Still images in JPEG format of the sediment surface in the grab sampler, collected on Stellwagen Bank during U.S. Geological Survey field activity 2019-008-FA, aboard the R/V Auk, July 30, 31, and August 1, 2019

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Frequently anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?

Title:
Still images in JPEG format of the sediment surface in the grab sampler, collected on Stellwagen Bank during U.S. Geological Survey field activity 2019-008-FA, aboard the R/V Auk, July 30, 31, and August 1, 2019
Abstract:
This field activity is 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. This cruise 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 53 locations on Stellwagen Bank at which 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.
Supplemental_Information:
Additional information regarding this field activity is available from https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2019-008-FA.
  1. How might this data set be cited?
    Valentine, Page C., 2020, Still images in JPEG format of the sediment surface in the grab sampler, collected on Stellwagen Bank during U.S. Geological Survey field activity 2019-008-FA, aboard the R/V Auk, July 30, 31, and August 1, 2019: data release DOI:10.5066/P93ATKSC, 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., 2020, Sea-floor sediment samples, seabed imagery, and CTD instrument data collected on Stellwagen Bank in July and August, 2019, U.S. Geological Survey Field Activity 2019-008-FA: data release DOI:10.5066/P93ATKSC, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

    Online Links:

    Other_Citation_Details:
    Suggested citation: Valentine, P.C., and Cross, V.A., 2020, Sea-floor sediment samples, seabed imagery, and CTD instrument data collected on Stellwagen Bank in July and August, 2019, U.S. Geological Survey Field Activity 2019-008-FA: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P93ATKSC .
  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?
    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -70.456940
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -70.137190
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 42.421360
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 42.170197
  3. What does it look like?
    https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/data/field-activity-data/2019-008-FA/data/imagery/2019-008-FA_sampleimage_browse.jpg (JPEG)
    Browse graphic of an example grab sample still image on Stellwagen Bank.
  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?
    Beginning_Date: 30-Jul-2019
    Ending_Date: 01-Aug-2019
    Currentness_Reference:
    Ground condition of when data were collected. There were three days of data collection, July 30, 31, and August 1, 2019.
  5. What is the general form of this data set?
    Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: raster
  6. How does the data set represent geographic features?
    1. How are geographic features stored in the data set?
      Indirect_Spatial_Reference:
      Location information is in the EXIF header and also indicated by the station location in the station data summary data file (available from the Larger Work citation).
    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 0.00001. Longitudes are given to the nearest 0.00001. 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?
    Entity_and_Attribute_Overview:
    Although the images do not have attributes per se, the EXIF header information can be extracted or viewed to give additional information about each image. The process step explains how to extract the information from the image header, and is replicated here.
    To extract the information from the image headers using ExifTool, the following command can be used (tested with ExifTool version 11.54):
    exiftool.exe -csv -f -filename -GPSTimeStamp -GPSDateStamp -GPSLongitude -GPSLatitude -n -Artist -Credit -comment -contact -keywords -Caption -Copyright -CopyrightNotice -Caption-Abstract -ImageDescription -UserComment *.JPG > out.csv
    The -csv flag writes the information out in a comma-delimited format. The -n option formats the latitude and longitude as signed decimal degrees. Whether you use exiftool or exiftool.exe will depend on the system on which the command is being run.
    Entity_and_Attribute_Detail_Citation: U.S. Geological Survey

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)
    pvalentine@usgs.gov

Why was the data set created?

Photos were collected of the sediment sample in the grab sampler to document the texture of the seabed surface, the degree of disturbance during sampling, biological features such as worm tubes, and to estimate the volume of sediment collected.

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: 2019 (process 1 of 3)
    Still images of the sediment sample surfaces were collected using a hand-held Nikon 7100 digital camera with a resolution of 24 megapixels (6000 x 4000 pixels), and with an 18-200x zoom lens with an aperture ranging from f3.5 to f5.6. After retrieval of the SEABOSS and placement on its wooden stand, the two doors (right and left) on the top of the Van Veen grab sampler were opened and a photo was taken of the sediment surface in each side of the sampler bucket. The centimeter scale in the image allows measurement of the distance from the top of the grab bucket to the top of the sediment surface and provides a qualitative measure of the volume of sediment collected by the grab, which is 15 cm deep in the deepest part of the sampler. See the cross-references for a description of the SEABOSS system. 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
    Data sources produced in this process:
    • *.JPG
    Date: 2020 (process 2 of 3)
    Using 2019-008-FA_station_data_summary.csv, the approximate time and location of each photo was derived. Any station that did not have an image acquired was deleted. The station location (latitude and longitude), date and time for each station was extracted from the CSV file. This information was reformatted using an AWK script (awksampleimages_2019-008-FA) so that the following columns of information were available: image name (based on the station number), Julian day, GPS date (in the format YYYYMMDD), GPS time (in the format HH:MM:SS), latitude, and longitude. This information was written to a CSV file - 2019-008-FA_grabimage_locations.csv. This process step and the subsequent process steps (unless otherwise noted), were performed by the same person - VeeAnn A. Cross. 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
    Data sources used in this process:
    • 2019-008-FA_station_data_summary.csv
    Data sources produced in this process:
    • 2019-008-FA_grabimage_locations.csv
    Date: 2020 (process 3 of 3)
    A Python script (writeexif_2_readfile_7_25_19.py executed with IDLE version 2.7.14) was then run that incorporated the information from 2019-008-FA_grabimage_locations.csv, along with additional information, into the appropriate tags in the EXIF header of each grab image at each station. The Python script uses ExifTool (version 11.54) to write the information to the image headers of the full-resolution images. The following tags were populated in the JPEG image headers. Information is duplicated in some tags because different software packages access different tags.
    GPS tags: The values populated are unique for each image and based on the information exported from 2019-008-FA_station_data_summary.csv. 
    GPSLatitudeRef
GPSLatitude
GPSLongitudeRef
GPSLongitude
GPSTimeStamp
GSPDateStamp
    JPEG tags: The tag is listed along with the information used to populate it, which is the same for every image.
    comment: Photo of grab sample in sampler from a hand-held Nikon 7100 digital camera aboard the R/V Auk during survey 2019-008-FA (https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2019-008-FA ).
    EXIF tags: The tag is listed along with the information used to populate it, which is the same for every image. 
    ImageDescription: Photo of grab sample in sampler from a sample on Stellwagen Bank, MA from survey 2019-008-FA
Artist: Page C. Valentine
Copyright: Public Domain - please credit the U.S. Geological Survey
UserComment: Image part of USGS data release https://doi.org/10.5066/P93ATKSC
    IPTC tags: The tag is listed along with the information used to populate it - which is the same for every image. 
    Credit: U.S. Geological Survey
Contact: WHSC_data_contact@usgs.gov
keywords: Stellwagen Bank, Massachusetts, 2019-008-FA, SEABOSS, sea floor, USGS, ground-truth, https://doi.org/10.5066/P93ATKSC
CopyrightNotice: Public Domain - please credit U.S. Geological Survey
Caption-Abstract: Photo of grab sample in sampler from a sample on Stellwagen Bank, MA from survey 2019-008-FA
    XMP tags: The tag is listed along with the information used to populate it - which is the same for every image. Caption: Photo of grab sample in sampler from a sample on Stellwagen Bank, MA from survey 2019-008-FA
    To extract the information from the image headers using ExifTool, the following command can be used (tested with ExifTool version 11.54):
    exiftool.exe -csv -f -filename -GPSTimeStamp -GPSDateStamp -GPSLongitude -GPSLatitude -n -Artist -Credit -comment -contact -keywords -Caption -Copyright -CopyrightNotice -Caption-Abstract -ImageDescription -UserComment *.JPG > out.csv
    The -csv flag writes the information out in a comma-delimited format. The -n option formats the latitude and longitude as signed decimal degrees. Whether you use exiftool or exiftool.exe will depend on the system on which the command is being run. Data sources used in this process:
    • 2019-008-FA_grabimage_locations.csv
    • *.JPG
    Data sources produced in this process:
    • *.JPG
  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:

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?
    Although the images do not represent spatial data, the spatial information is available in the EXIF header of each image, which is derived from the station data summary file (available from the Larger Work citation). The location information for stations was acquired from a satellite navigation receiver (Furuno satellite compass SC-30, GPS receiver) at two-second intervals with a horizontal accuracy of 10 m. The navigation antenna is located 5.3 m forward of the SEABOSS deployment location. This offset was not accounted for in the navigation acquisition (navigation fixes represent antenna location). The location information in the EXIF header of each image does not represent the exact location where the image was taken; rather each image was given the latitude and longitude of the station location (the location of a sediment sample).
  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?
  4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?
    Sediment samples were successfully collected at 44 of the 53 stations visited. Sediment samples have a maximum of two images - one showing the sediment surface in the right-hand side of the sampler, and the other showing the sediment surface in the left-hand side of the sampler. All successful sample collections have two images. One sediment sample at station 4927 was not kept for analysis due to poor quality, but has two images, making a total of 90 sample images.
  5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?
    The image names are in the format: staXXXX_Y.JPG. The designation XXXX is the station number; Y represents R or L, the right- and left-hand sides of the sample surface in the grab sampler. Each sediment sample has two images - one showing the sediment surface in the right-hand side of the sampler, and the other showing the sediment surface in the left-hand side of the sampler. The clock on the camera was not perfectly synced to the GPS time, so the GPSTimeStamp value in the EXIF header will not match the time portion of the DateTime, DateTimeOriginal, or DateTimeDigitized elements in the EXIF header.

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: None.
  1. Who distributes the data set? (Distributor 1 of 1)
    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
  2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set? 2019-008-FA_SampleImages.zip contains the 90 JPEG images, the browse graphic (2019-008-FA_sampleimage_browse.jpg), and the FGDC CSDGM metadata in XML format.
  3. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?
    Although these data have been processed successfully on a computer system at 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. The USGS or the U.S. Government shall not be held liable for improper or incorrect use of the data described and/or contained herein. 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?
  5. What hardware or software do I need in order to use the data set?
    The ZIP file contains images in JPEG format. The user must have software capable of uncompressing the ZIP file and viewing the JPEG images.

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:
Last modified: 23-Nov-2020
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)
vatnipp@usgs.gov
Metadata standard:
Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata (FGDC-STD-001-1998)
This page is <https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/catalog/whcmsc/field_activities/2019_008_fa/2019-008-FA_SampleImages_meta.faq.html>
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