Mean tidal range in marsh units of Assateague Island National Seashore and Chincoteague Bay, Maryland and Virginia

Frequently anticipated questions:

• What does this data set describe?
  1. How might this data set be cited?
  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?
  3. What does it look like?
  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?
  5. What is the general form of this data set?
  6. How does the data set 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?
  2. Who also contributed to the data set?
  3. To whom should users address questions about the data?
• Why was the data set created?
• How was the data set created?
  1. From what previous works were the data drawn?
  2. How were the data generated, processed, and modified?
  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?
  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?
  5. How consistent are the relationships among the data, including topology?
• How can someone get a copy of the data set?
  1. Are there legal restrictions on access or use of the data?
  2. Who distributes the data?
  3. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set?
  4. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?
  5. How can I download or order the data?
• Who wrote the metadata?

What does this data set describe?

1. How might this data set be cited?
   Defne, Zafer, and Ganju, Neil K., 2018, Mean tidal range in marsh units of Assateague Island National Seashore and Chincoteague Bay, Maryland and Virginia: data release DOI:10.5066/P9ZZANDN, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia.

   Online Links:

   • https://doi.org/10.5066/P9ZZANDN

   Other_Citation_Details:

   Suggested citation: Defne, Z., and Ganju, N.K., 2018, Mean tidal range in marsh units of Assateague Island National Seashore and Chincoteague Bay, Maryland and Virginia: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9ZZANDN.

2. What geographic area does the data set cover?

   West_Bounding_Coordinate: -75.495501125
   East_Bounding_Coordinate: -75.096217831
   North_Bounding_Coordinate: 38.337742876
   South_Bounding_Coordinate: 37.845685405
   

3. What does it look like?

   https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/file/get/5ba3cd32e4b08583a5c81bdf?name=mu_MN_ASISp.png (PNG)

   Graphic that shows mean tidal range in marsh units of ASIS and Chincoteague Bay salt marsh complex overlaying Esri basemap.

4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?

   Calendar_Date: 2018

   Currentness_Reference:

   publication date

5. What is the general form of this data set?

   Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: Vector Digital Data Set (Polygon)
   

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):
      • G-polygon (3352)
   2. What coordinate system is used to represent geographic features?
      The map projection used is WGS 1984 Web Mercator Auxiliary Sphere (ESRI Full Name: WGS_1984_Web_Mercator_Auxiliary_Sphere).
      

      Projection parameters:

      Standard_Parallel: 0.0
      Longitude_of_Central_Meridian: 0.0
      False_Easting: 0.0
      False_Northing: 0.0
      

      Planar coordinates are encoded using coordinate pair
      Abscissae (x-coordinates) are specified to the nearest 0.6096
      Ordinates (y-coordinates) are specified to the nearest 0.6096
      Planar coordinates are specified in Meter
      The horizontal datum used is D_WGS_1984.
      The ellipsoid used is WGS_1984.
      The semi-major axis of the ellipsoid used is 6378137.0.
      The flattening of the ellipsoid used is 1/298.257223563.
      
7. How does the data set describe geographic features?

   mu_MN_ASISp

   Attribute information associated with the mean tidal range projected on the conceptual marsh units of ASIS and Chincoteague Bay salt marsh complex. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey)

   FID

   Internal feature number. (Source: Esri) Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated.

   Shape

   Feature geometry. (Source: Esri) Coordinates defining the features.

   FID_CMU

   Sequential unique whole number that represents the identification number for each conceptual marsh units. (Source: USGS)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	0
   Maximum:	3351
   Units:	none

   ATOT_M2

   Total surface area of a marsh unit in square meters (Source: USGS)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	199.285436
   Maximum:	623041.914617
   Units:	square meters

   AVEG_M2

   Surface area of vegetated part of a marsh unit in square meters (Source: USGS)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	0
   Maximum:	479882.968935
   Units:	square meters

   MN

   Tidal range in meters averaged over a marsh unit (Source: USGS)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	0.0665193780862
   Maximum:	1.10006707458
   Units:	meters

   FLG

   Marsh unit flag indicating anomalous marsh units based on absence of vegetation, elevation and surface area. FLG values indicate: (-1) no vegetated area; (-10) marsh unit elevation higher than the 99.8 percentile; (-100) marsh unit elevation less than 0.2 percentile; (-1000) marsh unit surface area less than 900 m2; and (0) no flag. Combination of negative values indicate combination of flags. For example, -1001 indicates no vegetated area and area less than 900 m2. (Source: USGS)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	-1101
   Maximum:	0
   Units:	None

   Entity_and_Attribute_Overview:

   In this dataset, tidal range for each conceptual salt marsh unit in the ASIS and Chincoteague Bay salt marsh complex has been calculated based on 0.0005 arc degrees interpolated VDatum dataset. Decimal values in the attribute table are a result of double precision calculations while significant digits are considered in defining the attribute measurement resolutions. Therefore, the smallest unit increment for area values and tidal range is assumed to be 1 meter and 0.01, respectively.

   Entity_and_Attribute_Detail_Citation: USGS
   

Who produced the data set?

1. Who are the originators of the data set? (may include formal authors, digital compilers, and editors)
   • Zafer Defne
   • Neil K. Ganju
2. Who also contributed to the data set?
3. To whom should users address questions about the data?
   U.S. Geological Survey

   Attn: Zafer Defne

   Ocean Scientist

   384 Woods Hole Road

   Woods Hole, MA
   

   508-548-8700 x2254 (voice)

   508-457-2310 (FAX)

   zdefne@usgs.gov

Why was the data set created?

How was the data set created?

1. From what previous works were the data drawn?

   CMU_ASISp.shp (source 1 of 1)

   Defne, Zafer, and Ganju, Neil K., 2018, Conceptual marsh units for Assateague Island National Seashore and Chincoteague Bay, Maryland and Virginia: data release DOI:10.5066/P92ZW4D9, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

   Online Links:

   • https://doi.org/10.5066/P92ZW4D9

   Type_of_Source_Media: online
   Source_Contribution:

   Used the features in [CMU_ASISp.shp] to project the tidal range over each marsh unit. Projection was WGS 1984 Web Mercator Auxiliary Sphere.

2. How were the data generated, processed, and modified?

   Date: 2018 (process 1 of 6)

   This process step and all subsequent process steps were performed by the same person, Zafer Defne, in ArcMap (ver. 10.5.1) using tools from ArcToolbox, unless otherwise stated. For complex operations, names of specific tools used are given in CAPITAL letters (any critical parameters used are given in parentheses, separated by a semicolon, immediately after the tool name). The input and output file names are provided in [square brackets] when necessary. Units for length and area calculations are meters (m) and square meters (m2) unless otherwise stated.
   Calculate values for each marsh unit. DISSOLVE(Input features=[CMU_ASISp]; Dissolve field=FID_CMU; Statistics field=ATOT_M2 and FLG with Statistics type= First) to dissolve the vegetated and unvegetated classes in each marsh unit. FLG flags anomalous marsh units based on absence of vegetation, elevation and surface area, and is set to (-1) no vegetated area; (-10) marsh unit elevation higher than the 99.8 percentile; (-100) marsh unit elevation less than 0.2 percentile; (-1000) marsh unit surface area less than 900 m2; and (0) no flag. Combination of negative values indicate combination of flags. For example, -1001 indicates no vegetated area and area less than 900 m2. PROJECT(Input coordinate system=WGS 1984 Web Mercator Auxiliary Sphere; Output coordinate system=NAD 1983 UTM Zone 18N; Geographic transformation=WGS 1984 (ITRF00) to NAD 1983) the feature dataset to obtain dissolved marsh units [mu_diss.shp]. Person who carried out this activity:
   

   U.S. Geological Survey

   Attn: Zafer Defne

   Ocean Scientist

   384 Woods Hole Road

   Woods Hole, MA
   

   508-548-8700 x2254 (voice)

   508-457-2310 (FAX)

   zdefne@usgs.gov

   Data sources used in this process:

   • CMU_ASISp

   Data sources produced in this process:

   • mu_diss.shp

   Date: 2018 (process 2 of 6)

   Calculate Mean Range of Tides using the VDatum (v3.5) database covering this region ( http://vdatum.noaa.gov/download.php ). Create a 0.0005 arc degrees (~50 meters) spaced point dataset in Matlab (ver. 2012b) for the ASIS domain. Calculate the mean range of tides (MN) as MN=MHW-MLW, where MHW is the mean high water level and MLW is the mean low water level in the VDatum database, and interpolate to the point dataset. The resulting comma separated file includes columns for latitude, longitude and MN. Data sources produced in this process:

   • MN.csv

   Date: 2018 (process 3 of 6)

   Create a raster surface dataset from the feature points. a) Import points from [MN.csv] to ArcMap using MAKE XY EVENT LAYER with the North American 1983 Continuously Operating Reference Station datum (GCS NAD 1983 CORS96) coordinate reference system.
   b) Create a raster surface with inverse distance weighting in Spatial Analyst toolbox. IDW.SpatialAnalyst(Output Cell Size=0.0001 degree; Power=2; Search Radius=Variable; Number of Points=12) to obtain [MN_raster_idw.tif]. Data sources used in this process:

   • MN.csv

   Data sources produced in this process:

   • MN_raster_idw.tif

   Date: 2018 (process 4 of 6)

   Clip the raster to marsh boundaries. A buffer zone is created around the marsh boundaries to facilitate alternative interpolation and clipping options in future studies.
   a) Create 300 m buffer around the marsh polygon [mu_diss.shp] to create a clipping mask [mu_buff300m.shp]. BUFFER(Side type= Full; Method =Geodesic; Dissolve type= All).
   b) Clip the raster with the clipping mask. EXTRACT BY MASK to obtain [MN_ASIS.tif]. Data sources used in this process:

   • mu_diss.shp
   • MN_idw.tif

   Data sources produced in this process:

   • MN_ASIS.tif

   Date: 2018 (process 5 of 6)

   Calculate values for each marsh unit. a) Clip the raster with the polygon features by using EXTRACT BY MASK to obtain [mn_idw_mu.tif].
   b) ZONAL STATISTICS AS TABLE(Feature Zone Data=[mu_diss.shp]; zone field=FID_CMU; Value Raster=[mn_idw_mu.tif]; Output Table=mu; Statistics type=MEAN)
   c) ADD JOIN(Layer name=[mu_diss.shp]; Input join field=FID_CMU; Join Table=mu; Output join field=FID_CMU) to marsh units layer based on the "FID_CMU" field
   d) Export dataset as a shapefile [mu_MN_ASIS.shp] and keep the 'mu_MEAN" and "mu_ATOT_M2" fields from the join operation.
   e) SELECT BY ATTRIBUTES FROM [CMU_ASISp] where "CLASS"= 'vegetated', and join field "APGN_M2" from CMU_ASISp.shp on the feature dataset [mu_MN_ASIS.shp].
   f) Rearrange field names and change the projection for better performance of web services with online base maps. PROJECT(Input coordinate system=NAD 1983 UTM Zone 18N; Output coordinate system=WGS 1984 Web Mercator Auxiliary Sphere; Geographic transformation=WGS 1984 (ITRF00) to NAD 1983) the feature dataset to obtain the final conceptual marsh units [mu_MN_ASISp.shp]. Data sources used in this process:

   • mu_diss.shp
   • MN_ASIS.tif

   Data sources produced in this process:

   • mu_MN_ASISp.shp

   Date: 06-Aug-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?
   Defne, Zafer, and Ganju, Neil K., 2018, Conceptual marsh units for Assateague Island National Seashore and Chincoteague Bay, Maryland and Virginia: data release DOI:10.5066/P92ZW4D9, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

   Online Links:

   • https://doi.org/10.5066/P92ZW4D9

   NOAA, 2016, VDatum (v3.5): NOAA, Silver Spring, MD.

   Online Links:

   • http://vdatum.noaa.gov

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

1. How well have the observations been checked?
   Marsh units, water and land boundaries inherit their accuracy from the accuracy of the source data, ASIS marsh units. Mean range of tides is calculated from the VDatum database, then interpolated on a raster surface and averaged at each marsh unit. If a marsh unit does not overlap with any raster cell center, it is assigned the value of the raster cell with the largest overlap.
2. How accurate are the geographic locations?
   Horizontal accuracy for the polygon boundaries is inherited from the source layer, conceptual marsh units and considered to be +/- 6 meters. The point cloud used for calculating tidal range with VDatum had 0.0005 arc degree (~50-meter) resolution that was interpolated over a 0.0001 arc degree raster prior to clipping and calculating the mean value for each marsh unit.
3. How accurate are the heights or depths?
   The maximum cumulative uncertainty for the New Jersey - coastal embayment, Version 1.2 operational VDatum region is given as 0.09 meters. See Estimation of Vertical Uncertainties in VDatum for more information ( https://vdatum.noaa.gov/docs/est_uncertainties.html ).
4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?
   The results are specific to the marsh polygons definition within the boundaries of the ASIS and Chincoteague Bay salt marsh complex. A detailed on-the-ground analysis of a single site may result in a different interpretation of the wetland and marsh unit boundaries. Coverage near the domain boundaries in Wallops Bay and Wallops Island is not complete and not suggested for use in analyses (specifically marsh units with FID_CMU=3, 1659, 1666, 1672 and 1728).
5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?
   Polygons do not overlap and mean tidal range is positive.

How can someone get a copy of the data set?

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
   

   1-888-275-8747 (voice)

   sciencebase@usgs.gov
2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set? mu_MN_ASISp
3. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?
   Neither the U.S. Government, the Department of the Interior, nor the USGS, nor any of their employees, contractors, or subcontractors, make any warranty, express or implied, nor assume any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, nor represent that its use would not infringe on privately owned rights. The act of distribution shall not constitute any such warranty, and no responsibility is assumed by the USGS in the use of these data or related materials. Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Not for navigational use.
4. How can I download or order the data?
   • Availability in digital form:

     Data format:	This zipped file contains a polygon shapefile and its components, a style layer descriptor file, metadata in xml, txt and html formats and a browse image. in format Shapefile (version ArcGIS 10.5.1)
     Network links:	https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/file/get/5ba3cd32e4b08583a5c81bdf https://doi.org/10.5066/P9ZZANDN

     Data format:	WMS
     Network links:	https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalogMaps/mapping/ows/5ba3cd32e4b08583a5c81bdf?service=wms&request=getcapabilities&version=1.3.0

     Data format:	WFS
     Network links:	https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalogMaps/mapping/ows/5ba3cd32e4b08583a5c81bdf?service=wfs&request=getcapabilities&version=1.0.0

   • Cost to order the data: None. No fees are applicable for obtaining the data set.

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:

Last modified: 19-Mar-2024

Metadata author:

U.S. Geological Survey

Attn: Zafer Defne

Ocean Scientist

384 Woods Hole Road

Woods Hole, MA

508-548-8700 x2254 (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 USGS. (updated on 20240319)

Metadata standard:

FGDC Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata (FGDC-STD-001-1998)