doi.org/10.3133/ds999.

Who produced the data set?

  1. Who are the originators of the data set? (may include formal authors, digital compilers, and editors)
    • Julie C. Bernier
    • Nicholas J. Zaremba
    • Cathryn J. Wheaton
    • Alisha M. Ellis
    • Marci E. Marot
    • Christopher G. Smith
  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: Julie C. Bernier
    Geologist
    600 4th Street South
    St. Petersburg, FL
    USA

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

Why was the data set created?

This zip archive includes Microsoft Excel spreadsheets and accompanying metadata summarizing the results of grain-size analyses for sediments from sand augers collected in March/April and October 2014 from Assateague Island, Maryland (USGS FAN 2014-301-FA and 2014-322-FA).

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 6)
    USGS scientists collected sediment samples from sand augers (sample type W) from three active overwash zones (transects 1, 3, and 4) and one control transect (transect 2) on Assateague Island during two surveys—one in the spring, March 26 to April 4, 2014, and one in the fall, October 21–30, 2014 (USGS FAN 2014-301-FA and 2014-322-FA, respectively). During the spring survey, at total of 19 cores were collected from 17 sites, including 8 cores from 7 back-barrier marsh sites. During the fall survey, all of the spring sand auger sites were re-cored, and additional cores were collected from overwash deposits at transects 1 and 4; in October, a total of 81 core sections were collected from 69 sites. Cores were collected using an AMS sand/loose sediment soil probe, which can accommodate a 2.54-centimeter(cm) (1-inch) diameter by approximately 60-cm (2-feet) plastic sleeve. In addition to cores collected from the ground surface, during the October survey a second core was collected at some sites from a trench dug to just above the groundwater table. After extraction, each core was capped, sealed, and labeled with transect location, core number, and orientation. The cores were transported to the USGS SPCMSC for processing and analysis. Person who carried out this activity:
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Attn: Julie C. Bernier
    Geologist
    600 4th Street South
    St. Petersburg, FL
    USA

    727-502-8000 (voice)
    jbernier@usgs.gov
    Date: 2015 (process 2 of 6)
    At the SPCMSC sediment laboratory, the cores were split lengthwise, x-rayed, photographed, described macroscopically using standard sediment-logging methods, and subsampled at 1.5- to 2-cm intervals for grain-size analysis. Sample frequencies varied between cores depending on observed sedimentologic changes. Some cores were sampled at high frequencies to characterize the washover deposits, whereas in other cores the sampling strategy was more targeted. Person who carried out this activity:
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Attn: Julie C. Bernier
    Geologist
    600 4th Street South
    St. Petersburg, FL
    USA

    727-502-8000 (voice)
    jbernier@usgs.gov
    Date: 2015 (process 3 of 6)
    Grain-size analyses were performed using a Coulter LS 13 320 particle-size analyzer, which uses laser diffraction to measure the size distribution of sediments ranging from 0.4 microns (µm) to 2 millimeters (mm) (clay to very coarse-grained sand). A total of 400 samples (including 39 replicates) from 46 core sections were analyzed. Samples consisted of a 1.5- to 2-cm section of the core based on the minimum amount of material needed for analysis. In order to prevent shell fragments from damaging the LS 13 320, particles greater than 1 mm in diameter were separated from all samples prior to analysis using a number 18 (1,000 µm, 1 mm) 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. Prior to sieving, each down-core sample was dried at 60 degrees Celsius for 24 hours, and the fraction of sediment greater than 1 mm was recorded as a percentage of the bulk sample dry weight. For samples (N = 60) that were visually identified as organic rich, organic material was chemically removed using 30 percent hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Wet sediment was dissolved in 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. The samples were stored in the centrifuge tubes with several milliliters of deionized water until instrument analysis. Due to a limited quantity of sediment available, quantitative measurements of organic content were not practical. Each sample was processed through the LS 13 320 a minimum of six runs. The LS 13 320 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
    Attn: Julie C. Bernier
    Geologist
    600 4th Street South
    St. Petersburg, FL
    USA

    727-502-8000 (voice)
    jbernier@usgs.gov
    Date: 2015 (process 4 of 6)
    The raw grain-size data were run through the free, widely available program GRADISTAT (Blott and Pye, 2001), which calculates the geometric (in metric units) and logarithmic (in phi units, Φ; Krumbein, 1934) mean, sorting, skewness, and kurtosis of each sample using the Folk and Ward (1957) method as well as the cumulative particle-size distribution. 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 developed by the USGS was applied to calculate the average and standard deviation of each sample (six runs per sample) and highlight runs that varied from the set average by more than plus or minus (±) 1.5 standard deviations. Excessive deviations from the mean are likely the result of equipment error or extraneous material in the sample and are not considered representative of the sample. Those runs were removed from the results and the sample average was recalculated using the remaining runs. The individual run statistics are available from https://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/0999/downloads/14CTB_SandAugers_RunStats.zip. The averaged results for all samples, including the number of runs used, the standard deviation of the averaged results, and graphical class-size distributions, are summarized in a series of Excel workbooks with each core on its own tab and are available from https://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/0999/downloads/14CTB_SandAugers_SumStats.zip. Person who carried out this activity:
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Attn: Julie C. Bernier
    Geologist
    600 4th Street South
    St. Petersburg, FL
    USA

    727-502-8000 (voice)
    jbernier@usgs.gov
    Data sources produced in this process:
    • 14CTB_SandAugers_SumStats.zip
    • 14CTB_SandAugers_RunStats.zip
    Date: 27-Mar-2018 (process 5 of 6)
    Keywords section of metadata optimized by adding theme keyword thesauri and associated keywords. Person who carried out this activity:
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Attn: Arnell S. Forde
    Geologist
    600 4th Street South
    St. Petersburg, FL
    USA

    (727) 502-8000 (voice)
    aforde@usgs.gov
    Date: 13-Oct-2020 (process 6 of 6)
    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 Volume 26.

    Online Links:

    Other_Citation_Details: Pages 1237-1248

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

  1. How well have the observations been checked?
    The grain-size data presented in the summary statistics spreadsheets (https://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/0999/downloads/14CTB_SandAugers_SumStats.zip) represent the sample averages for a subset of the statistical parameters calculated by GRADISTAT. The number of runs included in the averaged results are also reported, and the standard deviation of the averaged results are reported for most parameters. Sample depths were measured to the nearest half-centimeter using a metric tape measure.
  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 grain-size dataset includes results for 400 samples from 46 sand augers collected from Assateague Island, Maryland in March/April and October 2014 (USGS FAN 2014-301-FA, 2014-322-FA).
  5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?
    The complete grain-size dataset including all GRADISTAT parameters, results of individual sample runs, and standard deviations for all sample averages are included in the unedited output files (https://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/0999/downloads/14CTB_SandAugers_RunStats.zip). Sample runs in the output files for which the mean Folk and Ward grain size varied from the set average by more than 1.5 standard deviations are highlighted in yellow and were not included in final averaged results.

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: Julie C. Bernier
    Geologist
    600 4th Street South
    St. Petersburg, FL
    USA

    727-502-8000 (voice)
    jbernier@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, 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 Microsoft Excel spreadsheets and accompanying metadata summarizing the results of grain-size analyses for sediments from sand augers collected in March/April and October 2014 from Assateague Island, Maryland (USGS FAN 2014-301-FA and 2014-322-FA). in format Compressed (zip) archive Tabular digital data Size: 1.1
      Network links: https://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/0999/downloads/14CTB_SandAugers_SumStats.zip
    • Cost to order the data: None, if obtained online

  5. What hardware or software do I need in order to use the data set?
    The workbooks included in this .zip file were created for use with Microsoft Excel 2010 and can be opened using Microsoft Excel 2007 or higher; these data may also be viewed with the Microsoft Excel viewer (http://office.microsoft.com/).

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:
Last modified: 13-Oct-2020
Metadata author:
U.S. Geological Survey
Attn: Julie C. Bernier
Geologist
600 4th Street South
St. Petersburg, FL
USA

727-502-8000 (voice)
jbernier@usgs.gov
Metadata standard:
Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata (FGDC-STD-001-1998)
This page is <https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/catalog/spcmsc/ds999_SandAugers_SumStats-met.faq.html>
Generated by mp version 2.9.50 on Tue Sep 21 18:18:55 2021