Location of bottom photographs along with images collected in 2012 by the U.S. Geological Survey in the Connecticut River during field activity 2012-024-FA (point shapefile and JPEG images)

The SEABed Observation and Sampling System (SEABOSS) was designed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) for rapid and effective collection of seabed images and sediment samples in coastal regions. The observations from video and still cameras and the sediment data are used to explore the nature of the riverbed/seafloor and, in conjunction with high-resolution geophysical data, to make interpretive maps of sedimentary environments and validate the acoustic remote sensing data. This particular setup of the SEABOSS was ultra simplified using only a GoPro HD Hero2 camera, a black and white drop video camera with topside feed, lights and a depth sensor attached to a ultra-lightweight square frame. At station 1 and stations 22-30, this small, simplified SEABOSS frame with the GoPro and video was hand deployed from the starboard side of the R/V Rafael. At these sites, no sediment sample was collected, however visual observations made from the video and photos at sites 22-30 were made and are included in this sediment sample dataset. Due to the poor visibility, the imagery portion of the sampling was halted and at stations 2-21 only the modified Van Veen sampler was used to collect sediment samples (without imagery). Beginning with station 31, through the end of the end of the sampling survey, the imagery frame (with the GoPro and video cameras) was attached to the modified Van Veen grab sampler and deployed together from the starboard side of the R/V Rafael. This sampler with the combined capability of collecting imagery and a sediment sample, a modified version of the original USGS SEABOSS, is known as the mircoSEABOSS or the SEABOSSpro or the GoProSEABOSS. At a typical sampling site, the vessel occupied one of the target stations and deployed this modified SEABOSS. Usually at the end of a short photograph/video survey at each sampling site the winch operator lowered the Van Veen sampler until it rested on the riverbed. When the system was then raised a sample was taken from the riverbed and the sampler recovered to the deck of the survey vessel where a subsample was taken for analysis at the USGS Sediment Laboratory in Wood Hole, MA. The camera time during this survey was set to UTC; calibration photographs with the navigation system indicate that the camera time was 23 seconds ahead of GPS times, therefore a time offset was applied during photo processing. The GoPro camera was set to take a photo every 2 seconds while deployed. The best photos were acquired when the sampler was briefly set down on the riverbed. Likewise, the best video was typically acquired when the sampler was briefly set down on the riverbed prior to taking a sediment sample.