Dataset Identification:
Resource Abstract:
- description: The USGS, in cooperation with NOAA, is producing detailed maps of the seafloor off southern New England. The
current phase of this cooperative research program is directed toward analyzing how bathymetric relief relates to the distribution
of sedimentary environments and benthic communities. As part of this program, digital terrain models (DTMs) from bathymetry
collected as part of NOAA's hydrographic charting activities are converted into ESRI raster grids and imagery, verified
with bottom sampling and photography, and used to produce interpretations of seabed geology and hydrodynamic processes. Although
each of the 7 continuous-coverage, completed surveys individually provides important benthic environmental information, many
applications require a geographically broader perspective. For example, the usefulness of individual surveys is limited for
the planning and construction of cross-Sound infrastructure, such as cables and pipelines, or for the testing of regional
circulation models. To address this need, we integrated the 7 contiguous multibeam bathymetric DTMs into one dataset that
covers much of Block Island Sound. The new dataset is adjusted to mean lower low water, is provided in UTM Zone 19 NAD83 and
geographic WGS84 projections, and is gridded to 4-m resolution. This resolution is adequate for seafloor-feature and process
interpretation, but small enough to be queried and manipulated with standard GIS programs and to allow for future growth.
Natural features visible in the grid include boulder lag deposits of submerged moraines, sand-wave fields, and scour depressions
that reflect the strength of the oscillating tidal currents. Bedform asymmetry allows interpretations of net sediment transport.
Together the merged data reveal a larger, more continuous perspective of bathymetric topography than previously available,
providing a fundamental framework for research and resource management activities off this portion of the Rhode Island coast.;
abstract: The USGS, in cooperation with NOAA, is producing detailed maps of the seafloor off southern New England. The current
phase of this cooperative research program is directed toward analyzing how bathymetric relief relates to the distribution
of sedimentary environments and benthic communities. As part of this program, digital terrain models (DTMs) from bathymetry
collected as part of NOAA's hydrographic charting activities are converted into ESRI raster grids and imagery, verified
with bottom sampling and photography, and used to produce interpretations of seabed geology and hydrodynamic processes. Although
each of the 7 continuous-coverage, completed surveys individually provides important benthic environmental information, many
applications require a geographically broader perspective. For example, the usefulness of individual surveys is limited for
the planning and construction of cross-Sound infrastructure, such as cables and pipelines, or for the testing of regional
circulation models. To address this need, we integrated the 7 contiguous multibeam bathymetric DTMs into one dataset that
covers much of Block Island Sound. The new dataset is adjusted to mean lower low water, is provided in UTM Zone 19 NAD83 and
geographic WGS84 projections, and is gridded to 4-m resolution. This resolution is adequate for seafloor-feature and process
interpretation, but small enough to be queried and manipulated with standard GIS programs and to allow for future growth.
Natural features visible in the grid include boulder lag deposits of submerged moraines, sand-wave fields, and scour depressions
that reflect the strength of the oscillating tidal currents. Bedform asymmetry allows interpretations of net sediment transport.
Together the merged data reveal a larger, more continuous perspective of bathymetric topography than previously available,
providing a fundamental framework for research and resource management activities off this portion of the Rhode Island coast.
Citation
- Title Color Shaded-Relief GeoTIFF Image Showing the Combined 4-m Multibeam Bathymetry Generated from National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) Surveys H12009, H12010, H12011, H12015, H12033, H12137, and H12139 Offshore in Block Island Sound (BISOUND_4MMB_GEO.TIF,
Geographic, WGS84).
-
- creation Date
2018-06-08T09:22:19.549208
Resource language:
Processing environment:
Back to top:
Metadata data stamp:
2018-08-06T19:49:23Z
Resource Maintenance Information
- maintenance or update frequency:
- notes: This metadata record was generated by an xslt transformation from a dc metadata record; Transform by Stephen M. Richard, based
on a transform by Damian Ulbricht. Run on 2018-08-06T19:49:23Z
Metadata contact
-
pointOfContact
- organisation Name
CINERGI Metadata catalog
-
- Contact information
-
-
- Address
-
- electronic Mail Address cinergi@sdsc.edu
Metadata language
eng
Metadata character set encoding:
utf8
Metadata standard for this record:
ISO 19139 Geographic Information - Metadata - Implementation Specification
standard version:
2007
Metadata record identifier:
urn:dciso:metadataabout:73524db3-e622-4d55-827f-f71c2774346f
Metadata record format is ISO19139 XML (MD_Metadata)