Field Activity 2015-648-FA

Identifier 2015-648-FA
Purpose Collect nearshore bathymetry and beach topography
Location Puget Sound
Summary aerial_photos, base, bathy, matlab, planning, Samples, sediment_sampling, svp, temp topo added to FAD 8/20/2015
Info derived Nearshore Bathymetry, Beach Topography
Comments Entries for this field activity are based on entries from Field Activity 2014-649-FA Entries for this field activity are based on entries from Field Activity 2015-605-FA
Projects
Platform
Waverunner 1 (SC)
Personal Water Craft
Waverunner 2 (SC)
Personal Water Craft
Vehicles
MarFac; Chevy Suburban - gray; 7 pass; G62-2874L
Itinerary
Start Port Angeles, WA 2015-07-29
End Port Angeles, WA 2015-07-31
Days in the field 5
Bounds
West -123.633
East -123.38360665
North 48.17624572
South 48.10493829

Personnel

Organization
2885 Mission Street
Santa Cruz, CA95060
(831) 460-7401
Principal investigators Jonathan WarrickGuy R Gelfenbaum
Crew members
Andrew Stevens
Scientist, Staff
Jackson E Currie
Scientist, Staff
Jonathan Warrick
Scientist, Staff
Guy R Gelfenbaum
Scientist, Staff
Information specialist(s)
Andrew Stevens
Specialist, Information

Data types and categories

Data category: Imagery, Location-Elevation, Sampling, Sonar
Data type: Photo, Navigation, Transects, Geology, Single Beam, Sound Velocity

Equipment used

Equipment Usage description Data types Datasets
Echosounder-1 Single Beam 1
Trimble R7 GPS receiver 9 Benchmarks, LIDAR, Navigation, Profiles, Transects 2
Echosounder-2 Single Beam (no data reported)
grab sampler Surveys (geochemical), Geology 2
camera Photo (no data reported)
Trimble R7 GPS receiver Benchmarks, LIDAR, Navigation, Profiles, Transects (no data reported)
Trimble R7 GPS (AS) Benchmarks, Navigation, Profiles, Transects (no data reported)
soundvelocityprofiler Sound Velocity (no data reported)

Datasets

Datasets produced in this activity

Dataset name Equipment Description Dataset contact
bathymetry data Echosounder-1 published in ScienceBase; U.S. Geological Survey data release, doi: 10.5066/F7S75DG9 Andrew Stevens
Digital elevation models (DEMs) of the Elwha River delta, Washington, July 2015 Trimble R7 GPS receiver 9 This part of the data release presents a digital elevation model (DEM) derived from bathymetry and topography data of the Elwha River delta collected in July 2015. Two dams on the Elwha River, Washington State, USA trapped over 20 million m3 of sediment, reducing downstream sediment fluxes and contributing to erosion of the river's coastal delta. The removal of the Elwha and Glines Canyon dams between 2011 and 2014 induced massive increases in river sediment supply and provided an unprecedented opportunity to examine the response of a delta system to changes in sediment supply. The U.S. Geological Survey developed an integrated research program aimed at understanding the ecosystem responses following dam removal that included regular monitoring of coastal and nearshore bathymetry and topography. As part of this monitoring program, the USGS conducted a bathymetric and topographic survey in the Strait of Juan de Fuca on the Elwha River delta, Washington (USGS Field Activity Number 2015-648-FA). Bathymetry data were collected using two personal watercraft (PWCs), each equipped with single-beam echosounders and survey-grade global navigation satellite systems (GNSS). Topography data were collected on foot with GNSS receivers mounted on backpacks. DEM surfaces were produced from all available elevation data using linear interpolation. Andrew Stevens
topography data Trimble R7 GPS receiver 9 published in ScienceBase; U.S. Geological Survey data release, doi: 10.5066/F7S75DG9 Andrew Stevens
grain-size data grab sampler published in ScienceBase; U.S. Geological Survey data release, doi: 10.5066/F7S75DG9 Andrew Stevens

Datasets compiled from multiple sources

Dataset name Equipment Description Dataset contact
Surface-sediment grain-size distributions from the Elwha River delta, Washington, July 2015 grab sampler This portion of the data release presents sediment grain-size data from samples collected on the Elwha River delta, Washington, between July and August 2015 (USGS Field Activities 2015-648-FA and 2015-652-FA). Surface sediment was collected from 70 locations using a small ponar, or 'grab', sampler from the R/V Frontier on July 28, 2015. An additional 17 sediment samples were collected between July 22 and August 23, 2015 by scuba divers. Forty-eight sediment samples were collected at low tide using a push corer at intertidal locations on the delta. The locations of grab samples and intertidal samples were determined with a hand-held global navigation satellite system (GNSS). Samples obtained by divers were collected adjacent to fixed monuments on the seabed with previously determined coordinates. The grain-size distributions of samples were determined using standard techniques developed by the USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center sediment lab. The grain-size data are provided in a comma-delimited spreadsheet (.csv). Andrew Stevens

Publications

Samples collected during this field activity