Depth contours derived from swath bathymetry data collected in Buzzards Bay by the U.S. Geological Survey and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration offshore of Massachusetts in 2004, 2009, 2010, and 2011 (BB_5mCntr Esri Polyline Shapefile, Geographic, WGS84).

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Frequently anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?

Title:
Depth contours derived from swath bathymetry data collected in Buzzards Bay by the U.S. Geological Survey and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration offshore of Massachusetts in 2004, 2009, 2010, and 2011 (BB_5mCntr Esri Polyline Shapefile, Geographic, WGS84).
Abstract:
These data were collected under a cooperative agreement between the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management (CZM) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Coastal and Marine Geology Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center (WHSC). Initiated in 2003, the primary objective of this program is to develop regional geologic framework information for the management of coastal and marine resources. Accurate data and maps of seafloor geology are important first steps toward protecting fish habitat, delineating marine resources, and assessing environmental changes due to natural or human impacts. The project is focused on the inshore waters of coastal Massachusetts, primarily in water depths of 5 to 30 meters (m) deep. Data collected for the mapping cooperative have been released in a series of USGS Open-File Reports (http://woodshole.er.usgs.gov/project-pages/coastal_mass/). The data collected in the study area in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts, include high-resolution geophysics (bathymetry, backscatter intensity, and seismic reflection) and ground validation (sediment samples, video tracklines, and bottom photographs). The geophysical data are released in USGS Open-File Report 2012-1002, High-Resolution Geophysical Data from the Inner Continental Shelf: Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts (http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2012/1002/). The sampling data have not been prepared for publication yet. The geophysical data were collected during four separate surveys conducted between 2004 and 2011 (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) survey H11319 (in 2004; bathymetry only) and USGS surveys 2009-002-FA, 2010-004-FA, and 2011-004-FA)) and cover 410 square kilometers of the inner continental shelf. More information about the individual USGS surveys conducted as part of the Buzzards Bay project can be found on WHCS Field Activity Web pages: 2009-002-FA: http://woodshole.er.usgs.gov/operations/ia/public_ds_info.php?fa=2009-002-FA 2010-004-FA: http://woodshole.er.usgs.gov/operations/ia/public_ds_info.php?fa=2010-004-FA 2011-004-FA: http://woodshole.er.usgs.gov/operations/ia/public_ds_info.php?fa=2011-004-FA Information about the NOAA survey can be found at: H11319: http://surveys.ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/NOS/coast/H10001-H12000/H11319/DR/
  1. How might this data set be cited?
    U.S. Geological Survey, 2013, Depth contours derived from swath bathymetry data collected in Buzzards Bay by the U.S. Geological Survey and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration offshore of Massachusetts in 2004, 2009, 2010, and 2011 (BB_5mCntr Esri Polyline Shapefile, Geographic, WGS84).: Open-File Report 2012-1002, U.S. Geological Survey, Coastal and Marine Geology Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, Woods Hole, Massachusetts.

    Online Links:

    This is part of the following larger work.

    Ackerman, Seth D., Andrews, Brian D., Foster, David S., Baldwin, Wayne E., and Schwab, William C., 2013, High-Resolution Geophysical Data from the Inner Continental Shelf: Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts.: Open-File Report 2012-1002, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

    Online Links:

  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?
    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -71.120190
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -70.659312
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 41.669336
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 41.372962
  3. What does it look like?
    http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2012/1002/GIS/browse_jpg/big/BB_5mCntr.jpg (JPEG)
    Contour lines for swath bathymetry in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts
  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?
    Beginning_Date: 30-Mar-2004
    Ending_Date: 13-May-2011
    Currentness_Reference:
    ground condition of individual surveys on the following dates: 20040330-20040412; 20090528-20090618; 20100515-20100520; 20110513
  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):
      • String (197)
    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 0.000001. Longitudes are given to the nearest 0.000001. Latitude and longitude values are specified in Decimal degrees. 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.
      Vertical_Coordinate_System_Definition:
      Depth_System_Definition:
      Depth_Datum_Name: Mean lower low water
      Depth_Resolution: 5
      Depth_Distance_Units: meters
      Depth_Encoding_Method: Explicit depth coordinate included with horizontal coordinates
  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?
    BB_5mCntr
    5 meter bathymetric contours (Source: USGS)
    FID
    Internal feature number. (Source: ESRI) Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated.
    Shape
    Feature geometry. (Source: ESRI) Coordinates defining the features.
    CONTOUR
    Depth of contour below mean lower low water. (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-40
    Maximum:-10
    Shape_Leng
    Length of contours in meters (based on the UTM 19, WGS84 coordinate system) which was recalculated in the final process step after creating the shapefile that had been reprojected to Geographic coordinate system. (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:500.2
    Maximum:103031.8

Who produced the data set?

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

    508-548-8700 x2315 (voice)
    508-457-2310 (FAX)
    sackerman@usgs.gov

Why was the data set created?

This dataset contains bathymetric contours (at a 5 meter contour interval) for Buzzards Bay that were derived from interferometric (Systems Engineering and Assessment Ltd. SWATHPlus-M) and multibeam (RESON SeaBat 8125) bathymetry collected by the U.S. Geological Survey and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, respectively, during four surveys (USGS surveys 2009-002-FA, 2010-004-FA and 2011-004-FA; and NOAA survey H11319 in 2004) offshore of Massachusetts, in Buzzards Bay. These data are used to define the seafloor morphology as part of the Massachusetts Seafloor Mapping Project.

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: Jan-2013 (process 1 of 8)
    Generalize the input depth raster: The input raster (bb_bathy5m) was smoothed using ArcGIS 9.3 geoprocessing step described below: Smooth input grid using a 5x5 mean filter with the Block Statistics Tool in ArcToolbox (ver. 9.3) Input raster = bb_bathy5m, Output raster = BlockSt_bb5m, Neighborhood= Rectangle, Neighborhood Settings = 5 x 5, Cell statistics type = Mean, Ignore NoData in calculations=checked. Person who carried out this activity:
    Seth Ackerman
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Geologist
    384 Woods Hole Rd.
    Woods Hole, MA

    (508) 548-8700 x2315 (voice)
    (508) 457-2310 (FAX)
    sackerman@usgs.gov
    Data sources used in this process:
    • bb_bathy5m (This publication)
    Date: Jan-2013 (process 2 of 8)
    Calculate generalized depth contours from smoothed depth grid using ArcToolbox (ver. 9.3). A new File Geodatabase was created to store feature classes produced in this step. Both the input depth grid and output feature class were in the UTM Zone 19, WGS84 Coordinate System. 1) Contour: Input raster = BlockSt_vs5m, Output polyline features = BB5mCntr_50m (feature class), Contour Interval = 5 Base Contour = 0, Z Factor = 1, Raster analysis cell size = 50m. 2) Simplify Line: Input Features = BB5mCntr_50m, Output Feature Class = BB5mCntr_50m_Simple100, Simplification Algorithm = Bend_Simplify, Reference Baseline = 100, Meters, Check for topological errors and Resolve topological errors options were both selected. 4) Smooth Line: Input Features = BB5mCntr_50m_Simple100, Output Feature Class = BB5mCntr_50_SimpleSmooth, Smoothing Algorithm = Bezier_Interpolation, Handling topological errors option was not selected. Person who carried out this activity:
    Seth Ackerman
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Geologist
    384 Woods Hole Rd.
    Woods Hole, MA

    (508) 548-8700 x2315 (voice)
    (508) 457-2310 (FAX)
    sackerman@usgs.gov
    Date: Jan-2013 (process 3 of 8)
    Convert feature class to shapefile: The ArcToolbox (ver 9.3) projection process was used to export the contour feature class from the file geodatabase and create a shapefile. Before projection all contours with lengths >= 500m were selected so that shorter contours were omitted from the output shapefile. Removal of the short contours improves cartographic display. Final contours were projected from UTM Zone 19, WGS84 to Geographic Coordinate System, WGS84. Input Dataset or Feature Class = BB5mCntr_50_SimpleSmooth (feature class), Output Dataset or Feature Class = BB_5mCntr.shp (shapefile), Input Coordinate System = WGS_1984_UTM_Zone_19N, Output Coordinate System = WGS_1984 Person who carried out this activity:
    Seth Ackerman
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Geologist
    384 Woods Hole Rd.
    Woods Hole, MA

    (508) 548-8700 x2315 (voice)
    (508) 457-2310 (FAX)
    sackerman@usgs.gov
    Date: Jan-2013 (process 4 of 8)
    XTools Pro (version 7.1.0) for ArcGIS desktop was used (Table Operations - MultiDelete Fields) to remove the unnecessary fields that were automatically created by the geodatabase in the polyline shapefile's attribute table. Then, the length field ('Shape_Leng') was updated to account for any slight differences in the contour lengths after the reprojection and converstion to shapefile. This calculation was done using 'Calculate Geometry' (Property = Length; Use coordinate system of the data frame = WGS 1984 UTM Zone 19N; Unit = Meters), which can be accessed by right clicking on the attribute field name in the table view within ArcMap. Person who carried out this activity:
    Seth Ackerman
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Geologist
    384 Woods Hole Rd.
    Woods Hole, MA

    (508) 548-8700 x2315 (voice)
    (508) 457-2310 (FAX)
    sackerman@usgs.gov
    Date: 08-Dec-2015 (process 5 of 8)
    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 6 of 8)
    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 7 of 8)
    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 8 of 8)
    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?
    The CONTOUR and Shape_Length attributes for this shapefile are generalized and described further in the processing step section of data quality below.
  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?
    Hydrographic survey H11319: Horizontal sounding positional control for the NOAA H11319 survey was determined using the Global Positioning System (GPS) corrected by U.S. Coast Guard Differential GPS (DGPS) beacon stations. The primary DGPS beacon used for survey H11319 was at Acushnet, MA and the secondary beacon was at Portsmouth, NH. No horizontal control stations were established for the NOAA survey. Additional information may be found in the NOAA Descriptive Report for survey H11319 and the Data Acquisition and Processing Report. Field activities 2009-002-FA and 2010-004-FA: Navigation was acquired with a Coda Octopus F180 Differential Global Positioning System + Wide Area Augmentation System (DGPS+WAAS); which are accurate to + or - 1 to 2 meters, horizontally. All DGPS data are referenced to WGS84. The SWATHPlus transducers were mounted on a rigid pole, approximately 2.46 m below the water line, along the starboard side of the M/V Megan T. Miller. The DGPS antenna was located on the same pole approximately 4.3m above the sea surface. These offsets were corrected within the SWATHPlus acquisition software. Field activity 2011-004-FA: Navigation was acquired with a Coda Octopus F180 Differential Global Positioning System + Wide Area Augmentation System (DGPS+WAAS); which are accurate to + or - 1 to 2 meters, horizontally. All DGPS data are referenced to WGS84. The SWATHPlus transducers were mounted on a rigid pole, approximately 2.17 m below the water line, along the starboard side of the M/V Scarlett Isabella. The DGPS antenna was located on the same pole approximately 4.6m above the sea surface. These offsets were corrected within the SWATHPlus acquisition software. The DGPS horizontal positional accuracy is estimated to be within 3-5 m; WAAS enable DGPS accuracy is estimated to be within less than 3 m and the accuracy of RTK-GPS (which was not applied to the horizontal positions for these surveys) is estimated to be less than 1 m. However, the U.S. Coast Guard maintains a maritime DGPS service providing 10 meter accuracy for the coastal areas of the continental US; therefore, a very conservative, worse-case estimate of the horizontal positional accuracy of this survey data is approximately 10 meters (although these systems have been shown to be reliable to less than 2m). (sources: http://www.noaa.gov; http://www.nos.noaa.gov; http://www.ngs.noaa.gov; http://www.nstb.tc.faa.gov/; http://www.navcen.uscg.gov).
  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?
    NOAA Hydrographic survey H11319: NOAA's National Ocean Service Hydrographic Surveys Specifications and Deliverables closely follow the International Hydrographic Organizations Standards for Hydrographic Surveys, Reference tests conducted in the summer 2004 showed that the NOAA Ship RUDE's sonar system exceeded the International Hydrographic Organization's "Special Order" specification. Position and attitude on the NOAA Ship Rude was measured using TSS POS/MV 320 and a Trimble DSM-212L DGPS receiver. A SeaBird SBE 19 SEACAT conductivity, temperature and depth (CTD) profiler was used to measure sound-velocity data. The tidal datum for survey H11319 is Mean Lower Low Water (MLLW). Tidal corrections were calculated using verified data from tidal station #8452660 at Newport, RI, and final corrected soundings (from a zoned tidal model) were referenced to MLLW (NOAA DAPR, 2004; NOAA DR, 2004). Refer to the NOAAShipRUDE2004 Data Acquisition and Processing Report (DAPR) and the Horizontal and Vertical Control Report in the Descriptive Report, for detailed equipment, vessel configuration and setting information. USGS field activities 2009-002-FA, 2010-004-FA and 2011-004-FA: Vertical accuracy of the raw data based on system specifications may approximate 1% of water depth, 0.10.4 meters within the survey area. However, overall vertical accuracies on the order of 50cm or more are assumed based on the following considerations: The Coda Octopus F180 Attitude and Positioning system was used to correct for vessel roll, pitch, heave, and yaw, which has a theoretical vertical accuracy of a few mm. Tidal offsets were corrected to MLLW using Real-Time Kinematic GPS (RTK-GPS) heights in post-processing (see process steps). Corrections were sent via cellular modem and VHF radio to the ship from the base station on land. The primary reference station is located at the USGS Marine Operations Facility (MOF) in Falmouth, MA. Field tests using submerged targets suggest that the vertical accuracy of the RTK-GPS tidal correction is less than 30cm. Refraction artifacts were minimized by acquiring a range of sound velocity profiles with a hand-casted Applied MicroSystems SV Plus sound velocimeter during survey 2009-002-FA and an ODIM MVP30 moving vessel profiler during surveys 2010-004-FA and 2011-004-FA. Sound velocity data are entered into the SWATHPlus acquisition software to model the sound velocity structure of the water column. Gridding algorithms and cell sizes for these data could introduce errors as great as 3m along the edges of the data, but gridding-induced errors are likely much smaller (less than 20cm) for most of the survey area. Changes in ship draft due to water and fuel usage were not considered.
  4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?
    Small depth contours less than 100 meters in length were removed to improve cartographic display.
  5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?
    Bathymetric contours were simplified and smoothed to improve cartographic display of contours. As a result of this process small areas with depth values of less than 5 meters were omitted though the generalization, smoothing and simplification process.

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 as the source of this information.
  1. Who distributes the data set? (Distributor 1 of 1)
    Seth Ackerman
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Geologist
    384 Woods Hole Rd.
    Woods Hole, MA
    USA

    508-548-8700 x2315 (voice)
    508-457-2310 (FAX)
    sackerman@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?
    Neither the U.S. Government, the Department of the Interior, nor the USGS, nor any of their employees, contractors, or subcontractors, make any warranty, express or implied, nor assume any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, nor represent that its use would not infringe on privately owned rights. 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: Contour lines for swath-bathymetry data (interferometric sonar and multibeam echosounder) collected by the U.S. Geological Survey and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration offshore of Massachusetts in Buzzards Bay. This also includes associated metadata. in format SHP (version ArcGIS 9.3) Esri polyline shapefile Size: 0.2
      Network links: http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2012/1002/GIS/shapefile/BB_5mCntr.zip
      Media you can order: DVD-ROM (Density 4.75 GB) (format UDF)
    • Cost to order the data: none

  5. What hardware or software do I need in order to use the data set?
    This zip file contains data available in Esri shapefile format. The zip file also contains associated metadata. 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: 08-Sep-2020
Metadata author:
Seth Ackerman
U.S. Geological Survey
Geologist
384 Woods Hole Rd.
Woods Hole, MA
USA

508-548-8700 x2315 (voice)
508-457-2310 (FAX)
sackerman@usgs.gov
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/ofr2012-1002/BB_5mCntr.shp.faq.html>
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