USGS benthic foraminiferal samples (1996 - 1997)

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Frequently anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?

Title: USGS benthic foraminiferal samples (1996 - 1997)
Abstract:
This GIS layer contains a point overlay showing the the population of benthic foraminiferain samples collected during the time period of 1996 - 1997 by the USGS.
  1. How might this data set be cited?
    Thomas, Ellen, 2000, USGS benthic foraminiferal samples (1996 - 1997): Open-File Report 2000-304, U. S. Geological Survey, Woods Hole Field Center, Woods Hole, MA.

    Online Links:

    Other_Citation_Details:
    Ellen Thomas was the editor of this individual dataset. The accompanying chapter in the OFR includes the authors Taras Gapotchenko, Johan C. Varekamp, Ellen L. Mecray, and Marilyn R. Buchholtz ten Brink.
    This is part of the following larger work.

    Paskevich, Valerie, and Poppe(ed.), Larry, 2000, Georeferenced Sea-Floor Mapping and Bottom Photography in Long Island Sound: U. S. Geological Survey Open-File Report OFR 00-304, U. S. Geological Survey, Woods Hole Field Center, Woods Hole, MA.

    Online Links:

    Other_Citation_Details:
    Valerie F. Paskevich and Lawrenc J. Poppe are the editors of the publication which contains 12 individual chapters with various authors.
  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?
    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -73.7466
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -72.4066
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 41.2696
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 40.8781
  3. What does it look like?
    usgs9697.gif (GIF)
    image showing the extent of the GIS layer and the distribution of benthic foraminiferal samples collected during the time period of 1996 - 1997 by the USGS in Long Island Sound
  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?
    Calendar_Date: 1996
    Currentness_Reference:
    data acquisition
  5. What is the general form of this data set?
    Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: point shapefile
  6. How does the data set represent geographic features?
    1. How are geographic features stored in the data set?
      This is a Point data set. It contains the following vector data types (SDTS terminology):
      • Point (45)
    2. What coordinate system is used to represent geographic features?
      Grid_Coordinate_System_Name: Universal Transverse Mercator
      Universal_Transverse_Mercator:
      UTM_Zone_Number: 18
      Transverse_Mercator:
      Scale_Factor_at_Central_Meridian: 0.99960
      Longitude_of_Central_Meridian: -075.000000
      Latitude_of_Projection_Origin: +00.000000
      False_Easting: 500000
      False_Northing: 0
      Planar coordinates are encoded using coordinate pair
      Abscissae (x-coordinates) are specified to the nearest 8500
      Ordinates (y-coordinates) are specified to the nearest 4000
      Planar coordinates are specified in Meters
      The horizontal datum used is North American Datum of 1983.
      The ellipsoid used is GRS80.
      The semi-major axis of the ellipsoid used is 6378137.00.
      The flattening of the ellipsoid used is 1/298.257222101.
      Vertical_Coordinate_System_Definition:
      Depth_System_Definition:
      Depth_Datum_Name: Local surface
      Depth_Resolution: 2
      Depth_Distance_Units: Meters
      Depth_Encoding_Method: Attribute values
  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?
    usgs9697.dbf
    Shapefile attribute file (Source: ESRI)
    Usgs96_97_
    Assigned unique identifier of sample. (Source: User Defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:1
    Maximum:51
    Cruis
    Name of Cruise from which sample collected. (Source: User Defined) Character field
    Station_na
    Name or number of station at which sample was collected. (Source: User Defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:23
    Maximum:93
    Longitude
    Longitude, in decimal-degrees, of sample location. (Source: User Defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-73.746600
    Maximum:-72.406600
    Units:decimal-degrees
    Latitude
    Latitude, in decimal-degrees, of sample location. (Source: User Defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:40.878100
    Maximum:41.269600
    Units:decimal-degrees
    Water_dept
    Measured depth of water overlying sediment at sample time, in original units. (Source: User Defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:0.000000
    Maximum:35.000000
    Units:meters
    E__excavat
    Elphidium excavatum in a species of benthic foraminifera (Source: User Defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:0.0000
    Maximum:92.300000
    Units:Perecent of total benthic foraminifera
    Resolution:0.1
    Elph__i
    Elphidium incertum is a species of benthic foraminifera (Source: User Defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:0.000000
    Maximum:50.500000
    Units:Percent of total fbenthic oraminifera
    Resolution:0.1
    B__frigid
    Bucella frigida is a species of benthic foraminifera. (Source: User Defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:1.000000
    Maximum:36.300000
    Units:% of total benthic foraminifera.
    Resolution:0.10
    Egg__adven
    Eggeralla advena is a species of benthic foraminifera. (Source: User Defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:0.000000
    Maximum:1.000000
    Units:Percent of the total benthic foraminifera
    Resolution:0.1
    A__beccari
    Ammonia beccarii is a species of benthic foraminifera (Source: User Defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:0.000000
    Maximum:27.800000
    Units:Percent of the total benthic foraminifera
    Resolution:0.1
    Entity_and_Attribute_Overview:
    This is a point layer showing the distribution of samples collected by the USGS during the time period of 1996- 1997. Attribute information associated with the samples provide analysis of the composition of benthic foraminiferal assemblages in LIS.
    Entity_and_Attribute_Detail_Citation: none

Who produced the data set?

  1. Who are the originators of the data set? (may include formal authors, digital compilers, and editors)
    • Ellen Thomas
  2. Who also contributed to the data set?
  3. To whom should users address questions about the data?
    Wesleyan University
    Attn: Ellen Thomas
    professor
    Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences
    Wesleyan University
    265 Church Street
    Middletown, CT
    USA

    (860) 685-2238 (voice)
    ethomas@wesleyan.edu

Why was the data set created?

The purpose of this layer is to disseminate a digital version of the location of benthic foraminiferal samples and population data collected and analyzed by the USGS during the time period of 1996 - 1997.

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: Unknown (process 1 of 3)
    Sediment samples were washed on a 0.062 mm sieve to separate the foraminifera from the silt and clay. Foraminifera were picked from the fraction retained on the sieve and individually identified and counted with a binocular microscope using reflected light. Person who carried out this activity:
    Wesleyan University
    Attn: Ellen Thomas
    Professor
    265 Church Street
    Middletown, CT
    USA

    (860) 685-2238 (voice)
    ethomas@weslyan.edu
    Date: Unknown (process 2 of 3)
    The foraminifera data and navigation were entered into a flat-file database (Excel) and inported into Mapview for graphical analysis. The files were subsequently exported into MIDMIF files, and converted into shape files with the Arc utility MIFSHAPE.EXE. Person who carried out this activity:
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Attn: Ellen L. Mecray
    384 Woods Hole road
    Woods Hole, MA
    USA

    (508) 548-8700 x2213 (voice)
    emecray@usgs.gov
    Date: 26-Jun-2023 (process 3 of 3)
    Edits to the metadata were made to fix any errors that MP v 2.9.50 flagged. This is necessary to enable the metadata to be successfully harvested for various data catalogs. Additional small edits including (but not limited to) such as adding the edition element were perfomed on the metadata. Author names were edited to remove "ed." and "comp". Added links to access the data including the DOI link. Added USGS Thesaurus keywords. Added keywords section with USGS persistent identifier as theme keyword (PID). Fixed the ellipsoid name to agree with the datum. Fixed the denominator of flattening ratio. Updated the distribution liability. The distribution format name was modified in an attempt to be more consistent with other metadata files of the same data format. The metadata date (but not the metadata creator) was edited to reflect the date of these changes. A generic email in the metadata contact was used, along with adding contact instructions. The metadata available from a harvester may supersede metadata bundled within a download file. Compare the metadata dates to determine which metadata file is most recent. (20230626) Person who carried out this activity:
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Attn: VeeAnn A. Cross
    Marine Geologist
    384 Woods Hole Rd.
    Woods Hole, MA
    USA

    (508) 548-8700 x2251 (voice)
    (508) 457-2310 (FAX)
    vatnipp@usgs.gov
  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?
    The foraminifera species were individually identified and counted with a binocular microscope using standard micropaleontologic procedures. This suggest a reproducibility of less than 1 standard deviation.
  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?
    Ship navigation was by radar and line of sight (sextant) and is therefore of variable accuracy.
  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?
    No attempt was made to correct depths for tides. Accuracy is assumed to be 1 to 2 meters.
  4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?
    none
  5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?
    No additional checks for topological consistency were performed on this data set.

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 The U.S. Geological Survey and Wesleyan University must be referenced as the originator of the dataset in any future products or research derived from these data.
Although this derived data set and its lineage dataset have been used by the USGS, Wesleyan University and the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, no warranty, expressed or implied, is made by either the USGS, Wesleyan University or the Connecticut DEP as to the accuracy of the data and/or related materials. The act of distribution shall not constitute any such warranty, and no responsibility is assumed by either the USGS, Wesleyan University or the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection in the use of these data or related materials.
  1. Who distributes the data set? (Distributor 1 of 1)
    Wesleyan University
    Attn: Ellen L. Thomas
    professor
    Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences Wesleyan University 265 Church Street
    Middletown, CT
    USA

    (860) 685-2238 (voice)
    ethomas@wesleyan.edu
  2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set? Long Island Sound: usgs9697.shp
  3. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?
    Although this derived data set and its lineage dataset have been used by the USGS, Connecticut Department of Environmental protection and Wesleyan University, no warranty, expressed or implied, is made by the USGS as to the accuracy of the data and/or related materials. The act of distribution shall not constitute any such warranty, and no responsibility is assumed by either the USGS, Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection or Wesleyan University, in the use of these data or related materials.
  4. How can I download or order the data?
  5. Is there some other way to get the data?
    None
  6. What hardware or software do I need in order to use the data set?
    The usgs9697 layer is available in an ArcView shapefile format. The user must have ESRI's ArcView 3.0 or greater software to read and process the data file. In lieu of ArcView, the user may utilize another GIS application package capable of importing the data.

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:
Last modified: 26-Jun-2023
Metadata author:
Larry Poppe
U. S. Geological Survey
geologist
384 Woods Hole Road
Woods Hole, MA
USA

(508) 548-8700 x2314 (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:
FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata (FGDC-STD-001-1998)
This page is <https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/catalog/whcmsc/open_file_report/ofr2000-304/usgs9697.faq.html>
Generated by mp version 2.9.51 on Mon Jun 26 11:24:41 2023