Bathymetry map of the Gulf of Maine
Map showing the bathymetry of the Gulf of Maine and regional physiographic features. Characterizations of bottom shear stress and sea floor mobility in this database extend offshore to approximately the 120-m isobath.

U.S. Geological Survey Sea Floor Stress and Sediment Mobility Database: Gulf of Maine

Publication Date: April 2014

The Gulf of Maine region is the semi-enclosed basin separated from the Atlantic Ocean to the south by Georges Bank, and extends from Cape Cod to Nova Scotia.

Spatially and temporally resolved estimates of bottom shear stress are calculated for seasonal and annual time periods. Seasons are defined as Winter (December-February), Spring (March-May), Summer (June-August), and Fall (September-November).

Specifications for stress and mobility time series:

Datasets used to compute the bottom stress and sediment mobility time series:

Suggested citation: Dalyander, P.S., Butman, B., Sherwood, C.R., and Signell, R.P., 2012, U.S. Geological Survey sea floor stress and sediment mobility database: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P999PY84.

Statistics of sea floor wave-current stress and sediment mobility in Arc polygon and point shapefile format for the Gulf of Maine from model output. Stress statistics are determined for the entire model grid, whereas mobility statistics are determined only at locations where sediment texture data are available

Data Layer Name and Explanation

Preview Metadata Download

Median of Bottom Shear Stress
The value of bottom shear stress exceeded 50% of the time. (Shapefile polygon)

Gulf of Maine Median Bottom Shear Stress browse graphic

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GMAINE_median.zip

Interpercentile Range of Bottom Shear Stress
Half the difference between the 84th and 16th percentile. A measure of variability, equivalent to the standard deviation in a normal distribution. (Shapefile polygon)

Gulf of Maine Range of Bottom Shear Stress browse graphic HTML
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GMAINE_hIPR.zip

95th Percentile of Bottom Shear Stress
Value of bottom shear stress exceeded 5% of the time. A measure of the largest stresses. (Shapefile polygon)

Gulf of Maine Bottom Shear Stress browse graphic HTML
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GMAINE_95th_perc.zip

Bed Mobility Percentage
Percentage of time the critical stress is exceeded (determined for locations with sediment texture data). A measure of the extent of bed mobility. (Shapefile point)

Gulf of Maine mobility percentage browse graphic HTML
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GMAINE_mobile_perc.zip

Bed Mobility Recurrence Interval
Time between mobility events (determined for locations with sediment texture data). A measure of the of frequency of mobility events. (Shapefile point)

Gulf of Maine bed mobility browse graphic HTML
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GMAINE_mobile_freq.zip