Bathymetric depth contours at 5 meter intervals derived from interferometric sonar data collected offshore of Massachusetts within Vineyard Sound by the U.S. Geological Survey in 2009, 2010, and 2011 (VS_5MCNTR_V2, Esri Shapefile, Geographic, WGS84).

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Frequently anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?

Title:
Bathymetric depth contours at 5 meter intervals derived from interferometric sonar data collected offshore of Massachusetts within Vineyard Sound by the U.S. Geological Survey in 2009, 2010, and 2011 (VS_5MCNTR_V2, Esri Shapefile, Geographic, WGS84).
Abstract:
These data were collected under a cooperative agreement with 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 sea-floor 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 3-30 meters 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 located in Vineyard Sound Massachusetts includes high-resolution geophysics (bathymetry, backscatter intensity, and seismic reflection). The data were collected during three separate surveys conducted between 2009 and 2011and cover approximately 340 square kilometers of the inner continental shelf. More information about the individual USGS surveys conducted as part of the Vineyard Sound project can be found on the Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center Field Activity webpage: 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
  1. How might this data set be cited?
    U.S. Geological Survey, 2014, Bathymetric depth contours at 5 meter intervals derived from interferometric sonar data collected offshore of Massachusetts within Vineyard Sound by the U.S. Geological Survey in 2009, 2010, and 2011 (VS_5MCNTR_V2, Esri Shapefile, Geographic, WGS84).: Open-File Report 2012-1006, 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.

    Andrews, Brian D., Ackerman, Seth D., Baldwin, Wayne E., Foster, David S., and Schwab, William C., 2014, High-Resolution Geophysical Data from the Inner Continental Shelf: Vineyard Sound, Massachusetts: Open-File Report 2012-1006, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

    Online Links:

  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?
    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -71.009788
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -70.436149
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 41.539964
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 41.289937
  3. What does it look like?
    http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2012/1006/GIS/browse_jpg/VS_5mCntr_V2.jpg (JPEG)
    Thumbnail image of depth contours of gridded bathymetry collected in the Vineyard Sound Massachusetts survey area.
  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?
    Beginning_Date: 02-Jun-2009
    Ending_Date: 17-May-2011
    Currentness_Reference:
    ground condition of individual surveys on the following dates: 2009062-20090603; 20100521-20100604; 20110507-20110509; 20110514-20110517
  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 (189)
    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: 5.0
      Depth_Distance_Units: meters
      Depth_Encoding_Method: Explicit depth coordinate included with horizontal coordinates
  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?
    VS_5mCntr_V2
    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 in meters below mean lower low water. (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-35
    Maximum:-10
    Units:meters
    Length_m
    Length of feature in meters (UTM19, WGS 84) (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:502.2
    Maximum:53,808.2

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?
    Brian Andrews
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Geographer
    384 Woods Hole Rd.
    Woods Hole, MA
    USA

    508-548-8700 x2348 (voice)
    508-457-2310 (FAX)
    bandrews@usgs.gov

Why was the data set created?

The purpose of this polyline shapefile is to display generalized depth contours at 5 meter intervals derived from bathymetry collected by the USGS during surveys 2009-002-FA, 2010-004-FA, and 2011-004-FA in Vineyard Sound Massachusetts.

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: 27-Mar-2014 (process 1 of 7)
    Step 1. Generalize the input depth raster: The input raster (vs_bath5m_v2) was smoothed using the 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 = vs_bath5m_v2, Output raster = BlockSt5m_v2, Neighborhood= Rectangle, Neighborhood Settings = 5 x 5, cell Statistics type = Mean, Ignore NoData in calculations=selected. Person who carried out this activity:
    Brian Andrews
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Geographer
    384 Woods Hole Rd.
    Woods Hole, MA
    USA

    508-548-8700 x2348 (voice)
    508-457-2310 (FAX)
    bandrews@usgs.gov
    Data sources used in this process:
    • vs_bathv5m_v2 (This publication)
    Date: 27-Mar-2014 (process 2 of 7)
    Step 2. Calculate generalized depth contours from smoothed depth grid using ArcToolbox (ver. 9.3). Both input depth grid and output feature class are in the UTM Zone 19, WGS 84 Coordinate System. Part 1) Create 5 meter contours using Contour tool: Contour Input raster = BlockSt5m_v2, Output polyline features = VS5mCntr_50m_v2 Contour Interval = 5, Base Contour = 5, Z Factor = 1, Raster Analysis cell size = 50m, Snap Raster = vs_bathv2_5m. Part 2) Simplify Line: Input Features = VS5mCntr_50m_v2, Output Feature Class = VS5mCntr_50m_Simple100_v2, Simplification Algorithm = Bend_Simplify, Reference Baseline = 100, Meters, Check for topological errors and Resolve topological errors options were both selected. Part 3) Smooth Line: Input Features = VS5mCntr_50m_Simple100_v2, Output Feature Class = VS5mCntr_50_SimpleSmooth_v2, Smoothing Algorithm = Bezier_Interpolation, Handling Topological Errors = was not selected. Person who carried out this activity:
    Brian Andrews
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Geographer
    384 Woods Hole Rd
    Woods Hole, MA
    USA

    508-548-8700 x2348 (voice)
    508-457-2310 (FAX)
    bandrews@usgs.gov
    Date: 27-Mar-2014 (process 3 of 7)
    Step 3. Remove all contours less than 500 meters in length. Add new field "Length_m" of type "double to the attribute table using the context menu in ArcCatalog (ver 9.3). In ArcMap (ver 9.3) select new "Length_m" attribute and populate attribute using the "calculate geometry" context menu. All contours with length of 500 meters or greater were then selected using the "select by attributes" feature in ArcMap (ver. 9.3). The shapefile with the selected features was exported to a new shapefile using the context menu within ArcMap (ver. 9.3) table of contents with the following parameters "Export Data" Export= Selected features, Use the same coordinate system as: the data frame (set to GCS_WGS_1984), output shapefile= VS_5mCntr_V2.shp. Remove the following three attributes using the "Delete Field in ArcCatalog (ver 9.3) ID, MaxSimpTol, MinSimpTol. They were produced as part of the generalization process and are not required for further analysis. Person who carried out this activity:
    Brian Andrews
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Geographer
    384 Woods Hole Rd
    Woods Hole, MA
    USA

    508-548-8700 x2348 (voice)
    508-457-2310 (FAX)
    bandrews@usgs.gov
    Date: 25-May-2016 (process 4 of 7)
    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.). Fixed a link to the project page in the abstract. 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 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: 18-Nov-2019 (process 6 of 7)
    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 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?
    The processing steps for generalization are described in the data quality section below.
  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?
  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?
  4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?
    Small depth contours less than 500 meters in length were removed to improve cartographic display.
  5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?
    Bathymetric contours were generalized, simplified, and smoothed to improve the 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. Generalized contours were produced in some areas of "no data" (in the input grid)as a result of the generalization 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 (USGS) as the source of this information.
  1. Who distributes the data set? (Distributor 1 of 1)
    Brian Andrews
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Geographer
    384 Woods Hole Rd.
    Woods Hole, MA
    USA

    508-548-8700 x2348 (voice)
    bandrews@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: depth contours at 5 meter intervals and associated metadata in format Shapefile (version ArcGIS 9.3) Esri polyline shapefile Size: 0.262
      Network links: http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2012/1006/GIS/shapefile/VS_5mCntr_V2.zip
      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?
    This zip file contains data available in Environmental Systems Research Institute (Esri) shapefile format. The user must have software capable of uncompressing the WinZip file and displaying the shapefile. 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: 18-Mar-2024
Metadata author:
Brian Andrews
U.S. Geological Survey
Geographer
384 Woods Hole Rd.
Woods Hole, MA
USA

508-548-8700 x2348 (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/ofr2012-1006/VS_5mCntr_V2.faq.html>
Generated by mp version 2.9.51 on Mon Mar 25 16:05:40 2024