Photographs, station locations, video location, and grain-size analyses of the sea floor in western Massachusetts Bay, offshore of Boston, Massachusetts, July, 1999

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Metadata:

Identification_Information
Data_Quality_Information
Spatial_Reference_Information
Entity_and_Attribute_Information
Distribution_Information
Metadata_Reference_Information

Identification_Information:

Citation:

Citation_Information:

Originator: Benjamin T. Gutierrez
Originator: Bradford Butman
Originator: Dann S. Blackwood
Publication_Date: 2001
Title:

Photographs, station locations, video location, and grain-size analyses of the sea floor in western Massachusetts Bay, offshore of Boston, Massachusetts, July, 1999

Edition: 1
Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: vector digital data, raster digital data, tabular data
Series_Information:

Series_Name: Open-File Report
Issue_Identification: 2000-427

Publication_Information:

Publication_Place: Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, Woods Hole, MA
Publisher:

U.S. Geological Survey, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program

Online_Linkage: https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr2000427
Larger_Work_Citation:

Citation_Information:

Originator: Benjamin T. Gutierrez
Originator: Bradford Butman
Originator: Dann S. Blackwood
Publication_Date: 2001
Title:

Photographs of the sea floor in western Massachusetts Bay, offshore of Boston, Massachusetts, July, 1999

Edition: 1
Series_Information:

Series_Name: Open-File Report
Issue_Identification: 2000-427

Publication_Information:

Publication_Place: Reston, VA
Publisher: U.S. Geological Survey

Other_Citation_Details:

Suggested citation: Gutierrez, B.T., Butman, B., and Blackwood, D.S., 2001, Photographs of the sea floor in western Massachusetts Bay, offshore of Boston, Massachusetts, July, 1999: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2000-427, https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr2000427.

Online_Linkage: https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr2000427

Description:

Abstract:

This CD-ROM contains photographs and sediment sample analyses of the sea floor obtained at 142 sites in western Massachusetts Bay during a research cruise (USGS cruise ISBL99024) aboard the Fishing Vessel (FV) Isabel S. conducted July 18-21, 1999. Collection of these photographs and samples was undertaken in support of a large project whose overall objective is to map and describe the sea floor of Massachusetts Bay.

Purpose:

These photographs and samples provide critical ground truth information for the interpretation of shaded relief and backscatter intensity maps created using data collected with a multibeam echo sounder system (Butman and others, in press, a, b, c; Valentine and others, in press, a, b, c).

Supplemental_Information:

The original publication did not have metadata so this metadata was created in 2025 based on the information contained in the report.
These data are associated with the field activity 1999-024-FA. More information is available at: https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/services/activity.php?fan=1999-024-FA

Time_Period_of_Content:

Time_Period_Information:

Range_of_Dates/Times:

Beginning_Date: 19990718
Ending_Date: 19990721

Currentness_Reference: ground condition of data acquisition.

Status:

Progress: Complete
Maintenance_and_Update_Frequency: None planned

Spatial_Domain:

Bounding_Coordinates:

West_Bounding_Coordinate: -70.8579
East_Bounding_Coordinate: -70.3943
North_Bounding_Coordinate: 42.5187
South_Bounding_Coordinate: 42.1656

Keywords:

Theme:

Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: USGS Metadata Identifier
Theme_Keyword: USGS:2d591f97-6ac5-44bd-ac27-29e46dfb7d0c

Theme:

Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: None
Theme_Keyword: U.S. Geological Surve
Theme_Keyword: Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center
Theme_Keyword: photographs
Theme_Keyword: sea floor
Theme_Keyword: seafloor

Theme:

Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: USGS Thesaurus
Theme_Keyword: underwater photography
Theme_Keyword: marine geology
Theme_Keyword: grab sampling
Theme_Keyword: grain-size analysis
Theme_Keyword: image collections

Theme:

Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: ISO 19115 Topic Category
Theme_Keyword: oceans
Theme_Keyword: geoscientificInformation

Place:

Place_Keyword_Thesaurus: None
Place_Keyword: Boston
Place_Keyword: Massachusetts
Place_Keyword: Massachusetts Bay
Place_Keyword: western Massachusetts Bay

Access_Constraints: none
Use_Constraints: none
Point_of_Contact:

Contact_Information:

Contact_Person_Primary:

Contact_Person: Benjamin T. Gutierrez
Contact_Organization: U.S. Geological Survey

Contact_Position: Geologist
Contact_Address:

Address_Type: mailing and physical address
Address: 384 Woods Hole Rd.
City: Woods Hole
State_or_Province: MA
Postal_Code: 02543-1598
Country: USA

Contact_Voice_Telephone: (508) 548-8700 x2289
Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: (508) 457-2310
Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: bgutierrez@usgs.gov

Data_Set_Credit: Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center
Native_Data_Set_Environment: Windows
Cross_Reference:

Citation_Information:

Originator: Dan Blackwood
Originator: Kenneth F. Parolski
Publication_Date: 2000
Title:

"Seaboss": an elegantly simple image an sample collecting system (extended abs.)

Series_Information:

Series_Name:

Proceedings, 6th International Conference on Remote Sensing for Marine Environments

Issue_Identification: v. 1, p. 99-106

Publication_Information:

Publication_Place: Charleston, S.C.
Publisher: Veridian ERIM International

Cross_Reference:

Citation_Information:

Originator: Bradford Butman
Originator: Laura Hayes
Originator: W.W. Danforth
Originator: P.C. Valentine
Publication_Date: 2003
Title:

Sea floor topography of Quadrangle 2 in western Massachusetts Bay offshore of Boston, Massachusetts

Series_Information:

Series_Name: IMAP
Issue_Identification: 2732-A

Publication_Information:

Publication_Place: Reston, VA
Publisher: U.S. Geological Survey

Other_Citation_Details:

Although in this Open-File Report, this IMAP is referenced as "in press", the IMAP has since been published. This citation information reflects the published IMAP. In the Open-File report, this IMAP is referred to as "Butman and others, in press, a". The scale of the map is 1:25000.

Online_Linkage: https://doi.org/10.3133/i2732A

Cross_Reference:

Citation_Information:

Originator: Bradford Butman
Originator: Laura Hayes
Originator: W.W. Danforth
Originator: P.C. Valentine
Publication_Date: 2003
Title:

Shaded relief and sea floor topography of Quadrangle 2 in western Massachusetts Bay offshore of Boston, Massachusetts

Series_Information:

Series_Name: IMAP
Issue_Identification: 2732-B

Publication_Information:

Publication_Place: Reston, VA
Publisher: U.S. Geological Survey

Other_Citation_Details:

Online_Linkage: https://doi.org/10.3133/i2732B

Cross_Reference:

Citation_Information:

Originator: Bradford Butman
Originator: Laura Hayes
Originator: W.W. Danforth
Originator: P.C. Valentine
Publication_Date: 2003
Title:

Backscatter intensity, shaded relief, and sea floor topography of Quadrangle 2 in western Massachusetts Bay offshore of Boston, Massachusetts

Series_Information:

Series_Name: IMAP
Issue_Identification: 2732-C

Publication_Information:

Publication_Place: Reston, VA
Publisher: U.S. Geological Survey

Other_Citation_Details:

Online_Linkage: https://doi.org/10.3133/i2732C

Data_Quality_Information:

Logical_Consistency_Report:

The assumption is that the data were collected and processed in a consistent manner not unlike other work of a similar nature from Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center.

Completeness_Report: Information not available from the original publication.
Positional_Accuracy:

Horizontal_Positional_Accuracy:

Horizontal_Positional_Accuracy_Report:

Although the details of the navigation is not specifically addressed in the metadata, the assumption is that the work is consistent with other work from the science center at the time period. Assuming the navigation system was a GPS system, the accuracy would have been assumed to be within 10 meters. Because the system used to collect the bottom photographs and sediment samples is deployed via a cable, and additional navigational error is related to the unknown drift of the acquistion system from the ship - as well as an offset from the navigation antenna. The data could reasonable be assumed to be accurate to within approximage 30 meters. The datum is assumed to be NAD83 based on similar work, but is only an assumption and is what is used to populate the horizontal spatial reference information.

Vertical_Positional_Accuracy:

Vertical_Positional_Accuracy_Report:

The assumption is that the depth values in the sediment analysis dataset are based on the ship fathometer, rounded to the nearest meter. This would be consistent with other similar work in the area. However, the publication does not indicate this so this is merely an assumption and what is used to populate the vertical coordinate system information.

Lineage:

Process_Step:

Process_Description:

Photographic and Sampling system:
The following description comes directly from the Open-File Report.
The bottom photographs presented on this CD-ROM were obtained using a system called Seabottom Observation and Sampling System (SEABOSS,(Blackwood and Parolski, 2000)). This system acquires 35 mm color photographs, continuous color video from both a downward and a forward looking camera, and a sample of the bottom sediment. At each station, the SEABOSS was lowered to a target elevation 76 centimeters (30 inches) above the sea floor. As the ship drifts, typically at a knot or less, bottom video was recorded continuously and individual photographs of the sea floor were triggered remotely based on the video available in real time at the surface. Typically 5-50 still photographs were obtained at each station. At 76 centimeters above the bottom, the still photographs show a 76 x 51 centimeter footprint of the seafloor. At most stations, a single sample of the sediment was obtained, typically at the end of the transect. At some locations, cobbles and boulders on the seafloor made sampling impossible. Sediment was scooped from the top 2-cm of the sampler after the SEABOSS was raised to the surface and submitted for grain size analysis using the methods described in Poppe and others (1985).
The process date and processor are unknown.

Process_Date: Unknown

Process_Step:

Process_Description:

The still photos were developed and scanned to a CD as photo-CD files. They were then converted from photo-CD to JPEG format in order to reduce space requirements.
The process date and processor are unknown.

Process_Date: Unknown

Process_Step:

Process_Description:

Because the original Open-File Report did not contain metadata, this metadata file was written based on the information in that report. This work was done to assist in data discovery.
Many details are unknown and either explained in the metadata or designated as unknown, while at the same time keeping the metadata error free in terms of the standard and structure.
Some elements have been improved, such as cross-references that were originally listed as "in press" and have since been published.
For the purposes of this metadata file, the following datasets are significant:
JPEG images of the seabed
grain-size analyses in an Excel XLS spreadsheet (isblseds.xls)
grab sample locations in shapefile format (photos.shp: point shapefile)
station locations in shapefile format (sta_loc.shp: point shapefile) The Open-File Report indicates that the sta_locs.shp is the archived station locations for USGS cruise ISBL99024. And that the archived station location is determined to be either the grab sample location, or where a grab was not collected, the location is that of the last video-survey location.
video locations in shapefile format (video.shp: point shapefile with numerous points per video station)
Historically there are situation where a sample, video or photo was not obtained at a particular station, which would account for the varying number of records in each dataset.
The shapefiles are not readily available from the report and were intended to be part of the information more readily available on a CD-ROM. However, the folder containing the shapefiles can be accessed and includes additional shapefiles not described in this metadata file.

Process_Date: 20250730
Process_Contact:

Contact_Information:

Contact_Organization_Primary:

Contact_Organization: U.S. Geological Survey
Contact_Person: VeeAnn A. Cross

Contact_Position: Marine Geologist
Contact_Address:

Address_Type: mailing and physical address
Address: 384 Woods Hole Rd.
City: Woods Hole
State_or_Province: MA
Postal_Code: 02543-1598
Country: USA

Contact_Voice_Telephone: (508) 548-8700 x2251
Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: (508) 457-2310
Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: vatnipp@usgs.gov

Process_Step:

Process_Description:

The metdata filename was fixed to correctly represent the Open-File Report number (2000 instead of 200). The contact information was added to the process step for metadata creation. The process date for metadata creation was fixed. A USGS Thesaurus term had the spelling corrected. (20250805)

Process_Date: 20250805
Process_Contact:

Contact_Information:

Contact_Organization_Primary:

Contact_Organization: U.S. Geological Survey
Contact_Person: VeeAnn A. Cross

Contact_Position: Marine Geologist
Contact_Address:

Address_Type: mailing and physical address
Address: 384 Woods Hole Rd.
City: Woods Hole
State_or_Province: MA
Postal_Code: 02543-1598
Country: USA

Contact_Voice_Telephone: (508) 548-8700 x2251
Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: (508) 457-2310
Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: vatnipp@usgs.gov

Spatial_Reference_Information:

Horizontal_Coordinate_System_Definition:

Geographic:

Latitude_Resolution: .00001
Longitude_Resolution: .00001
Geographic_Coordinate_Units: Decimal Degrees

Geodetic_Model:

Horizontal_Datum_Name: North American Datum of 1983
Ellipsoid_Name: GRS1980
Semi-major_Axis: 6378137
Denominator_of_Flattening_Ratio: 298.257

Vertical_Coordinate_System_Definition:

Depth_System_Definition:

Depth_Datum_Name: Local surface
Depth_Resolution: 5
Depth_Distance_Units: meters
Depth_Encoding_Method: Attribute values

Entity_and_Attribute_Information:

Overview_Description:

Entity_and_Attribute_Overview:

The report does not contain any details with respect to the dataset attribute definitions. Therefore, rather than a detailed entity and attribute listing, the column names only are provided. This will prevent confusion and assumptions that may or may not be correct on the part of the metadata writer.
The pertinent datasets with respect to the grab samples and the seabed images are: isblseds.xls: contains station location and sediment grain-size analysis grab_loc.shp: contains the grab station location including the station number
grab_loc.shp contains 105 records and the attributes are as follows:
STATION
SAMPLE_JUL
LATITUDE
LONGITUDE_
DEPTH_IN_M
photos.shp contains 973 records and the attributes are as follows:
RECORDID
LED
JD_TIME_UT
DEC_LATIT
DEC_LONGI
PHOTO_CD
PHOTOCD_IM
STATION
sta_loc.shp contains 173 records of the archived stations locations. The archived station location is determined to be either the grab sample location, or where a grab was not collected, the location is that of the last video-survey location. The attributes are as follows:
STATION
JD_TIME_U
LATITUDE_W
LONGITUDE_
DEPTH_M_
CRUISE
DEC_LATIT
DEC_LONGI
WEB_ADD
video.shp contains 6939 records. There is a point roughly every 10 second along a video track, so each track contians numerous point. The attributes are as follows:
STATION
JUL_TIME
LATITUDE
LONGITUDE
CRUISE_ID
stastart.shp contains 143 records and the attributes are as follows:
STATION
JD_TIME
LATITUDE_N
LONGITUDE_
DEPTH_M_
CRUISE_ID
WEB_ADD
For the sediment grain-size analysix, given the standardization of work done in the sediment lab in Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, the following publication can provide useful information for the sediment analyses spreadsheet:
Poppe, L.J., McMullen, K.Y, Williams, S.J., and Paskevich, V.F., 2005, USGS east-coast sediment analysis-Procedures, database, and GIS Data: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2005-1001, https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20051001.
In particular the information available from the data dictionary page: https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2005/1001/htmldocs/datadict.htm.
isblseds.xls - location and grain-size analyses of sediment samples, a total of 98 data records:
Station
Cruise Id
Latitude N
Longitude W
Depth (m)
Sample Weight (g)
% Sand
% Gravel
% Silt
% Clay
Texture Class
Median Phi
Mean Phi
Standard Deviation
Skewness
Kurtosis
M1PHI
M1FRQ
M2PHI
M2FRQ
M3PHI
M3FRQ
MDS
Cfp11
Cfp10
Cfp9
Cfp8
Cfp7
Cfp6
Cfp5
Cfp4
Cfp3
Cfp2
Cfp1
Cfp0
Cfpm1
Cfpm2
Cfpm3
Cfpm4
Cfpm5
Fp11
Fp10
Fp9
Fp8
Fp7
Fp6
Fp5
Fp4
Fp3
Fp2
Fp1
Fp0
Fpm1
Fpm2
Fpm3
Fpm4
Fpm5

Entity_and_Attribute_Detail_Citation:

Barry, K.M., Cavers, D.A., and Kneale, C.W., 1975, Recommended standards for digital tape formats, in Digital Tape Standards; Society of Exploration Geophysicists ["Recommended standards for digital tape formats" reprinted from Geophysics, v. 32, p. 1073 - 1084; v. 37, p. 36-44; v. 40, p. 344 - 352.] p. 22 - 30. Cohen, J.K., and Stockwell, Jr. J.W., 1997, CWP/SU: Seismic Unix Release 1.6: a free package for seismic research and processing, Center for Wave Phenomena, Colorado School of Mines.

Distribution_Information:

Distributor:

Contact_Information:

Contact_Organization_Primary:

Contact_Organization: U.S.Geological Survey
Contact_Person: Benjamin T. Gutierrez

Contact_Position: Geologist
Contact_Address:

Address_Type: mailing and physical address
Address: 384 Wood Hole Road
City: Woods Hole
State_or_Province: MA
Postal_Code: 02543
Country: USGS

Contact_Voice_Telephone: 508-548-8700 X2289
Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: 508-457-2310
Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: bgutierrez@usgs.gov

Resource_Description:

The data described in this metadata file are as follows: photos.shp (point shapefile of still photograph locations from USGS cruise ISBL99024); grab_loc.shp (point shapefile of grab sample locations for USGS cruise ISBL99024); sta_loc.shp (point shapefile of archived station locations for USGS cruise ISBL99024); video.shp (point shapefile of video stations locations with a point roughtly every 10 seconds, and attribute associates each point with a specific station); stastart.shp (point shapefile of starting points of video surveys for each station for cruise ISBL99024);isblseds.xls (Excel spreadsheet of station locations and associated grain-size analyses). This brief description is assumed to be correct based on the information within each of the data files and the information provided by the Open-File Report.

Distribution_Liability:

Unless otherwise stated, all data, metadata and related materials are considered to satisfy the quality standards relative to the purpose for which the data were collected. Although these data and associated metadata have been reviewed for accuracy and completeness and approved for release by 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.

Standard_Order_Process:

Digital_Form:

Digital_Transfer_Information:

Format_Name: XLS
Format_Version_Number: unknown
Format_Information_Content: The Excel XLS file of the sediment grain-size analyses.
Transfer_Size: 1

Digital_Transfer_Option:

Online_Option:

Computer_Contact_Information:

Network_Address:

Network_Resource_Name: https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr2000427
Network_Resource_Name:

https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2000/of00-427/mbaygis/mb_pages/isblseds.xls

Network_Resource_Name:

https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2000/of00-427/mbaygis/mb_pages/isblseds.htm

Access_Instructions:

The first link is to the DOI of the Open-File Report. The second link is to the XLS file of the grain-size analyses, and the third link is to the HTML file of the sediment grain-size analyses.

Offline_Option:

Offline_Media: CD-ROM
Recording_Format: unknown

Digital_Form:

Digital_Transfer_Information:

Format_Name: shapefile
Format_Version_Number: ArcView 3.2
Format_Information_Content: The Excel XLS file of the sediment grain-size analyses.
Transfer_Size: 1

Digital_Transfer_Option:

Online_Option:

Computer_Contact_Information:

Network_Address:

Network_Resource_Name: https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr2000427
Network_Resource_Name:

https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2000/of00-427/mbaygis/mb_pages/datalist.htm

Network_Resource_Name: https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2000/of00-427/mbaygis/arcvw/shapes/

Access_Instructions:

The first link is to the DOI of the Open-File Report. The second link is to the listing of the shapefiles available from the report, and the third link is to the folder where the individual components of the shapefiles can be downloaded.

Offline_Option:

Offline_Media: CD-ROM
Recording_Format: unknown

Digital_Form:

Digital_Transfer_Information:

Format_Name: JPEG
Format_Information_Content: JPEG images of the scanned still photo film images.
Transfer_Size: 100

Digital_Transfer_Option:

Online_Option:

Computer_Contact_Information:

Network_Address:

Network_Resource_Name: https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr2000427
Network_Resource_Name:

https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2000/of00-427/mbaygis/mb_pages/stalist.htm

Access_Instructions:

The first link is to the DOI of the Open-File Report. The second link is to the ndex page of the stations, organized by quadrangle. Available stations are hyperlinked to a page displaying the seabed images acquired at that station location. XLS file of the grain-size analyses, and the third link is to the HTML file of the sediment grain-size analyses.

Offline_Option:

Offline_Media: CD-ROM
Recording_Format: unknown

Fees: none

Metadata_Reference_Information:

Metadata_Date: 20250805
Metadata_Contact:

Contact_Information:

Contact_Organization_Primary:

Contact_Organization: U.S. Geological Survey
Contact_Person: VeeAnn A. Cross

Contact_Position: Marine Geologist
Contact_Address:

Address_Type: mailing and physical address
Address: 384 Woods Hole Rd.
City: Woods Hole
State_or_Province: MA
Postal_Code: 02543-1598
Country: USA

Contact_Voice_Telephone: (508) 548-8700 x2251
Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: (508) 457-2310
Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: 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 U.S. Geological Survey.

Metadata_Standard_Name: FGDC Content Standard
Metadata_Standard_Version: 19940608

This page is <https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/catalog/whcmsc/open_file_report/ofr2000-427/ofr2000-427_meta.html>