Metadata: Identification_Information: Citation: Citation_Information: Originator: Wayne Baldwin Publication_Date: 2013 Title: Interpretation of sea-floor geologic units on the Massachusetts inner continental shelf between Nahant and Northern Cape Cod Bay (Nahant_CCB_surfgeol polygon shapefile; Geographic WGS 84) Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: vector digital data Series_Information: Series_Name: Open-File Report Issue_Identification: 2012-1157 Publication_Information: Publication_Place: Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, Woods Hole, MA Publisher: U.S. Geological Survey, Coastal and Marine Geology Program Online_Linkage: https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20121157 Online_Linkage: http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2012/1157/GIS_catalog/SurficialGeology/SurfGeo.zip Larger_Work_Citation: Citation_Information: Originator: Pendleton, E.A. Originator: Baldwin, W.E. Originator: Barnhardt, W.A. Originator: Ackerman, S.D. Originator: Foster, D.S. Originator: Andrews, B.D. Originator: Schwab, W.C. Publication_Date: 2013 Title: Shallow Geology, Sea-floor Texture, and Physiographic Zones of the Inner Continental Shelf from Nahant to Northern Cape Cod Bay, Massachusetts Series_Information: Series_Name: Open-File Report Issue_Identification: 2012-1157 Publication_Information: Publication_Place: Reston, Va Publisher: U.S. Geological Survey Online_Linkage: http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2012/1157/ Description: Abstract: These data are qualitatively derived interpretive polygon shapefiles and selected source raster data defining surficial geology, sediment type and distribution, and physiographic zones of the sea floor from Nahant to Northern Cape Cod Bay. Much of the geophysical data used to create the interpretive layers were collected under a cooperative agreement among the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management (CZM), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Coastal and Marine Geology Program, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). 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 because of natural or human effects. The project is focused on the inshore waters of coastal Massachusetts. Data collected during the mapping cooperative involving the USGS have been released in a series of USGS Open-File Reports (http://woodshole.er.usgs.gov/project-pages/coastal_mass/html/current_map.html). The interpretations released in this study are for an area extending from the southern tip of Nahant to Northern Cape Cod Bay, Massachusetts. A combination of geophysical and sample data including high resolution bathymetry and lidar, acoustic-backscatter intensity, seismic-reflection profiles, bottom photographs, and sediment samples are used to create the data interpretations. Most of the nearshore geophysical and sample data (including the bottom photographs) were collected during several cruises between 2000 and 2008. More information about the cruises and the data collected can be found at the Geologic Mapping of the Seafloor Offshore of Massachusetts Web page: http://woodshole.er.usgs.gov/project-pages/coastal_mass/. Purpose: This data set describes sea-floor geology on the Massachusetts inner shelf between Nahant and Northern Cape Cod Bay. Polygons are used to indicate the areal distribution of sea-floor outcrop for sub-surface stratigraphic units interpreted in high-resolution seismic reflection data. These data are useful for assessing relations between geologic framework, sea-bed morphology, and sediment textural trends. Time_Period_of_Content: Time_Period_Information: Range_of_Dates/Times: Beginning_Date: 20060804 Ending_Date: 20080507 Currentness_Reference: ground condition Status: Progress: Complete Maintenance_and_Update_Frequency: None planned Spatial_Domain: Bounding_Coordinates: West_Bounding_Coordinate: -70.830053 East_Bounding_Coordinate: -70.154738 North_Bounding_Coordinate: 42.341199 South_Bounding_Coordinate: 41.932552 Keywords: Theme: Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: USGS Metadata Identifier Theme_Keyword: USGS:12bc5f5d-fb83-499d-bb11-4082d4aec266 Theme: Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: None Theme_Keyword: U.S. Geological Survey Theme_Keyword: USGS Theme_Keyword: Coastal and Marine Geology Program Theme_Keyword: CMGP Theme_Keyword: Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center Theme_Keyword: WHCMSC Theme_Keyword: Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management Theme_Keyword: CZM Theme_Keyword: Sea floor Theme_Keyword: Marine Geology Theme_Keyword: Seismic-reflection Profiles Theme_Keyword: field activity number 2006-012-FA Theme_Keyword: field activity number 2007-001-FA Theme_Keyword: field activity number 2007-002-FA Theme_Keyword: field activity number 2008-002-FA Theme_Keyword: Esri Polygon Shapefile Theme_Keyword: EdgeTech Theme_Keyword: 512i Theme_Keyword: 424 Theme_Keyword: Knudsen Theme_Keyword: 3200 Theme_Keyword: Seismic Interpretation Theme_Keyword: Geologic Framework Theme_Keyword: Surficial Geology Theme_Keyword: interpretation Theme: Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: ISO 19115 Topic Category Theme_Keyword: oceans Theme_Keyword: geoscientificinformation Theme: Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: USGS Thesaurus Theme_Keyword: scientific interpretation Theme_Keyword: sea-floor characteristics Theme_Keyword: marine geology Theme_Keyword: geospatial datasets Place: Place_Keyword_Thesaurus: None Place_Keyword: Massachusetts Bay Place_Keyword: Atlantic Ocean Place_Keyword: Boston Harbor Place_Keyword: Nahant Place_Keyword: Boston Place_Keyword: Hull Place_Keyword: Boston Harbor Islands Place_Keyword: Duxbury Place_Keyword: Provincetown Place_Keyword: Plymouth Place_Keyword: Scituate Place_Keyword: Cohasset Place_Keyword: Manomet Place_Keyword: Winthrop Place_Keyword: Cape Cod Bay Stratum: Stratum_Keyword_Thesaurus: General Stratum_Keyword: Seafloor Stratum_Keyword: sea floor 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. Additionally, there are limitations associated with qualitative geologic mapping interpretations. Because of the scale (polygon editing was done at scales between 1:8,000 and 1:20,000, depending on the size of the outcrop area) and line spacing of the source seismic profiles, not all changes in seafloor geology are captured. The boundaries of polygons are inferred between seismic lines, and polygon boundaries should be considered an approximation of the location of a change in geology. Further, a constant seismic velocity of 1,500 m/s was assumed for all profiles in all sediment types, which may result in inaccurate depths of stratigraphic units. Point_of_Contact: Contact_Information: Contact_Person_Primary: Contact_Person: Wayne Baldwin Contact_Organization: U.S. Geological Survey Contact_Position: Geologist Contact_Address: Address_Type: mailing and physical address Address: U.S. Geological Survey Address: 384 Woods Hole Rd. City: Woods Hole State_or_Province: MA Postal_Code: 02543-1598 Country: USA Contact_Voice_Telephone: 508-548-8700 x2226 Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: 508-457-2310 Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: wbaldwin@usgs.gov Browse_Graphic: Browse_Graphic_File_Name: http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2012/1157/GIS_catalog/SurficialGeology/surfgeo_browse.png Browse_Graphic_File_Description: Interpretation ofsurficial geologic units on the Massachusetts inner shelf between Nahant and northern Cape Cod Bay Browse_Graphic_File_Type: png Native_Data_Set_Environment: Microsoft Windows 7.1 (Build 7601) Service Pack 1; ESRI ArcCatalog 9.3.1.4000 Cross_Reference: Citation_Information: Originator: Robert N. Oldale Originator: Jennifer Bick Publication_Date: 1987 Title: Maps and seismic profiles showing geology of the inner continental shelf, Massachusetts Bay, Massachusetts Series_Information: Series_Name: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Map Issue_Identification: MF-1923 Publication_Information: Publication_Place: Reston, VA Publisher: U.S. Geological Survey Other_Citation_Details: 4 sheets Cross_Reference: Citation_Information: Originator: Robert N. Oldale Originator: Charles J. O'Hara Publication_Date: 1990 Title: Maps showing the geology of the inner continental shelf, Cape Cod Bay, Massachusetts Series_Information: Series_Name: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Field Studies Issue_Identification: Map MF-2118 Publication_Information: Publication_Place: Reston, VA Publisher: U.S. Geological Survey Other_Citation_Details: 4 sheets Online_Linkage: http://ngmdb.usgs.gov/Prodesc/proddesc_5718.htm Data_Quality_Information: Logical_Consistency_Report: CHIRP seismic-reflection data used to interpret the surficial geology were collected during USGS Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center field activities 2006-012-FA, 2007-001-FA, 2007-002-FA, and 2008-002-FA. The geologic framework interpretations in this report were correlated with previous interpretations by Oldale and Bick (1987) and Oldale and O'Hara (1990) for Massachusetts and Cape Cod bays, respectively. Completeness_Report: All CHIRP seismic reflection data collected during USGS Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center field activities 2006-012-FA, 2007-001-FA, 2007-002-FA, and 2008-002-FA were used to interpret the surficial geologic units. Positional_Accuracy: Horizontal_Positional_Accuracy: Horizontal_Positional_Accuracy_Report: Navigational accuracy of the seismic-reflection data used for this interpretation was assumed to be ± 10 to 20 meters. Refer to seismic trackline metadata in Barnhardt and others (2010) and Andrews and others (2010) for specific seismic data aqcuisition parameters and accuracy reports. Additional navigational uncertainty in this interpretation arises from subjective digitizing of the seismic reflectors, sampling of the interpreted horizons at 30-m along track intervals prior to export from the seismic interpretation package, and heads up digitizing of the polygons defining individual areas of geologic unit outcrop. Considering these limitations, the boundaries between geologic outcrop units are consided considered to be accurate to within approximately ± 50 meters. Lineage: Source_Information: Source_Citation: Citation_Information: Originator: Walter A. Barnhardt Originator: Seth D. Ackerman Originator: Brian D. Andrews Originator: Wayne E. Baldwin Publication_Date: 2010 Title: Geophysical and Sampling Data from the Inner Continental Shelf: Duxbury to Hull, Massachusetts. Edition: 1.0 Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: document Series_Information: Series_Name: Open-File Report Issue_Identification: 2009-1072 Publication_Information: Publication_Place: Reston, VA Publisher: U.S. Geological Survey Online_Linkage: http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2009/1072/ Type_of_Source_Media: online Source_Time_Period_of_Content: Time_Period_Information: Range_of_Dates/Times: Beginning_Date: 20060804 Ending_Date: 20070503 Source_Currentness_Reference: ground condition Source_Citation_Abbreviation: Barnhardt and others, 2010 Source_Contribution: Shallow geologic framework and surficial geology were interpreted from approximately 1920 trackline kilometers of CHIRP seismic-reflection profiles that were collected during two separate U.S. Geological Survey field activities (2006-012-FA and 2007-001-FA) . Final, post-processed profiles were used to make the interpretations. Thorough descriptions of acquisition and processing parameters for each survey are provided by Barnhardt and others (2010) in the methods section and seismic-reflection metadata. Source_Information: Source_Citation: Citation_Information: Originator: Brian D. Andrews Originator: Seth D. Ackerman Originator: Wayne E. Baldwin Originator: Walter A. Barnhardt Publication_Date: 2010 Title: Geophysical and Sampling Data from the Inner Continental Shelf: Northern Cape Cod Bay, Massachusetts Edition: 1.0 Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: document Series_Information: Series_Name: Open-File Report Issue_Identification: 2010-1006 Publication_Information: Publication_Place: Reston, VA Publisher: U.S. Geological Survey Online_Linkage: http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2010/1006/ Type_of_Source_Media: online Source_Time_Period_of_Content: Time_Period_Information: Range_of_Dates/Times: Beginning_Date: 20070429 Ending_Date: 20080507 Source_Currentness_Reference: ground condition Source_Citation_Abbreviation: Andrews and others, 2010 Source_Contribution: Shallow geologic framework and surficial geology were interpreted from approximately 3270 trackline kilometers of CHIRP seismic-reflection profiles that were collected during two separate U.S. Geological Survey field activities (2007-002-FA and 2008-002-FA). Final, post-processed profiles were used to make the interpretations. Thorough descriptions of acquisition and processing parameters for each survey are provided by Andrews and others (2010) in methods sections and seismic-reflection metadata. Process_Step: Process_Description: CHIRP seismic reflection data were interpreted using Landmark SeisWorks 2D (R5000) seismic interpretation software. Interpretation consisted of identifying and digitizing erosional unconformities defining the boundaries between Holocene, Pleistocene, and pre-Quaternary seismic units, and digitizing the extent over which each of the defined sub-surface seismic units crops out on the seafloor. The digitized sea-floor outcrop extents for each seismic unit were sampled at a 30-meter along track interval and exported from SeisWorks as ASCII text. The resultant text file was imported into ArcMap (9.3.1) as point features (easting, northing, seismic unit) using the 'Add XY data' function, then saved as a point shapefile (UTM, Zone 19N, WGS84). Process_Date: 2012 Process_Contact: Contact_Information: Contact_Person_Primary: Contact_Person: Wayne E. Baldwin Contact_Organization: U.S. Geological Survey Contact_Position: Geologist Contact_Address: Address_Type: mailing and physical address Address: U.S. Geological Survey Address: 384 Woods Hole Rd. City: Woods Hole State_or_Province: MA Postal_Code: 02543-1598 Country: USA Contact_Voice_Telephone: 508-548-8700 x2226 Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: 508-457-2310 Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: wbaldwin@usgs.gov Process_Step: Process_Description: A polygon shapefile of the seismic-reflection survey area was created by digitizing around a polyline shapefile of the profile tracklines (file > new > shapefile in ArcCatalog 9.3.1, then editor >'create new feature' in ArcMap 9.3.1). A new attribute field named 'surf_unit' was added to the shapefile attribute table. The point shapefile containing the along track extents of seismic unit outcrop was then used to guide division of the larger survey area polygon into smaller polygons representative of individual seismic unit outcrop areas (using editor processes 'cut polygon feature', 'intersect', 'merge', and 'clip' in ArcMap 9.3.1). As each new polygon area was created, the 'surf_unit' attribute field was populated with the appropriate geologic unit label. Polygon editing was done at scales between 1:8,000 and 1:20,000, depending on the size of the outcrop area. Process_Date: 2012 Process_Contact: Contact_Information: Contact_Person_Primary: Contact_Person: Wayne E. Baldwin Contact_Organization: U.S. Geological Survey Contact_Position: Geologist Contact_Address: Address_Type: mailing and physical address Address: U.S. Geological Survey Address: 384 Woods Hole Rd. City: Woods Hole State_or_Province: MA Postal_Code: 02543-1598 Country: USA Contact_Voice_Telephone: 508-548-8700 x2226 Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: 508-457-2310 Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: wbaldwin@usgs.gov Process_Step: Process_Description: After final editing of the surficial geologic unit polygons they were exported to a geodatabase feature class and new topological rules were established (ArcCatalog 9.3.1). Topological errors, primarily overlaps and gaps, were identified and remedied using the topology toolbar in ArcMap (9.3.1). Process_Date: 2012 Process_Contact: Contact_Information: Contact_Person_Primary: Contact_Person: Wayne E. Baldwin Contact_Organization: U.S. Geological Survey Contact_Position: Geologist Contact_Address: Address_Type: mailing and physical address Address: U.S. Geological Survey Address: 384 Woods Hole Rd. City: Woods Hole State_or_Province: MA Postal_Code: 02543-1598 Country: USA Contact_Voice_Telephone: 508-548-8700 x2226 Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: 508-457-2310 Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: wbaldwin@usgs.gov Process_Step: Process_Description: The surficial geology polygon feature class was exported back to a shapefile and the 'Shape_Area' and 'Shape_Length' fields were deleted from its attribute table (ArcCatalog and ArcMap 9.3.1). XTools Pro (7.1.0) was then used to add and populate a new attribute field containing polygon area in square kilometers. Finally, the shapefile was reprojected from UTM zone 19 N, WGS 84 to GCS WGS84 using ArcToolbox. Process_Date: 2012 Process_Contact: Contact_Information: Contact_Person_Primary: Contact_Person: Wayne E. Baldwin Contact_Organization: U.S. Geological Survey Contact_Position: Geologist Contact_Address: Address_Type: mailing and physical address Address: U.S. Geological Survey Address: 384 Woods Hole Rd. City: Woods Hole State_or_Province: MA Postal_Code: 02543-1598 Country: USA Contact_Voice_Telephone: 508-548-8700 x2226 Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: 508-457-2310 Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: wbaldwin@usgs.gov Process_Step: Process_Description: 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. Other minor edits were probably performed (title, publisher, publication place, etc.). The distribution format was modified in an attempt to be more consistent with other metadata files of the same data format. 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. Process_Date: 20151118 Process_Contact: Contact_Information: Contact_Organization_Primary: Contact_Organization: U.S. Geological Survey Contact_Person: VeeAnn A. Cross Contact_Position: Marine Geologist Contact_Address: Address_Type: mailing and physical address Address: 384 Woods Hole Rd. City: Woods Hole State_or_Province: MA Postal_Code: 02543 Contact_Voice_Telephone: 508-548-8700 x2251 Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: 508-457-2310 Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: vatnipp@usgs.gov Process_Step: Process_Description: USGS Thesaurus keywords added to the keyword section. Process_Date: 20180720 Process_Contact: Contact_Information: Contact_Organization_Primary: Contact_Organization: U.S. Geological Survey Contact_Person: VeeAnn A. Cross Contact_Position: Marine Geologist Contact_Address: Address_Type: Mailing and Physical Address: 384 Woods Hole Road City: Woods Hole State_or_Province: MA Postal_Code: 02543-1598 Contact_Voice_Telephone: 508-548-8700 x2251 Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: 508-457-2310 Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: vatnipp@usgs.gov Process_Step: Process_Description: Crossref DOI link was added as the first link in the metadata. Process_Date: 20191118 Process_Contact: Contact_Information: Contact_Organization_Primary: Contact_Organization: U.S. Geological Survey Contact_Person: VeeAnn A. Cross Contact_Position: Marine Geologist Contact_Address: Address_Type: Mailing and Physical Address: 384 Woods Hole Road City: Woods Hole State_or_Province: MA Postal_Code: 02543-1598 Contact_Voice_Telephone: 508-548-8700 x2251 Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: 508-457-2310 Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: vatnipp@usgs.gov Process_Step: Process_Description: Added keywords section with USGS persistent identifier as theme keyword. Process_Date: 20200908 Process_Contact: Contact_Information: Contact_Organization_Primary: Contact_Organization: U.S. Geological Survey Contact_Person: VeeAnn A. Cross Contact_Position: Marine Geologist Contact_Address: Address_Type: Mailing and Physical Address: 384 Woods Hole Road City: Woods Hole State_or_Province: MA Postal_Code: 02543-1598 Contact_Voice_Telephone: 508-548-8700 x2251 Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: 508-457-2310 Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: vatnipp@usgs.gov Spatial_Data_Organization_Information: Direct_Spatial_Reference_Method: Vector Point_and_Vector_Object_Information: SDTS_Terms_Description: SDTS_Point_and_Vector_Object_Type: G-polygon Point_and_Vector_Object_Count: 333 Spatial_Reference_Information: Horizontal_Coordinate_System_Definition: Geographic: Latitude_Resolution: 0.000001 Longitude_Resolution: 0.000001 Geographic_Coordinate_Units: Decimal degrees Geodetic_Model: Horizontal_Datum_Name: D_WGS_1984 Ellipsoid_Name: WGS_1984 Semi-major_Axis: 6378137.000000 Denominator_of_Flattening_Ratio: 298.257224 Vertical_Coordinate_System_Definition: Entity_and_Attribute_Information: Detailed_Description: Entity_Type: Entity_Type_Label: Nahant_CCB_surfgeol Entity_Type_Definition: Surficial geologic unit Entity_Type_Definition_Source: seismic interpretation Attribute: Attribute_Label: FID Attribute_Definition: Internal feature number. Attribute_Definition_Source: ESRI Attribute_Domain_Values: Unrepresentable_Domain: Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated. Attribute: Attribute_Label: Shape Attribute_Definition: Feature geometry. Attribute_Definition_Source: ESRI Attribute_Domain_Values: Codeset_Domain: Codeset_Name: Polygon Codeset_Source: ESRI Attribute_Domain_Values: Unrepresentable_Domain: Coordinates defining the features. Attribute: Attribute_Label: surf_unit Attribute_Definition: Surficial geologic unit Attribute_Definition_Source: seismic interpretation Attribute_Domain_Values: Codeset_Domain: Codeset_Name: Pz/Tcp/Qt - Undifferentiated Paleozoic bedrock, Late-Cretaceous or Tertiary coastal plain deposits, or Pleistocene glacial till or coarse drift deposits Codeset_Source: seismic interpretation Attribute_Domain_Values: Codeset_Domain: Codeset_Name: Qd - Undifferentiated Pleistocene stratified glacial drift deposits. Commonly consists of vertically laminated, roughly horizontal to broadly undulating seismic reflectors or zone of near acoustic transparency. Codeset_Source: seismic interpretation Attribute_Domain_Values: Codeset_Domain: Codeset_Name: Qfe - Holocene fluvial and estuarine deposits. The lowermost Holocene sedimentary deposit that fills the fluvial valleys incised into the surface of Qd. The surface is generally defined by the Holocene transgressive unconformity. Codeset_Source: seismic interpretation Attribute_Domain_Values: Codeset_Domain: Codeset_Name: Qmn - Holocene nearshore marine deposits. Post-transgressive Holocene sediment deposits that are predominantly sand with varying proportions of gravel and mud and mostly restricted to the inner shelf area. Codeset_Source: seismic interpretation Attribute_Domain_Values: Codeset_Domain: Codeset_Name: Qmd - Holocene deepwater marine deposits. Post-transgressive Holocene sediment deposits that are predominantly muddy with varying proportions of sand and are generally confined to portions of Cape Cod Bay that are deeper than 45 m. Codeset_Source: seismic interpretation Attribute: Attribute_Label: Area_SqKm Attribute_Definition: Geologic unit outcrop area in square kilometers Attribute_Definition_Source: seismic interpretation Attribute_Domain_Values: Range_Domain: Range_Domain_Minimum: 0.002 Range_Domain_Maximum: 237.146 Attribute_Units_of_Measure: Square Kilometers Overview_Description: Entity_and_Attribute_Overview: Five primary seismic stratigraphic units and three major erosional unconformities were interpreted and mapped within the seismic survey area. 1.) Pleistocene till/old drift (Qt), Tertiary coastal plain deposits (Tcp), and Paleozoic bedrock (Pz) - Undifferentiated pre-Wisconsinan (?) till and Pre-Quaternary units that represent the acoustic basement of seimic survey. 2.) Fluvial Unconformity (Ul) - overlies Pz/Tcp/Qt and marks the base of Qd. 3.) Pleistocene glacial drift (Qd) - Undifferentiated, stratified, glacial deposits (up to 100 m thick (3)) composed of poorly sorted material ranging from muds to boulders. Limited and variable seismic penetrartion produces vetically laminated, roughly horizontal to broadly undulating reflectors and zones of acoustic transparency. 4.) Regressive Unconformity (Ur) - Overlies Qd and marks the base of Qfe. 5.) Holocene fluvial and estuarine (Qfe) - Fluvial sands and gravels, and estuarine sands and muds (locally > 19 m thick) that fill incised fluvial valleys. Produces vertically laminated, horizontal to concave-up reflectors and zones of acoustic transparency; local indications of cut-and-fill. 6.) Transgressive Unconformity (Ur) - Marks the base of Qmd and Qmn. 7.) Holocene deepwater marine (Qmd) - Mostly muddy deposits (locally > 16 m thick) that blaket basinal Cape Cod Bay (water depths > 45 m). Generally acoustically transparent with faint, flat-lying reflectors locally. 8.) Holocene nearshore marine - Mostly sandy deposits (typically < 2 m but up to 13 m thick) that form ridges and bars along the nearshore margins (water depths < 30 m) of the survey area. Generally acoustically transparent with faint, flat-lying reflectors locally. Entity_and_Attribute_Detail_Citation: The seismic stratigraphic units used here as attributes for surficial geology were first described by Oldale and O'Hara (1990) and Oldale and Bick (1987). The interpretation of the surficial extent of these units have been refined in this study using the dense, high resolution, seismic surveys of Andrews and others (2010) and Barnhardt and others (2010). Distribution_Information: Distributor: Contact_Information: Contact_Person_Primary: Contact_Person: Wayne E. Baldwin Contact_Organization: U.S. Geological Survey Contact_Position: Geologist Contact_Address: Address_Type: mailing and physical address Address: U.S. Geological Survey Address: 384 Woods Hole Rd. City: Woods Hole State_or_Province: MA Postal_Code: 02543-1598 Country: USA Contact_Voice_Telephone: 508-548-8700 x2226 Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: 508-457-2310 Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: wbaldwin@usgs.gov Resource_Description: Downloadable Data Distribution_Liability: 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 U.S. Geological Survey 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. Standard_Order_Process: Digital_Form: Digital_Transfer_Information: Format_Name: Shapefile Format_Version_Number: ArcGIS 9.3.1 Format_Specification: Esri Polygon Shapefile Format_Information_Content: WinZip (v. 14.5) file contains polygons that define sea-floor geology from Nahant to Northern Cape Cod Bay, MA and the associated metadata File_Decompression_Technique: zip Transfer_Size: 0.25 Digital_Transfer_Option: Online_Option: Computer_Contact_Information: Network_Address: Network_Resource_Name: http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2012/1157/GIS_catalog/SurficialGeology/SurfGeo.zip Network_Resource_Name: http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2012/1157/html/GIS_catalog.html Network_Resource_Name: http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2012/1157/ Access_Instructions: Data can be downloaded via the World Wide Web (WWW) Fees: None Technical_Prerequisites: These data are available in Environmental Systems Research Institute (Esri) Shapefile format. The user must have software capable of importing and processing this data type. Metadata_Reference_Information: Metadata_Date: 20240318 Metadata_Contact: Contact_Information: Contact_Person_Primary: Contact_Person: Wayne E. Baldwin Contact_Organization: U.S. Geological Survey Contact_Position: Geologist Contact_Address: Address_Type: mailing and physical address Address: U.S. Geological Survey Address: 384 Woods Hole Rd. City: Woods Hole State_or_Province: MA Postal_Code: 02543-1598 Country: USA Contact_Voice_Telephone: 508-548-8700 x2226 Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: 508-457-2310 Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: 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_Name: FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata Metadata_Standard_Version: FGDC-STD-001-1998 Metadata_Time_Convention: local time Metadata_Access_Constraints: None Metadata_Use_Constraints: None