Surficial sediment data from Boston Harbor collected during USGS Field Activity 04019 (SEDGRABS, UTM 19, WGS84)

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Frequently anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?

Title:
Surficial sediment data from Boston Harbor collected during USGS Field Activity 04019 (SEDGRABS, UTM 19, WGS84)
Abstract:
This data set includes the locations, identifiers, grain-size data and(or) textural descriptions of surficial sediments collected at stations based on topographic and backscatter data of the seafloor in Boston Harbor and the harbor appraoches, Massachusetts. The sediments were collected with a modified Van Veen grab (mini-SEABOSS) during USGS survey 04019, conducted September 14-17, 2004.
  1. How might this data set be cited?
    Ackerman, Seth, 2006, Surficial sediment data from Boston Harbor collected during USGS Field Activity 04019 (SEDGRABS, UTM 19, WGS84): Open-File Report 2006-1008, 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.

    Ackerman, S.D., Butman, B., Barnhardt, W.A., Danforth, W.W., and Crocker, J.M., 2006, High-Resolution Geologic Mapping of the Inner Continental Shelf: Boston Harbor and Approaches, Massachusetts: Open-File Report 2006-1008, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

    Online Links:

    Other_Citation_Details: 1 DVD-ROM
  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?
    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -71.047248
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -70.825337
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 42.434524
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 42.269389
  3. What does it look like?
  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?
    Beginning_Date: 14-Sep-2004
    Ending_Date: 17-Sep-2004
    Currentness_Reference:
    ground condition
  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 (64)
    2. What coordinate system is used to represent geographic features?
      Grid_Coordinate_System_Name: Universal Transverse Mercator
      Universal_Transverse_Mercator:
      UTM_Zone_Number: 19
      Transverse_Mercator:
      Scale_Factor_at_Central_Meridian: 0.999600
      Longitude_of_Central_Meridian: -69.000000
      Latitude_of_Projection_Origin: 0.000000
      False_Easting: 500000.000000
      False_Northing: 0.000000
      Planar coordinates are encoded using coordinate pair
      Abscissae (x-coordinates) are specified to the nearest 0.000032
      Ordinates (y-coordinates) are specified to the nearest 0.000032
      Planar coordinates are specified in meters
      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?
    sedgrabs
    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.
    ID
    Information unavailable from original metadata. (Source: Information unavailable from original metadata.) Information unavailable from original metadata.
    LABNO
    USGS unique identifier consisting of two characters and three numerics (Source: USGS East Coast Sediment Texture Database data dictionary) String of width 5
    STATIONID
    Sample name assigned in the field (Source: USGS East Coast Sediment Texture Database data dictionary) String of width 5
    PROJECTID
    Project under which the samples were taken (Source: USGS East Coast Sediment Texture Database data dictionary) Information unavailable from original metadata.
    CRUISEID
    Name or number of cruise during which the samples were collected (Source: USGS East Coast Sediment Texture Database data dictionary) Information unavailable from original metadata.
    PRINCIPAL
    Name (initial and last name) of the principal investigator (Source: USGS East Coast Sediment Texture Database data dictionary) Information unavailable from original metadata.
    MONTH
    Calendar month sample was analyzed (Source: USGS) Information unavailable from original metadata.
    DAY
    Day sample was analyzed (Source: USGS) Information unavailable from original metadata.
    YEAR
    Day sample was analyzed (Source: USGS) Information unavailable from original metadata.
    LATITUDE
    Latitude coordinate of sample location (Source: USGS East Coast Sediment Texture Database data dictionary) Information unavailable from original metadata.
    LONGITUDE
    Longitude coordinate of sample location (Source: USGS East Coast Sediment Texture Database data dictionary) Information unavailable from original metadata.
    DEVICE
    Device used to collect sample (Source: USGS East Coast Sediment Texture Database data dictionary) SMALL SEABOSS
    AREA
    General geographic area (Source: USGS East Coast Sediment Texture Database data dictionary) Information unavailable from original metadata.
    DEPTH_M
    Depth or sounding in meters (Source: USGS East Coast Sediment Texture Database data dictionary) Information unavailable from original metadata.
    T_DEPTH
    Top depth of the sample below sediment-water interface in centimeters (Source: USGS East Coast Sediment Texture Database data dictionary) Information unavailable from original metadata.
    B_DEPTH
    Bottom depth of the sample below sediment-water interface in centimeters (Source: USGS East Coast Sediment Texture Database data dictionary)
    ValueDefinition
    2Depth in sediment in cm
    WEIGHT
    Weight of dry sample in grams (Source: USGS East Coast Sediment Texture Database data dictionary) Information unavailable from original metadata.
    ZGRAVEL
    Gravel content in percent dry weight (Source: USGS East Coast Sediment Texture Database data dictionary) Information unavailable from original metadata.
    ZSAND
    Sand content in percent dry weight (Source: USGS East Coast Sediment Texture Database data dictionary) Information unavailable from original metadata.
    ZSILT
    Silt content in percent dry weight (Source: USGS East Coast Sediment Texture Database data dictionary) Information unavailable from original metadata.
    ZCLAY
    Clay content in percent dry weight (Source: USGS East Coast Sediment Texture Database data dictionary) Information unavailable from original metadata.
    SEDCLASS
    Sediment description based on Shepard 1954 (Source: USGS East Coast Sediment Texture Database data dictionary (See Shepard (1954))) Information unavailable from original metadata.
    MEDIAN
    Middle point in the grain-size distribution in phi units (Source: USGS East Coast Sediment Texture Database data dictionary) Information unavailable from original metadata.
    MEAN
    Average value in the grain-size distribution in phi units (Source: USGS East Coast Sediment Texture Database data dictionary) Information unavailable from original metadata.
    STDDEV
    Standard deviation of the grain size distribution (Source: USGS East Coast Sediment Texture Database data dictionary) Information unavailable from original metadata.
    SKEWNESS
    Deviation from symmetrical form of the grain-size distribution (Source: USGS East Coast Sediment Texture Database data dictionary) Information unavailable from original metadata.
    KURTOSIS
    Degree of curvature near the mode of the grain-size distribution (Source: USGS East Coast Sediment Texture Database data dictionary) Information unavailable from original metadata.
    MODE_1_CLA
    First mode in phi units (Source: USGS East Coast Sediment Texture Database data dictionary) Information unavailable from original metadata.
    MODE_1_FRE
    Frequency percent of the first mode (Source: USGS East Coast Sediment Texture Database data dictionary) Information unavailable from original metadata.
    MODE_2_CLA
    Second mode in phi units (Source: USGS East Coast Sediment Texture Database data dictionary) Information unavailable from original metadata.
    MODE_2_FRE
    Frequency percent of the second mode (Source: USGS East Coast Sediment Texture Database data dictionary) Information unavailable from original metadata.
    MODE_3_CLA
    Third mode in phi units (Source: USGS East Coast Sediment Texture Database data dictionary) Information unavailable from original metadata.
    MODE_3_FRE
    Frequency percent of the third mode (Source: USGS East Coast Sediment Texture Database data dictionary) Information unavailable from original metadata.
    NMODES
    Number of modes (Source: USGS East Coast Sediment Texture Database data dictionary) Information unavailable from original metadata.
    PHI_11
    Cumulative weight percent of the sample in the 11 phi fraction (Source: USGS East Coast Sediment Texture Database data dictionary) Information unavailable from original metadata.
    PHI_10
    Cumulative weight percent of the sample in the 10 phi fraction (Source: USGS East Coast Sediment Texture Database data dictionary) Information unavailable from original metadata.
    PHI_9
    Cumulative weight percent of the sample in the 9 phi fraction (Source: USGS East Coast Sediment Texture Database data dictionary) Information unavailable from original metadata.
    PHI_8
    Cumulative weight percent of the sample in the 8 phi fraction (Source: USGS East Coast Sediment Texture Database data dictionary) Information unavailable from original metadata.
    PHI_7
    Cumulative weight percent of the sample in the 7 phi fraction (Source: USGS East Coast Sediment Texture Database data dictionary) Information unavailable from original metadata.
    PHI_6
    Cumulative weight percent of the sample in the 6 phi fraction (Source: USGS East Coast Sediment Texture Database data dictionary) Information unavailable from original metadata.
    PHI_5
    Cumulative weight percent of the sample in the 5 phi fraction (Source: USGS East Coast Sediment Texture Database data dictionary) Information unavailable from original metadata.
    PHI_4
    Cumulative weight percent of the sample in the 4 phi fraction (Source: USGS East Coast Sediment Texture Database data dictionary) Information unavailable from original metadata.
    PHI_3
    Cumulative weight percent of the sample in the 3 phi fraction (Source: USGS East Coast Sediment Texture Database data dictionary) Information unavailable from original metadata.
    PHI_2
    Cumulative weight percent of the sample in the 2 phi fraction (Source: USGS East Coast Sediment Texture Database data dictionary) Information unavailable from original metadata.
    PHI_1
    Cumulative weight percent of the sample in the 1 phi fraction (Source: USGS East Coast Sediment Texture Database data dictionary) Information unavailable from original metadata.
    PHI_0
    Cumulative weight percent of the sample in the 0 phi fraction (Source: USGS East Coast Sediment Texture Database data dictionary) Information unavailable from original metadata.
    PHIM1
    Cumulative weight percent of the sample in the -1 phi fraction (Source: USGS East Coast Sediment Texture Database data dictionary) Information unavailable from original metadata.
    PHIM2
    Cumulative weight percent of the sample in the -2 phi fraction (Source: USGS East Coast Sediment Texture Database data dictionary) Information unavailable from original metadata.
    PHIM3
    Cumulative weight percent of the sample in the -3 phi fraction (Source: USGS East Coast Sediment Texture Database data dictionary) Information unavailable from original metadata.
    PHIM4
    Cumulative weight percent of the sample in the -4 phi fraction (Source: USGS East Coast Sediment Texture Database data dictionary) Information unavailable from original metadata.
    PHIM5
    Cumulative weight percent of the sample in the -5 phi fraction (Source: USGS East Coast Sediment Texture Database data dictionary) Information unavailable from original metadata.
    ACKTIME
    Time in seconds from Jan 1, 2004 12:00:01 AM (Source: USGS) Information unavailable from original metadata.
    PHOTONO
    Original photo number as recorded by the digital camera used to take the on-deck sample photos (Source: USGS) Information unavailable from original metadata.
    HOTLINK
    Field used to hotlink the sample photo in ArcMap or ArcView (Source: USGS) Information unavailable from original metadata.
    ZONE
    Seafloor zone that the sample lies in (zone corresponds to the polygons in the shapefile "bottomtype.shp") (Source: USGS) Information unavailable from original metadata.

Who produced the data set?

  1. Who are the originators of the data set? (may include formal authors, digital compilers, and editors)
    • Seth Ackerman
  2. Who also contributed to the data set?
  3. To whom should users address questions about the data?
    Seth Ackerman
    Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management
    Geologist
    384 Woods Hole Rd.
    Woods Hole, MA
    USA

    508-548-8700 x2315 (voice)
    508-457-2310 (FAX)
    seth.ackerman@state.ma.us

Why was the data set created?

This data set was produced to ground-truth (verify) topography and backscatter intensity of the seafloor in Boston Harbor and the harbor appraoches, Massachusetts. The acoustic data associated with this project were collected with multibeam, vertical-beam and sidescan sonar systems in 2000 and 2001, by NOAA NOS for hydrographic mapping purposes.

How was the data set created?

  1. From what previous works were the data drawn?
    SeaBOSS (source 1 of 1)
    USGS, unpublished material, Raw SeaBOSS photos and navigation.

    Type_of_Source_Media: digital files
    Source_Contribution: sea floor bottom photographs, navigation, and grab samples
  2. How were the data generated, processed, and modified?
    Date: unknown (process 1 of 7)
    Samples were collected by grab sampler and analyzed in the laboratory. Coarse fraction determined by sieve; fine fraction determined by Coulter Counter. Visual descriptions were used for rocky/bouldery stations where samples could not be collected. See Poppe, Williams, Paskevich (2005, http://woodshole.er.usgs.gov/openfile/of2005-1001/) for analytical specifics. Person who carried out this activity:
    L.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 produced in this process:
    • rafa04019_seddata.txt
    Date: unknown (process 2 of 7)
    The shapefile was created in ArcView from the ASCII comma-delimited files created by the laboratory's software. Person who carried out this activity:
    Seth Ackerman
    Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management
    Geologist
    c/o U.S. Geological Survey
    Woods Hole, MA
    USA

    508-548-8700 x2315 (voice)
    508-457-2310 (FAX)
    seth.ackerman@state.ma.us
    Data sources used in this process:
    • rafa04019_seddata.txt
    Data sources produced in this process:
    • rafa04019_seddata.shp
    Date: 05-Nov-2015 (process 3 of 7)
    Edits to the metadata were made to fix any errors that MP v 2.9.30 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. The original process steps had no process date, so those were set to unknown. Additionally, the source contribution information was virtually non-existent. An attempt was made to add minimal information based on knowledge of the SeaBOSS system. Many of the attributes had no attribute domain values, so this was set to Unrepresentable_Domain, with "Information unavailable from original metadata."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: 29-Jan-2018 (process 4 of 7)
    An error was fixed in one of the originator names. 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: 20-Jul-2018 (process 5 of 7)
    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: 30-Jan-2019 (process 6 of 7)
    Fixed a broken link and added the DOI link. 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 7 of 7)
    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?

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

  1. How well have the observations been checked?
    All attributes were checked in a consistent manner
  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?
    Navigation was by differential GPS; positional accuracy to less than 10 m
  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?
  4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?
    All available grain-size data collected during the RV Rafael cruise 04019 are included in this data set.
  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)
    Seth Ackerman
    Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management
    Geologist
    384 Woods Hole Road
    Woods Hole, MA
    USA

    (508) 548-8700 x2315 (voice)
    (508) 457-2310 (FAX)
    seth.ackerman@state.ma.us
  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 all data have been used by the USGS, 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 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: The SHP file contains the geospatial data. The SHX file contains the index of the geospatial data. The DBF file contains the attribute data in dBASE format. The PRJ file contains the coordinate system information (optional). The AVL file contains the legend information (optional). The SBN and SBX files contain the spatial index of the geospatial data (optional). The XML file contains the metadata describing the data set <data set name>.shp.xml. An ASCII version of the metadata file. A browse graphic showing the data layer coverage and extent (optional). in format Shapefile (version 3.3) ESRI Point Shapefile Size: 0.007
      Network links: https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2006/1008/gis/datazipped/sedgrabs.zip
      https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2006/1008/html/appendix1.html
      https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2006/1008/gis/OFR_2006_1008/shapes/
      Media you can order: DVD-ROM (Density 4.75 Gbytes) (format UDF)
    • 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 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: 18-Mar-2024
Metadata author:
Seth Ackerman
Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management
Geologist
c/o U.S. Geological Survey
Woods Hole, MA
USA

508-548-8700 x2315 (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 USGS. (updated on 20240318)
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/ofr2006-1008/sedgrabs.shp.faq.html>
Generated by mp version 2.9.51 on Mon Mar 25 16:05:24 2024