NODC Lithologic Descriptions (DEC41_GOM shapefile)

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Frequently anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?

Title: NODC Lithologic Descriptions (DEC41_GOM shapefile)
Abstract:
This is an original data file created by the Marine Geology and Geophysics group of NODC from 1970-1975, abstracted from published and unpublished material contributed to NODC in 1975, after which no updates were added.
Supplemental_Information:
This data set contains only a subset of the data available in the NGDC Seafloor Surficial Sediment (deck41) Data File. Please see the Completness Report for detailed information.
  1. How might this data set be cited?
    Poppe, Lawrence J., 2003, NODC Lithologic Descriptions (DEC41_GOM shapefile): Open-File Report 03-001, U. S. Geological Survey, Coastal and Marine Geology Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, Woods Hole, MA.

    Online Links:

    This is part of the following larger work.

    Poppe, L.J., Paskevich, V.F., Williams, S.J., Hastings, M.E., Kelley, J.T., Belknap, D.F., Ward, L.G., Fitzgerald, D.M., and Larsen, P.F., 2003, Surficial Sediment Data from the Gulf of Maine, Georges Bank, and vicinity: a GIS Compilation: Open-File Report 03-001, U. S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

    Online Links:

    Other_Citation_Details: 1 CD-ROM
  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?
    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -72.000000
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -65.017000
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 44.997000
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 39.000000
  3. What does it look like?
    http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2003/of03-001/data/seddata/dec41_gom/dec41_gom-thumb.gif (GIF)
    Thumbnail image showing extent and distribution of data layer coverage.
    http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2003/of03-001/data/seddata/dec41_gom/dec41_gom.gif (GIF)
    Image map showing extent and distribution of data layer coverage.
  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?
    Beginning_Date:
    Ending_Date: 23-Oct-1966
    Currentness_Reference:
    publication date
  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):
      • Entity point (1759)
    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 0.001. Longitudes are given to the nearest 0.001. Latitude and longitude values are specified in Decimal degrees. The horizontal datum used is North American Datum of 1927.
      The ellipsoid used is Clarke 1866.
      The semi-major axis of the ellipsoid used is 6378206.400000.
      The flattening of the ellipsoid used is 1/294.978698.
  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?
    dec41_gom.dbf
    Shapefile Attribute Table (Source: ESRI)
    FID
    Internal feature number. (Source: ESRI) Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated.
    Shape
    Feature geometry. (Source: ESRI) Coordinates defining the features.
    NODCREF
    Code that assigns records to a source (Source: NGDC)
    Range of values
    Minimum:501
    Maximum:887
    Units:integer count
    Resolution:1
    PROJECT
    Name of the project during which the data were collected (Source: NGDC) Project names
    SHIP_CRUIS
    Name assigned to identify the ship and cruise during which the data were collected (Source: NGDC) Ship and cruise names
    STATION
    Names assigned to the sample location (Source: Scientist) Name of sample location
    DEVICE
    Equipment used to collect samples (Source: Scientist) Name of sampling equipment
    DATE
    Year, month, and day when sample was collected (Source: Scientist) Year, month, and day when sample was collected
    LATITUDE
    Latitude coordinate of sample location (Source: Scientist)
    Range of values
    Minimum:39
    Maximum:44.997
    Units:Decimal degrees
    Resolution:0.001
    LONGITUDE
    Longitude coordinate of sample location (Source: Scientist)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-72
    Maximum:-65.017
    Units:Decimal degrees
    Resolution:0.001
    DEPTH_M
    Water depth in meters (Source: Data Collector)
    Range of values
    Minimum:1
    Maximum:2898
    Units:meters
    Resolution:1
    DOMINANT_L
    Description of primary lithology (Source: Scientist) Character String; Descrptions of lithology
    SECOND_LIT
    Description of secondary lithology (Source: Scientist) Character String; Descrptions of minor component of the lithology
    COMBINED
    Description of primary and secondary lithologies (Source: Scientist) Character String; Descrptions of lithologic components
    DESCRIPTIO
    Verbal description of the samples lithology and texture (Source: Scientist) Character String; Descrptions of lithology and texture (e.g. grain size and color)

Who produced the data set?

  1. Who are the originators of the data set? (may include formal authors, digital compilers, and editors)
    • Lawrence J. Poppe
  2. Who also contributed to the data set?
    National Geophysical Data Center for supplying the original NGDC Seafloor Surficial Sediment (deck41) Data File. Larry Poppe for creating the ArcView shapefile.
  3. To whom should users address questions about the data?
    Lawrence J. Poppe
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Geologist
    384 Woods Hole Road
    Woods Hole, MA
    USA

    (508) 548-8700 x2314 (voice)
    (508) 457-2310 (FAX)
    lpoppe@usgs.gov

Why was the data set created?

The purpose of this data layer is to provide the unpublished lithologic descriptions from the NGDC Surficial Sediment (deck41) Data File in a form that can be used to interpret surficial sediment distributions off the northeastern United States.

How was the data set created?

  1. From what previous works were the data drawn?
    Information unavailable from original metadata. (source 1 of 1)
    National Geophysical Data Center, Unpublished Material, NGDC Surficial Sediment (deck41) Data File.

    Type_of_Source_Media: online
    Source_Contribution: Information unavailable from original metadata.
  2. How were the data generated, processed, and modified?
    Date: 16-Oct-2002 (process 1 of 5)
    The lithologic descriptions, navigation, and survey identifiers were saved as an ASCII text file. The ASCII text file was imported to an ArcView table. The table was later converted to an event theme in ArcView and saved as the final shapefile. Person who carried out this activity:
    Lawrence J. Poppe
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Geologist
    USGS
    Woods Hole, MA
    USA

    508-457-2314 (voice)
    (508) 457-2310 (FAX)
    lpoppe@usgs.gov
    Data sources used in this process:
    • dec41_gom.txt
    Data sources produced in this process:
    • dec41_gom.shp
    • dec41_gom.dbf
    • dec41_gom.shx
    Date: 01-Dec-2015 (process 2 of 5)
    Edits to the metadata were made to fix any errors that MP v 2.9.32 flagged. This is necessary to enable the metadata to be successfully harvested for various data catalogs. In some cases, this meant adding text "Information unavailable" or "Information unavailable from original metadata" for those required fields that were left blank. Other minor edits were probably performed (title, publisher, publication place, etc.). The metadata date (but not the metadata creator) was edited to reflect the date of these changes. 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. Person who carried out this activity:
    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
    Date: 20-Jul-2018 (process 3 of 5)
    USGS Thesaurus keywords added to the keyword section. 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
    Date: 18-Nov-2019 (process 4 of 5)
    Crossref DOI link was added as the first link in the metadata. 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
    Date: 08-Sep-2020 (process 5 of 5)
    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?
    National Geophysical Data Center, Unpublished Material, NGDC Surficial Sediment (deck41) Data File.

How reliable are the data; what problems remain in the data set?

  1. How well have the observations been checked?
    All attributes were checked by the compilers in a consistent manner.
  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?
    Navigational equipment varied by the individual source project and year. Navigational accuracy is unknown.
  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?
  4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?
    This data set contains fields that are only a subset of those fields available in the NGDC Seafloor Surficial Sediment (deck41) Data File (e.g. only those stations from the Gulf of Maine, Georges Bank, and off southeastern New England are included; only unpublished data). This data set contains station locations, cruise identifiers, and lithologic descriptions (primary and secondary lithology, combined, and descriptions) for 1761 stations.
  5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?
    No additional checks for topological consistency were performed on this data.

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:
Public domain data from the U.S. Government are freely redistributable with proper metadata and source attribution. Please recognize the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) as the source of this information.
  1. Who distributes the data set? (Distributor 1 of 1)
    Lawrence J. Poppe
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Geologist
    384 Woods Hole Road
    Woods Hole, MA
    USA

    (508) 548-8700 x2314 (voice)
    (508) 457-2310 (FAX)
    lpoppe@usgs.gov
  2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set? Downloadable Data
  3. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?
    Although these data have been used by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), no warranty expressed or implied is made by the U.S. Geological Survey as to the accuracy of the data. 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: Five files (dec41_gom.shp, dec41_gom.dbf, dec41_gom.shx, dec41_gom.sbx, dec41_gom.sbn) comprising the ArcView point shapefile components, 'prj' and 'avl' files, metadata text file and browse graphic. in format SHP (version 3.2) ESRI point shapefile Size: 0.047
      Network links: http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2003/of03-001/data/seddata/dec41_gom/dec41_gom.zip
      Media you can order: CD-ROM (Density 650 Mbytes) (format ISO 9600)
      Note: The user must have a computer system with a CD-ROM available. To browse the information contained on this CD-ROM, the user must have a current WWW browser available. The user must also have software installed on their computer to unzip the archived file.
    • Cost to order the data: None

  5. What hardware or software do I need in order to use the data set?
    These data are available in Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) shapefile format. The user must have ArcGIS or ArcView 3.0 or greater software to read and process the data file. In lieu of ArcView or ArcGIS, the user may utilize another GIS application package capable of importing the data. A free data viewer, ArcExplorer, capable of displaying the data is available from ESRI at www.esri.com.

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:
Last modified: 16-Nov-2021
Metadata author:
Lawrence J. Poppe
U.S. Geological Survey
Geologist
384 Woods Hole Road
Woods Hole, MA
USA

508-457-2314 (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 metadata contact is no longer with the USGS or the email is otherwise invalid.
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/ofr2003-001/dec41_gom.shp.faq.html>
Generated by mp version 2.9.50 on Tue Nov 16 10:06:29 2021