Location of bottom video tracklines collected during field activity 2011-015-FA by the U.S. Geological Survey and Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management offshore of Massachusetts around Cape Cod and the Islands in September 2011 (polyline shapefile)

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?
   U.S. Geological Survey, 2018, Location of bottom video tracklines collected during field activity 2011-015-FA by the U.S. Geological Survey and Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management offshore of Massachusetts around Cape Cod and the Islands in September 2011 (polyline shapefile): data release DOI:10.5066/F73F4NVM, U.S. Geological Survey, Coastal and Marine Geology Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, Woods Hole, Massachusetts.

   Online Links:

   • https://doi.org/10.5066/F73F4NVM
   • https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/data/field-activity-data/2011-015-FA/

   This is part of the following larger work.
   Huntley, Emily C., Ackerman, Seth D., Boeri, Robert L., Callaghan, Todd P., and Sampson, Daniel W., 2018, Sampling data collected in Cape Cod Bay, Buzzards Bay, and Vineyard Sound; south of Martha's Vineyard; and south and east of Nantucket, Massachusetts, in 2011, U.S. Geological Survey Field Activity 2011-015-FA: data release DOI:10.5066/F73F4NVM, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

   Online Links:

   • https://doi.org/10.5066/F73F4NVM
   • https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/data/field-activity-data/2011-015-FA/

   Other_Citation_Details:

   Suggested citation: Huntley, E.C., Ackerman, S.D., Boeri, R.L., Callaghan, T.P., and Sampson, D.W., 2018, Sampling data collected in Cape Cod Bay, Buzzards Bay, and Vineyard Sound; south of Martha's Vineyard; and south and east of Nantucket, Massachusetts, in 2011, U.S. Geological Survey Field Activity 2011-015-FA: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/F73F4NVM.

2. What geographic area does the data set cover?

   West_Bounding_Coordinate: -71.009868
   East_Bounding_Coordinate: -69.902650
   North_Bounding_Coordinate: 41.981100
   South_Bounding_Coordinate: 41.190828
   

3. What does it look like?

   https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/data/field-activity-data/2011-015-FA/data/imagery/2011-015-FA_videos_browse.jpg (JPEG)

   Thumbnail image of bottom video locations offshore of Massachusetts.

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

   Beginning_Date: 10-Sep-2011

   Ending_Date: 14-Sep-2011

   Currentness_Reference:

   ground condition

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

   Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: vector 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):
      • String (248)
   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 0.0000001. Longitudes are given to the nearest 0.0000001. Latitude and longitude values are specified in Decimal degrees. The horizontal datum used is D_WGS_1984.
      The ellipsoid used is WGS_1984.
      The semi-major axis of the ellipsoid used is 6378137.000000.
      The flattening of the ellipsoid used is 1/298.257224.
      
7. How does the data set describe geographic features?

   2011-015-FA_videos

   Locations of bottom video tracklines collected during USGS survey 2011-015-FA offshore of Massachusetts in 2011. (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.

   FIELD_NO

   Station number as assigned in the field. Two sites were occupied twice on different days during the survey, so the station number for the data collected when they were occupied the second time ends in "0.2" (i.e., stations 81.2 and 95.2). (Source: U.S. Geological Survey) String used to distinguish station numbers.

   LINENAME

   Station number for the SEABOSS trackline along which continuous bottom video was acquired. Two sites were occupied twice on different days during the survey, so the station number for the data collected when they were occupied the second time ends in "0.2" (i.e., stations 81.2 and 95.2). Two stations (stations 83 and 123) have two SEABOSS bottom video tracklines, so the tracklines were named "a" and "b" to indicate back-to-back deployments at the same station (e.g., line names 83a and 83b). (Source: U.S. Geological Survey) String used to distinguish station numbers.

   STARTTIME

   Start time of the bottom video drift in UTC in the format HH:MM:SS. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey) String used to distinguish UTC start times of the bottom video.

   ENDTIME

   End time of the bottom video drift in UTC in the format HH:MM:SS. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey) String used to distinguish UTC end times of the bottom video.

   JD

   Julian day that the bottom video was collected based on UTC time; Julian day is the integer number representing the interval of time in days since January 1 of the year (2011 for these data). (Source: U.S. Geological Survey)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	253
   Maximum:	257
   Units:	days
   Resolution:	1

   DATE

   UTC date that the bottom video was collected in the format YYYYMMDD. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey) String used to distinguish dates.

   YEAR

   Year that the bottom video was collected (2011 for these data). (Source: U.S. Geological Survey)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	2011
   Maximum:	2011
   Units:	years
   Resolution:	1

   LENGTH_M

   Length in meters of the bottom video trackline. Length was calculated in WGS 84 UTM Zone 19N. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	2.7
   Maximum:	109.6
   Units:	meters
   Resolution:	0.1

   CAMERA

   Camera used to collect bottom video. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey) String used to distinguish between different camera models mounted on the grab sampler; however, for this survey, only one camera was used to collect bottom video.

   CRUISE_ID

   USGS Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center field activity identifier (e.g., 2011-015-FA where 2011 is the survey year, 015 is survey number of that year, and FA is Field Activity). (Source: U.S. Geological Survey) String used to distinguish cruises by year and ID number.

   DEVICE_ID

   Sampling device used to collect the bottom video. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey) String used to identify the sampling configuration used during the survey.

   VEHICLE_ID

   Vehicle (ship) used to collect data during survey 2011-015-FA. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey) String used to identify the survey vessel.

Who produced the data set?

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

   U.S. Geological Survey

   Geologist

   384 Woods Hole Rd.

   Woods Hole, MA
   

   USA

   508-548-8700 x2315 (voice)

   508-457-2310 (FAX)

   sackerman@usgs.gov

Why was the data set created?

How was the data set created?

1. From what previous works were the data drawn?

   Bottom video and raw navigation files (source 1 of 1)

   U.S. Geological Survey, Unpublished Material, Bottom video and navigation data.

   Type_of_Source_Media: disc
   Source_Contribution:

   Bottom video was acquired using the large SEABOSS, where operational. The observations from video and still cameras and the sediment data are used to explore the nature of the sea floor and, in conjunction with high-resolution geophysical data, to make interpretive maps of sedimentary environments and validate acoustic remote sensing data. The SEABOSS incorporates two video cameras (one forward-looking so that a shipboard operator can monitor for proper tow depth and obstacles, and one downward-looking, a Kongsberg Simrad OE1365 video camera in this setup, that overlaps with the field of view of the still camera), a still camera, and a modified Van Veen sediment sampler. The elements of this particular SEABOSS system are held within a stainless-steel frame that measures 1.1 x 1.1 meters. The frame has a stabilizer fin that orients the system as it drifts over the seabed. The OSV Bold occupied one of the target stations and the SEABOSS was deployed off the vessel's A-frame on the stern of the ship. The vessel and sampler drifted with wind and current for up to a few minutes to ensure a decent image with a clear view of the sea floor and then at most stations the sea floor was sampled with the SEABOSS's integrated Van Veen grab. Sediment samples were only attempted in areas where collecting a sample would not damage the SEABOSS; therefore, no samples were collected in areas with a cobble, boulder, or rocky seabed, as identified in real time using the top-side live video feed. At some sites, samples were attempted one or more times in what appeared in the real-time video as sand or mud, but no sample was successfully collected. The system was then raised and recovered to the deck of the survey vessel. Bottom video was recorded from the Kongsberg Simrad OE1365 downward-looking video camera on Digital8 tapes and backup DVDs. The SEABOSS was only operational for 246 of the 322 stations occupied during this survey. The SEABOSS's still camera was occasionally malfunctioning, so use of the SEABOSS was halted partway through the survey and the remaining stations were occupied using the ship's Van Veen grab sampler equipped with a GoPro HD HERO camera and dive lights, but no video camera. DGPS navigation from a Garmin GPSMAP 76CSx receiver was logged through a Microsoft HyperTerminal (version 5.1) session on a Dell Latitude D820 laptop computer running Windows XP SP2 via serial cable. The DGPS was set to receive fixes at a two-second interval in geographic coordinates (World Geodetic System of 1984 [WGS 84]). Log files were saved for each sampling watch in ASCII text format.

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

   Date: Sep-2011 (process 1 of 8)

   Three hundred twenty-two stations were occupied aboard the OSV Bold during USGS survey 2011-015-FA with the large SEABOSS (Blackwood and Parolski, 2001), where operational, or the ship's Van Veen grab sampler. The SEABOSS was equipped with a Van Veen grab sampler, a still camera, and two video cameras (forward- and downward-looking). The OSV Bold occupied one of the target stations, the SEABOSS was deployed, and then the vessel and SEABOSS drifted with wind and current for up to a few minutes to ensure a decent video with a clear view of the sea floor. Bottom video was recorded from the Kongsberg Simrad OE1365 downward-looking video camera on Digital8 tapes and backup DVDs. The still camera was occasionally malfunctioning, so the SEABOSS was only operational for 246 of the 322 stations. The remaining stations were occupied using the ship's Van Veen grab sampler, which did not have a video camera. Person who carried out this activity:
   

   Seth Ackerman

   U.S. Geological Survey

   Geologist

   384 Woods Hole Rd.

   Woods Hole, MA
   

   USA

   508-548-8700 x2315 (voice)

   508-457-2310 (FAX)

   sackerman@usgs.gov

   Data sources produced in this process:

   • Bottom video

   Date: Sep-2011 (process 2 of 8)

   DGPS navigation from a Garmin GPSMAP 76CSx receiver was logged through a Microsoft HyperTerminal (version 5.1) session on a Dell Latitude D820 laptop computer running Windows XP SP2 via serial cable. The DGPS was set to receive fixes at a two-second interval in geographic coordinates (WGS 84). Log files were saved for each sampling watch in ASCII text format. The original log files were reformatted into log files by full Julian day. An AWK script (awkseth.gpgga.sda) was run on the log files to parse for the GPGGA navigation string and create ASCII Comma Separated Value (CSV) text files. The output files were merged and then reformatted using an AWK script (nav_time_reformat.awk), creating a final processed navigation file for the entire sampling survey. Person who carried out this activity:
   

   Seth Ackerman

   U.S. Geological Survey

   Geologist

   384 Woods Hole Rd.

   Woods Hole, MA
   

   USA

   508-548-8700 x2315 (voice)

   508-457-2310 (FAX)

   sackerman@usgs.gov

   Data sources used in this process:

   • Raw navigation files

   Data sources produced in this process:

   • Processed two-second navigation file

   Date: Mar-2014 (process 3 of 8)

   Bottom video was originally recorded on Digital8 tapes and backup DVDs. Each tape was played back and imported to a separate iMovie project (version iMovie HD 6). Within iMovie, each individual SEABOSS deployment was separated as its own video clip. In order to batch export all of the clips for a particular iMovie project, a Perl script (parse_iMovie_XML_Mar2014.pl) was run to parse the iMovie XML project file and create a shell script (do_convert.sh). Each line of the shell script was a one-liner command to run the program FFmpeg (version 0.11) with video and audio codec parameters (libx264 and libfaac, respectively) and output a video file named by station number. The shell script was run for each iMovie project creating individual video clips for each station in the M4V file format. Person who carried out this activity:
   

   Seth Ackerman

   U.S. Geological Survey

   Geologist

   384 Woods Hole Rd.

   Woods Hole, MA
   

   USA

   508-548-8700 x2315 (voice)

   508-457-2310 (FAX)

   sackerman@usgs.gov

   Data sources used in this process:

   • Bottom video

   Data sources produced in this process:

   • Bottom video clips

   Date: Jun-2014 (process 4 of 8)

   Since the DGPS was set to receive fixes at a two-second interval, a MATLAB script (latlon_dc_seth.m) was run to interpolate the navigation to get one-second fixes. Person who carried out this activity:
   

   Seth Ackerman

   U.S. Geological Survey

   Geologist

   384 Woods Hole Rd.

   Woods Hole, MA
   

   USA

   508-548-8700 x2315 (voice)

   508-457-2310 (FAX)

   sackerman@usgs.gov

   Data sources used in this process:

   • Processed two-second navigation file

   Data sources produced in this process:

   • One-second navigation file

   Date: Sep-2017 (process 5 of 8)

   A drift log was created by parsing and reformatting the manually kept Microsoft Excel survey log for station number, start date and time in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), and end date and time in UTC for each video drift. The drift log was checked and modified as a number of stations had unreliable start and end times based on the manually kept log. To determine the correct start and end times, the program Horax (version 0.1) was used to extract the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) start and end times from the audio, which has the navigation embedded in it, of each video file. The bottom video for three stations (stations 44, 304, and 340) was not recorded on the Digital8 tapes but was available on backup DVDs in the VOB file format. The DVD videos have an overlay of the Global Positioning System (GPS) time, date, latitude, and longitude, as well as a user-input station number. The DVD videos for these three stations were viewed in VLC media player (version 2.2.4) to verify the start and end times as shown on the overlay. This process step and all subsequent process steps were performed by the same person, Emily Huntley. Person who carried out this activity:
   

   Emily Huntley

   U.S. Geological Survey

   Geographer/Database Specialist

   384 Woods Hole Rd.

   Woods Hole, MA
   

   USA

   508-548-8700 (voice)

   508-457-2310 (FAX)

   ehuntley@usgs.gov

   Data sources used in this process:

   • Survey log
   • Bottom video clips
   • Backup bottom video DVDs

   Data sources produced in this process:

   • Drift log

   Date: Sep-2017 (process 6 of 8)

   A polyline shapefile was created by using a Python script (seaboss_trackline_creator_v1_1.py) to join the drift log with the one-second navigation file. The Python script reads the start and end times from the drift log, extracts the navigation points that fall within those start and end times, and then creates a polyline shapefile from the navigation points with a unique line for each video drift. Data sources used in this process:

   • Drift log
   • One-second navigation file

   Data sources produced in this process:

   • Bottom video tracklines shapefile

   Date: Sep-2017 (process 7 of 8)

   XTools Pro (version 12.0) for Esri ArcGIS (version 10.3.1) was used to rename, reorganize, and add new fields (Table Operations - Table Restructure) to the polyline shapefile, including an attribute for the trackline length in meters (LENGTH_M), date of collection (DATE), year of collection (YEAR), camera used (CAMERA), survey ID (CRUISE_ID), sampling device used to collect the video (DEVICE_ID), and survey vessel (VEHICLE_ID). The field calculator in Esri ArcGIS (version 10.3.1) was used to calculate the date from the Julian day. The trackline length was calculated in Esri ArcGIS using the Calculate Geometry tool (Property=Length; Use coordinate system of the data frame=WGS 1984 UTM Zone 19N; Unit=Meters). Data sources used in this process:

   • Bottom video tracklines shapefile

   Data sources produced in this process:

   • Final bottom video tracklines shapefile

   Date: 08-Sep-2020 (process 8 of 8)

   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?
   Golden, Nadine E., Ackerman, Seth D., and Dailey, Evan T., 2015, Coastal and Marine Geology Program video and photograph portal: U.S. Geological Survey, Santa Cruz, CA.

   Online Links:

   • https://dx.doi.org/10.5066/F7JH3J7N

   Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management, 2012, ENV12 CZM 01 Benthic Infaunal Analysis Report: Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management, Boston, MA.

   Online Links:

   • https://www.mass.gov/files/documents/2016/08/pm/benthic-infauna-report-2011.pdf

   Blackwood, D., and Parolski, K., 2001, Seabed observation and sampling system: Sea Technology v. 42, no. 2, p. 39-43, Compass Publications, Inc., Arlington, VA.

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?
   Navigation for survey 2011-015-FA used DGPS. The recorded position of each point along the video trackline is the position of the DGPS antenna on the survey vessel, not the SEABOSS sampler. The antenna was at the top of the vessel's A-frame from which the sampler was deployed, within a few meters of the sampler. No layback or offset was applied to the recorded position. In addition to the +/- 3-meter offset, the sampler may drift away from the survey vessel when deployed to the sea floor. Based on the various sources of horizontal offsets, a conservative estimate of the horizontal accuracy of the video trackline locations is 3-10 meters. At times the boat was moving so slowly that the resolution of the DGPS makes a trackline appear to double back on itself.
3. How accurate are the heights or depths?
   
4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?
   Three hundred twenty-two stations were occupied within the study area, but the SEABOSS was only operational for 246 sites. The remaining stations were occupied using the ship's Van Veen grab sampler, which did not have a video camera. Two stations (stations 83 and 123) have two video tracklines, so the tracklines were named "a" and "b" to indicate back-to-back deployments at the same station (e.g., line names 83a and 83b). Some videos were clipped to the duration that the camera was within view of the sea floor. A total of 248 video tracklines are included in this dataset.
5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?
   All bottom videos were acquired using a Kongsberg Simrad OE1365 video camera on the SEABOSS. The station numbers (FIELD_NO) were determined before the survey and are not necessarily in sequential order of when they were occupied. Gaps in sequential station numbers exist as not all planned stations were occupied during the survey. Two sites were occupied twice on different days during the survey, so the station number for the data collected when they were occupied the second time ends in "0.2" (i.e., stations 81.2 and 95.2); these sites are considered unique stations (e.g., 81 and 81.2 are two different stations). Two stations (stations 83 and 123) have two SEABOSS bottom video tracklines, so the tracklines were named "a" and "b" to indicate back-to-back deployments at the same station (e.g., line names 83a and 83b). The tracklines may self-intersect or self-overlap; at times the boat was moving so slowly that the resolution of the Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) makes a trackline appear to double back on itself.

How can someone get a copy of the data set?

1. Who distributes the data set? (Distributor 1 of 1)
   
   Seth Ackerman

   U.S. Geological Survey

   Geologist

   384 Woods Hole Rd.

   Woods Hole, MA
   

   USA

   508-548-8700 x2315 (voice)

   508-457-2310 (FAX)

   sackerman@usgs.gov
2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set? USGS data release 2011-015-FA contains bottom video tracklines collected offshore of Massachusetts in Cape Cod Bay, Buzzards Bay, and Vineyard Sound; south of Martha's Vineyard; and south and east of Nantucket (2011-015-FA_videos.zip). The zip file contains the following files: a shapefile of the bottom video trackline locations (2011-015-FA_videos.shp); a browse graphic of bottom video trackline locations (2011-015-FA_videos_browse.jpg); and Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata (CSDGM) metadata files in three standard formats (2011-015-FA_videos_meta.html, 2011-015-FA_videos_meta.txt, and 2011-015-FA_videos_meta.xml).
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.
4. How can I download or order the data?
   • Availability in digital form:

     Data format:

     The zip file contains a shapefile of bottom video trackline locations collected by the U.S. Geological Survey Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center and Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management in 2011 in Cape Cod Bay, Buzzards Bay, and Vineyard Sound; south of Martha's Vineyard; and south and east of Nantucket, Massachusetts, and the associated metadata. in format Shapefile (version Esri ArcGIS 10.3.1) Shapefile Size: 0.3

     Network links:

     https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/data/field-activity-data/2011-015-FA/data/imagery/2011-015-FA_videos.zip https://doi.org/10.5066/F73F4NVM https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/data/field-activity-data/2011-015-FA/

   • Cost to order the data: none

5. What hardware or software do I need in order to use the data set?
   This zip file contains data available in polyline shapefile format. The user must have software capable of reading shapefile format to use these data.

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:

Last modified: 18-Mar-2024

Metadata author:

Emily Huntley

U.S. Geological Survey

Geographer/Database Specialist

384 Woods Hole Rd.

Woods Hole, MA

USA

508-548-8700 (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 20240318)

Metadata standard:

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