Interpolation of Reconnaissance Multibeam and Single-Beam Bathymetry Offshore of Milford, Connecticut

by L.J. Poppe¹, S.D. Ackerman², K.Y. McMullen¹, P.T. Schattgen³, J.D. Schaer³, E.F. Doran⁴

Published 2008

¹U.S. Geological Survey, Woods Hole Science Center, Woods Hole, MA 02543
²Presently at Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management, Woods Hole Science Center, Woods Hole, MA 02543
³Office of Coast Survey, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Norfolk, VA 23510
⁴Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, Hartford, CT 06106

Abstract

This report releases echosounder data from the northern part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) hydrographic survey H11044 in Long Island Sound, off Milford, Connecticut. The data have been interpolated and regridded into a complete-coverage data set and image of the sea floor. The grid produced as a result of the interpolation is at 10-m resolution. These data extend an already published set of reprocessed bathymetric data from the southern part of survey H11044.

In Long Island Sound, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with NOAA and the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, is producing detailed maps of the sea floor. Part of the current phase of research involves studies of sea-floor topography and its effect on the distributions of sedimentary environments and benthic habitats.

This data set provides a more continuous perspective of the sea floor than was previously available. It helps to define topographic variability and benthic-habitat diversity for the area and improves our understanding of oceanographic processes controlling the distribution of sediments and benthic habitats. Inasmuch as precise information on environmental setting is important for selecting sampling sites and accurately interpreting point measurements, this data set can also serve as a base map for subsequent sedimentological, geochemical, and biological research.

Disclaimer

The datasets contained in this report have been approved for release and publication by the USGS. Although these datasets have been subjected to rigorous review and are substantially complete, the USGS reserves the right to revise the data pursuant to further analysis and review. Furthermore, they are released on condition that neither the USGS, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management (CZM), Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, nor the U.S. Government may be held liable for any damages resulting from their authorized or unauthorized use.

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