MORPHOLOGY.SHP - Morphology of the Gulf of Mexico within GLORIA survey area

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Frequently-anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?

Title:
MORPHOLOGY.SHP - Morphology of the Gulf of Mexico within GLORIA survey area
Abstract:
Since 1982 the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has collected a large amount of surficial and shallow subsurface geologic information in the deep parts of the Gulf of Mexico. These data include digital sidescan sonar imagery, digital seismic-reflection data, and descriptions and analyses of piston and gravity cores. The data were collected during several different projects that addressed surficial and shallow subsurface geologic processes. Some of these data sets have already been published, but the growing interest in the occurrence and distribution of gas hydrates in the Gulf of Mexico warrants integrating these existing data and associated interpretations into a GIS to provide regional background information for ongoing and future gas hydrate research.
  1. How should this data set be cited?

    Twichell, David, 2005, MORPHOLOGY.SHP - Morphology of the Gulf of Mexico within GLORIA survey area: Open-File Report 2005-1071, U.S. Geological Survey, Coastal and Marine Geology Program, Woods Hole Science Center, Woods Hole, MA.

    Online Links:

    This is part of the following larger work.

    .

    Other_Citation_Details: 1 DVD-ROM

  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?

    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -95.799362
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -82.041714
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 29.210850
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 23.741351

  3. What does it look like?

    <http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2005/1071/data/sidescan/interpretation/gloria/morphology.gif> (GIF)
    Overview image showing the extent and coverage of the data layer.
    <http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2005/1071/data/sidescan/interpretation/gloria/morphology-thumb.gif> (GIF)
    Thumbnail image showing the extent and coverage of the data layer.

  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?

    Beginning_Date: 02-Feb-1982
    Ending_Date: 24-Oct-1985
    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):

      • G-polygon (26)

    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 0.000000. Longitudes are given to the nearest 0.000000. 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.

  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?

    morphology
    Shapefile Attribute Table (Source: ESRI)

    FID
    Internal feature number. (Source: ESRI)

    sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated

    Shape
    Feature geometry. (Source: ESRI)

    coordinates defining the features

    AREA
    Area of polygon in native units. (Source: Software computed)

    Range of values
    Minimum:0.000
    Maximum:14.168
    Resolution:.001

    PERIMETER
    Perimeter of polygon in native units. (Source: Software computed)

    Range of values
    Minimum:0.001
    Maximum:33.463
    Resolution:.001

    DESCRIPTIO
    text description assigned to the polygon feature of the geomorphic interpretation (Source: USGS)

    Character string

Who produced the data set?

  1. Who are the originators of the data set? (may include formal authors, digital compilers, and editors)

  2. Who also contributed to the data set?

  3. To whom should users address questions about the data?

    David Twichell
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Oceanographer
    384 Woods Hole Road
    Woods Hole, MA 02543-1598
    USA

    (508) 548-8700 x2266 (voice)
    (508) 457-2310 (FAX)
    dtwichell@usgs.gov

Why was the data set created?

This GIS data layer shows the geomorphic provinces of the deep-water part of the Gulf of Mexico. The interpretation draws on the geologic interpretation (EEZ-SCAN Scientific Staff, 1987; Paskevich, 2000) and publications by Twichell and others (1990; 1991; 2000).

How was the data set created?

  1. From what previous works were the data drawn?

    (source 1 of 5)
    (comp.), various, 1987, Atlas of the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone, Gulf of Mexico and eastern Caribbean areas: Miscellaneous Investigations I-1864-A,B, U.S. Geological Survey, Office of Marine Geology, Reston, VA.

    Type_of_Source_Media: paper
    Source_Scale_Denominator: 500000
    Source_Contribution:
    The image showing the geologic interpretation of the Gulf of Mexico GLORIA data was created by digitizing the expanded interpretations from I-1864-A,B.

    (source 2 of 5)
    Paskevich, V., 2000, Gulf of Mexico GLORIA sidescan sonar geologic interpretation: ArcView data coverages: Open-File Report 00-019, U.S. Geological Survey, Coastal and Marine Geology Program, Woods Hole Science Center, Woods Hole, MA.

    Online Links:

    Other_Citation_Details: 1 CD-ROM
    Type_of_Source_Media: CD-ROM
    Source_Scale_Denominator: 500000
    Source_Contribution:
    The morphologic features included in the geologic interpretation of this publication were incorporated into this morphologic interpretation.

    (source 3 of 5)
    Twichell, D.C., Parson, L.M., and Paull, C.K., 1990, Variations in the styles of erosion along the Florida Escarpment, eastern Gulf of Mexico: Marine and Petroleum Geology Vol. 7, pages 253-266, Elsevier, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

    Type_of_Source_Media: paper
    Source_Contribution:
    The morphology of the Florida Escarpment was taken in part from this report.

    (source 4 of 5)
    Twichell, D.C., Kenyon, N.H., Parson, L.M., and McGregor, B.A., 1991, Depositional patterns of the Mississippi Fan surface: Evidence from GLORIA II and high-resolution seismic profiles: Seismic facies and sedimentary processes of modern and ancient submarine fans, edited by Weimer, P. and Link, M.H. pages 349-364, Springer-Verlag, New York, NY.

    Type_of_Source_Media: paper
    Source_Contribution:
    The extent of the Mississippi Canyon and Mississippi Fan were taken from this report.

    (source 5 of 5)
    Twichell, D.C., Nelson, C.H., and Damuth, J.E., 2000, Late-stage development of the Bryant Canyon turbidite pathway on the Louisiana continental slope: Deep-Water Reservoirs of the World, Gulf Coast Section of SEPM 20th Annual Bob F. Perkins Research Conference, edited by Weimer, P., Slatt, R., Coleman, J., Rosen, N., Nelson, H., Bouma, A., Styzen, M., and Lawrence, D. pages 1032-1044, Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists, Tulsa, OK.

    Other_Citation_Details: published on CD-ROM
    Type_of_Source_Media: CD-ROM
    Source_Contribution: The extent of Bryant Canyon and Fan were taken from this report

  2. How were the data generated, processed, and modified?

    Date: after 2001 (process 1 of 3)
    The interpretive overlay, morphology.shp, used the gloria.tif image and the geology.shp shapefile as a base, and then incorporated the morphology of different parts of the Gulf of Mexico that has been described in studies by EEZ-Scan 85 Scientific Staff (1987), Paskevich (2000, and Twichell and others (1990, 1991, 2000). The components of the interpretation and their sources are listed below: Salt deformed slope - modified from Paskevich (2000) Basin floor - combined sediment wave and hemipelagic drape of Paskevich (2000) Mesozoic/Cenozoic carbonate - taken from Paskevich (2000) and Twichell and others (1990) Carbonate slope - same as Pleistocene carbonate mud of Paskevich (2000) Sigsbee Escarpment - same as Paskevich (2000) Seamount - same as Paskevich (2000) Mississippi Fan - from Twichell and others (1991) Bryant Fan - from Twichell and others (2000)

    Person who carried out this activity:

    David Twichell
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Oceanographer
    384 Woods Hole Road
    Woods Hole, MA 02543-1598
    USA

    (508) 548-8700 x2266 (voice)
    (508) 457-2310 (FAX)
    dtwichell@usgs.gov

    Data sources used in this process:
    • gloria.tif
    • geology.shp

    Data sources produced in this process:

    • morphology.shp

    Date: 2005 (process 2 of 3)
    The shapefile was reprojected from Geographic NAD27 to Geographic WGS84 using ArcToolBox (v. 9.1)

    Person who carried out this activity:

    David Twichell
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Oceanographer
    384 Woods Hole Road
    Woods Hole, MA 02543-1598
    USA

    (508) 548-8700 x2266 (voice)
    (508) 457-2310 (FAX)
    dtwichell@usgs.gov

    Data sources used in this process:
    • morphology.shp

    Data sources produced in this process:

    • morphology_project.shp

    (process 3 of 3)
    Dataset copied

    Person who carried out this activity:

    David Twichell
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Oceanographer
    384 Woods Hole Road
    Woods Hole, MA 02543-1598
    USA

    (508) 548-8700 x2266 (voice)
    (508) 457-2310 (FAX)
    dtwichell@usgs.gov

    Data sources used in this process:
    • morphology_project.shp

    Data sources produced in this process:

    • morphology.shp

  3. What similar or related data should the user be aware of?

    Paskevich, V., 2000, Gulf of Mexico GLORIA sidescan sonar geologic interpretation: ArcView data coverages: Open-File Report 00-019, U.S. Geological Survey, Coastal and Marine Geology Program, Woods Hole Science Center, Woods Hole, MA.

    Online Links:

    Other_Citation_Details: 1 CD-ROM
    Twichell, D.C., Kenyon, N.H., Parson, L.M., and McGregor, B.A., 1991, Depositional patterns of the Mississippi Fan surface: Evidence from GLORIA II and high-resolution seismic profiles: Seismic Facies and Sedimentary Processes of Modern and Ancient Submarine Fans, Springer-Verlag, New York, NY.

    Twichell, D.C., Parson, L.M., and Paull, C.K., 1990, Variations in the styles of erosion along the Florida Escarpment, eastern Gulf of Mexico: Marine and Petroleum Geology v. 7, p. 253-266, Elsevier, Amsterdam.

    EEZ Scan 85 Scientific Staff, 1987, Atlas of the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone, Gulf of Mexico: U.S. Geological Survey Miscellaneous Investigation Series I-1864, U.S. Geological Survey, Coastal and Marine Geology Program, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

    Twichell, D.C., Nelson, C.H., and Damuth, J.E., 2000, Late-stage development of the Bryant Canyon turbidite pathway on the Louisiana continental slope: Deep-Water Reservoirs of the World: Proceedings of the Gulf Coast Section SEPM, Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists, Tulsa, OK.

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 observations, including topology?

    No additional checks for topological consistency were performed on the data.

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)

    David Twichell
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Oceanographer
    384 Woods Hole Road
    Woods Hole, MA 02543-1598

    (508) 548-8700 x2266 (voice)
    (508) 457-2310 (FAX)
    dtwichell@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?

    Although this data set has been used by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), no warranty, expressed or implied, is made by the USGS as to the accuracy of the data and/or related materials. 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?

  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 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: 13-Dec-2005
Metadata author:
U.S. Geological Survey
c/o David Twichell
Oceanographer
384 Woods Hole Road
Woods Hole, MA 02543-1598
USA

(508) 548-8700 x2266 (voice)
(508) 457-2310 (FAX)
dtwichell@usgs.gov

Metadata standard:
FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata (FGDC-STD-001-1998)
Metadata extensions used:

Generated by mp version 2.8.6 on Tue Dec 13 13:28:28 2005