Lithologic Descriptions from the Continental Margin Program (HATHLITH71 shapefile)

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Frequently anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?

Title:
Lithologic Descriptions from the Continental Margin Program (HATHLITH71 shapefile)
Abstract:
This data set contains lithologic information on bottom sediments from the Continental Margin Program. The program was a joint collaboration between the U.S. Geological Survey and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution during the 1960s to conduct a geological reconnaissance investigation of the continental shelf and slope off the Atlantic coast of the United States. Only those records without complete size analyses and only those stations from the Gulf of Maine, Georges Bank, and southeastern New England shelf and slope are included in this data set. Other stations where detailed textural analyses are available or are from other areas have been excluded. Furthermore, dredges were used to collect most of the bottom samples, resulting in winnowing that has resulted in lithologic descriptions that are texturally coarser than actually present. Care should be taken when using this dataset.
  1. How might this data set be cited?
    Poppe, Lawrence J., 2003, Lithologic Descriptions from the Continental Margin Program (HATHLITH71 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: -71.900000
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -63.533330
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 46.086670
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 39.236670
  3. What does it look like?
    http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2003/of03-001/data/seddata/hathlith71/hathlith71-thumb.gif (GIF)
    Thumbnail image showing extent and distribution of data layer coverage.
    http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2003/of03-001/data/seddata/hathlith71/hathlith71.gif (GIF)
    Image map showing extent and distribution of data layer coverage.
  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?
    Calendar_Date: 1971
    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 (899)
    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 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?
    hathlith71.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.
    FIELDID
    Name assigned to a sampling station (Source: Scientist) Character and numeric names assigned to identify a station
    CRUISEID
    Name assigned to identify a cruise (Source: Scientist) Character and numeric names assigned to identify a ship and leg
    AREA
    Geographic area where the station is located (Source: Scientist) Geographic area where a station is located
    LATITUDE
    Latitude coordinate of sample location (Source: Scientist)
    Range of values
    Minimum:39.23667
    Maximum:46.08667
    Units:Decimal degrees
    Resolution:0.00001
    LONGITUDE
    Longitude coordinate of sample location (Source: Scientist)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-71.90000
    Maximum:-63.53333
    Units:Decimal degrees
    Resolution:0.00001
    DEPTH_M
    Water depth in meters (Source: Scientist)
    Range of values
    Minimum:5
    Maximum:3423
    Units:meters
    Resolution:1
    DEVICE
    Equipment used to collect a sample (Source: Scientist) Name of equipment used to collect a sample
    DATE
    Year sample was collected (Source: Scientist)
    Range of values
    Minimum:1955
    Maximum:1970
    Units:year
    Resolution:1
    LITHOLOGY
    Description of the sediment (Source: Scientist) Verbal description of the sediments character
    COMMENTS
    Notes on sampling and bottom character (Source: Scientist) Notes on sampling and bottom character
    CLASSIFICA
    Textural description of the sediment. Most samples collected by dredge have been excluded (Source: Compiler) Verbal descriptions of the sediment and(or) bottom
    Entity_and_Attribute_Overview:
    Navigation, lithologic description, and station identifiers for samples from a subset of those collected as part of the Continental Margin Program.
    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)
    • Lawrence J. Poppe
  2. Who also contributed to the data set?
    Please review the cross reference information for the original data set credit to Hathaway (1971), and 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 make available a digital subset of the Hathaway data set. This subset contains information for those samples with lithologic descriptions, but no raw grain size data, and which are located in/on the Gulf of Maine, Georges Bank, and southeastern New England continental shelf.

How was the data set created?

  1. From what previous works were the data drawn?
    Information unavailable from original metadata. (source 1 of 1)
    Hathaway, J.C., 1971, Data File: Continental Margin Program Atlantic Coast of the United States: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Reference Number 71-15, v. 2, 496 p., Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA.

    Type_of_Source_Media: paper
    Source_Contribution: Information unavailable from original metadata.
  2. How were the data generated, processed, and modified?
    Date: 08-Oct-2002 (process 1 of 5)
    Continental Margin Program data comprised of lithologic descriptions from Gulf of Maine, Georges Bank, and the continental shelf and slope off southeastern New England were clipped from the whole dataset of the Continental Margin Program in Excel and exported to an ASCII file. Stations and sediment data were imported from the ASCII text file to an ArcView table. The table was later converted to an event theme and saved as the final shapefile. Person who carried out this activity:
    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
    Data sources used in this process:
    • hathlith71.txt
    Data sources produced in this process:
    • hathlith71.shp
    • hathlith71.dbf
    • hathlith71.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 source information was incomplete and had to be modified to meet the standard. 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?
    Hathaway, J.C., 1971, Data File: Continental Margin Program Atlantic Coast of the United States: Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Reference Number 71-15, v. 2, 496 p., Woods Hole Oceanographc Institution, Woods Hole, MA.

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?
    Navigation was variously performed RADAR, Loran A, and line of sight. Navigational accuracy is unknown.
  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?
  4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?
    Navigation, lithologic descriptions, and identifiers are provided for 899 stations from the Continental Margin Program
  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 (hathlith71.shp, hathlith71.dbf, hathlith71.shx, hathlith71.sbx, hathlith71.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: 0.024
      Network links: http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2003/of03-001/data/seddata/hathlith71/hathlith71.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) 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 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/hathlith71.shp.faq.html>
Generated by mp version 2.9.50 on Tue Nov 16 10:06:29 2021