Acquisition and observation logs for seabed video and sediment samples from Stellwagen Bank during three surveys by the U.S. Geological Survey aboard the R/V Auk, September 2020 to August 2021

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Frequently anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?

Title:
Acquisition and observation logs for seabed video and sediment samples from Stellwagen Bank during three surveys by the U.S. Geological Survey aboard the R/V Auk, September 2020 to August 2021
Abstract:
These data are a part of the effort to map geologic substrates of the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary region off Boston, Massachusetts. The overall goal is to develop high-resolution (1:25,000) interpretive maps, based on multibeam sonar data and seabed sampling, showing surficial geology and seabed sediment dynamics. The work was conducted in collaboration with the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, and the data collected will aid research on the ecology of fish and invertebrate species that inhabit the region. The Sanctuary's research vessel, R/V Auk, visited a total of 169 locations on Stellwagen Bank during three separate surveys from September 2020 to August 2021. During these surveys a customized Van Veen grab sampler (SEABOSS) equipped with a video camera and a CTD was deployed in drift mode to collect sediment for grain-size analysis, video imagery of the seabed, and measurements of water column properties including temperature, salinity, density, and fluorescence.
Supplemental_Information:
Additional information regarding the field activities associated with these data can be obtained from the following locations https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2020-012-FA, https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2021-016-FA, and https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2021-017-FA .
  1. How might this data set be cited?
    Valentine, Page C., 20230321, Acquisition and observation logs for seabed video and sediment samples from Stellwagen Bank during three surveys by the U.S. Geological Survey aboard the R/V Auk, September 2020 to August 2021: data release DOI:10.5066/P9G7QARQ, U.S. Geological Survey, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, Woods Hole, MA.

    Online Links:

    This is part of the following larger work.

    Valentine, Page C., and Cross, VeeAnn A., 2023, Sea-floor Sediment Samples, Seabed and Sample Imagery, and CTD Instrument Data Collected on Stellwagen Bank from September 2020 to August 2021: data release DOI:10.5066/P9G7QARQ, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

    Online Links:

    Other_Citation_Details:
    Suggested citation: Valentine, P.C., and Cross, V.A., 2023, Sea-floor sediment samples, seabed and sample imagery, and CTD instrument data collected on Stellwagen Bank from September 2020 to August 2021: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9G7QARQ .
  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?
    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -70.56283
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -70.11801
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 42.44029
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 42.09603
  3. What does it look like?
  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?
    Beginning_Date: 24-Sep-2020
    Ending_Date: 04-Aug-2021
    Currentness_Reference:
    Ground condition of when data were collected. These data were collected during three separate surveys, with the following ranges of dates for each survey: field activity 2020-012-FA: 20200924 to 20200925; field activity 2021-016-FA: 20210721 to 20210723; and field activity 2021-017-FA: 20210802 to 20210804.
  5. What is the general form of this data set?
    Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: document
  6. How does the data set represent geographic features?
    1. How are geographic features stored in the data set?
      Indirect_Spatial_Reference:
      The dataset itself is not spatially enabled, but the log books contain recorded positions. These positions are in degrees, decimal minutes. The information is from the GPS system using the WGS84 datum and ellipsoid.
    2. What coordinate system is used to represent geographic features?
  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?

Who produced the data set?

  1. Who are the originators of the data set? (may include formal authors, digital compilers, and editors)
    • Page C. Valentine
  2. Who also contributed to the data set?
  3. To whom should users address questions about the data?
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Attn: Page C. Valentine
    Research Geologist
    384 Woods Hole Rd.
    Woods Hole, MA
    USA

    (508) 548-8700 x2239 (voice)
    (508) 457-2310 (FAX)
    whsc_data_contact@usgs.gov
    Contact_Instructions:
    The contact email address is a generic address in the event the person is no longer with the USGS.

Why was the data set created?

These log books provide a record of information recorded in the field. The log books for each field activity are provided as PDF files in two versions. One version with OCR (object character recognition) applied to the file (indicated in the filename) and the other without OCR due to the loss of visual clarity and resolution when OCR was applied. The OCR files are included to assist users with vision limitations.

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: 2021 (process 1 of 3)
    The log books were maintained during the surveys by the chief scientist. These log books contain notes and information pertaining to the seabed video, CTD data, and sediment sample acquisition. Information includes date and time of acquisition, as well as water depth, latitude, and longitude. Additional information regarding observations from the video such as seabed description and fauna are noted in the log books. The survey data were collected with the SEABOSS. See the cross-references for a description of SEABOSS (Blackwood and Parolski, 2001; Valentine and others, 2000). The latitude and longitude of stations recorded in the log book were later adjusted to match the latitude and longitude recorded at that time in the GPS navigation file.
    Data were collected from 2020 to 2021 with the process date representing the most recent acquisition year. Person who carried out this activity:
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Attn: Page C. Valentine
    Research Geologist
    384 Woods Hole Rd.
    Woods Hole, MA
    USA

    (508) 548-8700 x2239 (voice)
    (508) 457-2310 (FAX)
    pvalentine@usgs.gov
    Date: 2022 (process 2 of 3)
    The original bound paper log books were scanned on a Xerox ColorQube 9300 printer/scanner. The scans were saved as a PDF file. All the log books were scanned in 2022. This process step and the subsequent process step were performed by the same person. 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
    Date: 2022 (process 3 of 3)
    The PDF files were opened in Adobe Acrobat Pro DC version 2021.011.20039 to apply OCR (optical character recognition) to the files so that the documents are more 508 compliant. The following steps were taken to apply OCR: from the Tools menu select Scan and OCR; from the Scan and OCR toolbar, select Enhance - scanned document; select all pages and check Recognize Text; from the settings deselect Apply Adaptive Compression and set the slider to High Quality (without these settings, the quality of the scan is greatly reduced once OCR is complete); remaining settings as default values; and finally clicked the enhance button to process the PDF. Because much of the content is handwritten, the OCR optimization is only partially successful. Both the original PDF files as well as the OCR PDF files are available. The OCR procedure reduces the resolution slightly in the files, hence the reason for also providing the original files.
  3. What similar or related data should the user be aware of?
    Blackwood, D.S., and Parolski, K.F., 2001, Seabed observation and sampling system: Sea Technology v. 42, no. 2, p. 39-43.

    Valentine, P., Blackwood, D., and Parolski, K., 2000, Seabed observation and sampling system: U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet FS-142-00, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

    Online Links:

    Valentine, P.C., and Cross, V.A., 2019, Location and analyses of sediment samples collected on Stellwagen Bank off Boston, Massachusetts from November 5, 2013 to April 30, 2019 on U.S. Geological Survey field activities: data release DOI:10.5066/P9FWFLPD, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

    Online Links:

    Other_Citation_Details:
    This publication includes the grain-size analyses of the sediment samples collected on 20 other field activities.

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

  1. How well have the observations been checked?
    The latitude and longitude of stations recorded in the log book were later adjusted to match the latitude and longitude recorded at that time in the GPS navigation file.
  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?
    The location information for stations was acquired from a satellite navigation receiver (Furuno satellite compass SC-30, GPS receiver) in geographic coordinates (World Geodetic System of 1984 [WGS 84]) with a horizontal accuracy of 10 m. Cruise 2020-012-FA acquired navigation at two-second intervals on September 24 and five-second intervals on September 25. Cruise 2021-016-FA acquired navigation at a two-second interval. Cruise 2021-017-FA acquired navigation at a two-second interval. The navigation antenna was located 5.3 m forward of the SEABed Observation and Sampling System (SEABOSS) deployment location. This offset was not accounted for in the navigation acquisition, so navigation fixes represent antenna location. The entries in the log book are transcribed manually, so some errors could be associated with that process.
  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?
    Water depth relative to the local sea surface was determined using a Simrad ES60, 120 kHz, single beam echosounder using a dual frequency 120-25 kHz transducer, which detects the seabed to a depth of 800 m. Depth values were rounded to the nearest meter to account for ship motion. The entries in the log books are transcribed manually, so some errors could be associated with that process. The depth is relative to the transducer location, no adjustment was made for tides or transducer depth.
  4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?
    The PDF files represent all the acquisition logs maintained by the USGS during these surveys.
  5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?
    These are the log books maintained during data acquisition on three U.S. Geological Survey field activities. The filename of the PDF indicates which activity the log covers. One cruise had two logbooks (2021-017-FA) represented by vol1 and vol2 as part of the filename. All the field activities took place on the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary's research vessel, R/V Auk. Although these data represent three separate field activities, the set-up and acquisition on all the cruises is consistent with the exception of the navigation - which was sometimes acquired at 2-second intervals and sometimes at 5-second intervals. The latitude and longitude of stations recorded in the log book were later adjusted to match the latitude and longitude recorded at that time in the GPS navigation file.

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 Not to be used for navigation.
  1. Who distributes the data set? (Distributor 1 of 1)
    U.S. Geological Survey - ScienceBase
    Denver Federal Center, Building 810, Mail Stop 302
    Denver, CO
    USA

    1-888-275-8747 (voice)
    sciencebase@usgs.gov
  2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set? The dataset contains the following four OCR PDF logbooks from three different surveys: 2020-012-FA_log_ocr.pdf, 2021-016-FA_log_ocr.pdf, 2021-017-FA_log_vol1_ocr.pdf, and 2021-017-FA_log_vol2_ocr.pdf. The original PDF files are also included: 2020-012-FA_log.pdf, 2021-016-FA_log.pdf, 2021-017-FA_log_vol1.pdf, and 2021-017-FA_log_vol2.pdf. Additionally, the FGDC CSDGM metadata in XML format is included.
  3. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?
    Unless otherwise stated, all data, metadata and related materials are considered to satisfy the quality standards relative to the purpose for which the data were collected. Although these data and associated metadata have been reviewed for accuracy and completeness and approved for release by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), no warranty expressed or implied is made regarding the display or utility of the data for other purposes, nor on all computer systems, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty.
  4. How can I download or order the data?
  5. What hardware or software do I need in order to use the data set?
    The user must have software capable of uncompressing the ZIP file and reading a PDF file.

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:
Last modified: 21-Mar-2023
Metadata author:
U.S. Geological Survey
Attn: VeeAnn A. Cross
Marine Geologist
384 Woods Hole Rd.
Woods Hole, MA

508-548-8700 x2251 (voice)
508-457-2310 (FAX)
whsc_data_contact@usgs.gov
Contact_Instructions:
The metadata contact email address is a generic address in the event the person is no longer with the USGS.
Metadata standard:
Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata (FGDC-STD-001-1998)
This page is <https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/catalog/whcmsc/SB_data_release/DR_P9G7QARQ/cruise_logs_2020-2021_meta.faq.html>
Generated by mp version 2.9.51 on Tue Mar 21 11:09:10 2023