Sample and video stations located in the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary region (sbnmsallsta.shp)

Frequently anticipated questions:

• What does this data set describe?
  1. How might this data set be cited?
  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?
  3. What does it look like?
  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?
  5. What is the general form of this data set?
  6. How does the data set represent geographic features?
  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?
• Who produced the data set?
  1. Who are the originators of the data set?
  2. Who also contributed to the data set?
  3. To whom should users address questions about the data?
• Why was the data set created?
• How was the data set created?
  1. From what previous works were the data drawn?
  2. How were the data generated, processed, and modified?
  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?
  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?
  5. How consistent are the relationships among the data, including topology?
• How can someone get a copy of the data set?
  1. Are there legal restrictions on access or use of the data?
  2. Who distributes the data?
  3. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set?
  4. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?
  5. How can I download or order the data?
• Who wrote the metadata?

What does this data set describe?

1. How might this data set be cited?
   Valentine, Page C., Scully, Lian A., and Fuller, Sarah J., 2005, Sample and video stations located in the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary region (sbnmsallsta.shp): Scientific Investigations Map 2840, U.S. Geological Survey, Coastal and Marine Geology Program, Woods Hole Science Center, Woods Hole, MA.

   Online Links:

   • https://doi.org/10.3133/sim2840
   • http://pubs.usgs.gov/sim/2005/2840/DATA/stations/sbnmsallsta.zip

   This is part of the following larger work.
   Page C. Valentine (editor), 2005, Sea floor image maps showing topography, sun-illuminated topography, backscatter intensity, ruggedness, slope, and the distribution of boulder ridges and bedrock outcrops in the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary region off Boston, Massachusetts: Scientific Investigations Map 2840, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

   Online Links:

   • https://doi.org/10.3133/sim2840
   • http://pubs.usgs.gov/sim/2005/2840/

   Other_Citation_Details:

   1 DVD-ROM. Suggested citation: Valentine, P.C., Baker, J.L., Unger, T.S., Sculy, L.A., Fuller, S.J., 2005, Sea floor image maps showing topography, sun-illuminated topography, backscatter intensity, ruggedness, slope, and the distribution of boulder ridges and bedrock outcrops in the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary region off Boston, Massachusetts: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Map 2840, https://doi.org/10.3133/sim2840.

2. What geographic area does the data set cover?

   West_Bounding_Coordinate: -70.611920
   East_Bounding_Coordinate: -70.024330
   North_Bounding_Coordinate: 42.798900
   South_Bounding_Coordinate: 42.084650
   

3. What does it look like?
4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?

   Beginning_Date: 1993

   Ending_Date: 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 (3392)
   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 North American Datum of 1983.
      The ellipsoid used is Geodetic Reference System 80.
      The semi-major axis of the ellipsoid used is 6378137.000000.
      The flattening of the ellipsoid used is 1/298.257222.
      
7. How does the data set describe geographic features?

   sbnmsallsta

   Shapefile Attribute Table (Source: ESRI)

   TAPE_COU_1

   Time in hours, minutes and seconds for the end of the video transect for that station, to be used to find the correct drift using the counter on a video viewer. Time starts at 0 seconds and counts up; format is hmmss. (Source: USGS)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	0
   Maximum:	20318
   Units:	integer count
   Resolution:	1

   FID

   Internal feature number. (Source: ESRI) Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated.

   Shape

   Feature geometry. (Source: ESRI) Coordinates defining the features.

   LONGITUDE

   Longitude in decimal degrees (west longitudes are recorded as negative values) (Source: USGS)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	-70.61192
   Maximum:	-70.02433
   Units:	signed decimal degrees
   Resolution:	.00001

   LATITUDE

   Latitude in decimal degrees (Source: USGS)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	42.080465
   Maximum:	42.7989
   Units:	signed decimal degrees
   Resolution:	.00001

   STATION

   Unique value identifying the station (Source: USGS)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	1.0
   Maximum:	4207.0
   Units:	integer count
   Resolution:	1.0

   SAMPLE_TAK

   Value indicating whether or not a sediment sample was taken at this location (Source: USGS)

   Value	Definition
   TRUE	Sample was acquired at location.
   FALSE	Sample was NOT acquired at this location.

   CRUISE

   Name of cruise on which seabed observation station data and/or sample was collected (Source: USGS) Character string containing ship abbreviation, year and leg of cruise

   QUADRANGLE

   Quadrangle within which the station is located. Quadrangles are not United States Geological Survey quads, but rather a custom set of quads created for the Stellwagen Bank Marine Sanctuary. (Source: USGS)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	1
   Maximum:	18
   Units:	integer count
   Resolution:	1

   NAVIGATION

   Navigation file number containing edited GPS location data and time; station locations are extracted from this file. (Source: USGS)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	0
   Maximum:	18
   Units:	integer count
   Resolution:	1

   UTC

   Time when station location was taken in Coordinated Universal Time; first set of numbers represent the Julian Day, second set the hours (on a 24-hr clock), third set the minutes, and fourth set the seconds. (Source: USGS) Character string containing date and time of observation in UTC as JDAY:HH:MM:SS

   YEAR

   Year of cruise/data collection (Source: USGS)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	1993
   Maximum:	2004
   Units:	integer count
   Resolution:	1

   PHOTOGRAPH

   Value indicating whether or not pictures were taken of the sea floor for this station and/or associated video transect. (Source: USGS)

   Value	Definition
   TRUE	Photograph exists at this location
   FALSE	Photograph does NOT exist at this location

   VIDEO_TAKE

   Value indicating whether or not a video transect was taken of the seafloor for this location. All video was recorded on 8mm videotape. (Source: USGS)

   Value	Definition
   TRUE	Video exists at this location.
   FALSE	Video does NOT exist at this location.

   VIDEOTAPE_

   Video tape number (Source: USGS)

   Value	Definition
   None	Video is NOT available at this location.

   TAPE_COUNT

   Time in hours, minutes and seconds for the beginning of the video transect for that station, to be used to find the correct drift using the counter on a video viewer. Time starts at 0 seconds and counts up; format is hmmss. (Source: USGS)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	0
   Maximum:	20003
   Units:	integer count
   Resolution:	1

   DEPTH_METE

   Depth of water in meters at beginning of video drift transect or at seabed observation station if video does not exist. (Source: USGS)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	0
   Maximum:	199
   Units:	meters
   Resolution:	1

Who produced the data set?

1. Who are the originators of the data set? (may include formal authors, digital compilers, and editors)
   • Page C. Valentine
   • Lian A. Scully
   • Sarah J. Fuller
2. Who also contributed to the data set?
3. To whom should users address questions about the data?
   Page C. Valentine

   U.S. Geological Survey

   Research Geologist

   384 Woods Hole Rd.

   Woods Hole, MA
   

   USA

   (508) 548-8700 x2239 (voice)

   (508) 457-2310 (FAX)

   pvalentine@usgs.gov

Why was the data set created?

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: unknown (process 1 of 2)

   Station location point data were created using latitude and longitude from a GPS navigational log collected during research cruises from 1993 through 2004. Data sources produced in this process:

   • sbnmsallsta.shp
   • sbnmsallsta.dbf
   • sbnmsallsta.shx

   Date: 28-Apr-2023 (process 2 of 2)

   The metadata was edited to remove errors as well as update some information. Edits include modifying the title to move the dataset name to the end of the title, adding the DOI link in the identification section, added the suggested citation, added supplemental information with link to the related field activity pages on CMGDS, added the USGS Thesaurus keywords, added keywords section with USGS persistent identifier as theme keyword, removed an unecessary process step about copying the dataset, replaced distribution liability with FSP statement, used a generic email address in metadata. The metadata date (20050822), but not the contact (except email and contact instructions) was updated. The metadata available from a harvester may supersede metadata available from the publication. Compare the metadata dates to determine which metadata file is most recent. Original edits on 20210816. An additional author name fix on 20210908. Links to the data were fixed with respect to case-sensitivity issues. (20230428) 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?
   
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?
   Information not available from original metadata.
5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?
   No additional checks for topological consistency were performed on the data.

How can someone get a copy of the data set?

1. Who distributes the data set? (Distributor 1 of 1)
   
   Page C. Valentine

   U.S. Geological Survey

   Research Geologist

   384 Woods Hole Rd.

   Woods Hole, MA
   

   USA

   (508) 548-8700 x2239 (voice)

   (508) 457-2310 (FAX)

   pvalentine@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?
   Unless otherwise stated, all data, metadata and related materials are considered to satisfy the quality standards relative to the purpose for which the data were collected. Although these data and associated metadata have been reviewed for accuracy and completeness and approved for release by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), no warranty expressed or implied is made regarding the display or utility of the data for other purposes, nor on all computer systems, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty.
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 SHP (version 3.3) ESRI shapefile Size: 0.442
     Network links:	http://pubs.usgs.gov/sim/2005/2840/DATA/stations/sbnmsallsta.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?
   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 the 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: 28-Apr-2023

Metadata author:

U.S. Geological Survey

Attn: Page C. Valentine

Research Geologist

384 Woods Hole Rd.

Woods Hole, MA

USA

(508) 548-8700 x2239 (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 contact person is no longer with the USGS.

Metadata standard:

FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata (FGDC-STD-001-1998)