HR: 1300h
AN: OS52C-05    [PDF]
TI: Surficial Sediment Data from the Gulf of Maine, Georges Bank, and Vicinity - A GIS Compilation
AU: * Poppe, L J
EM: lpoppe@usgs.gov
AF: USGS, 384 Woods Hole Road, Woods Hole, MA 02543 United States
AU: Paskevich, V F
EM: vpaskevich@usgs.gov
AF: USGS, 384 Woods Hole Road, Woods Hole, MA 02543 United States
AU: Williams, S J
EM: jwilliams@usgs.gov
AF: USGS, 384 Woods Hole Road, Woods Hole, MA 02543 United States
AU: Hastings, M E
EM: phastings@usgs.gov
AF: USGS, 384 Woods Hole Road, Woods Hole, MA 02543 United States
AU: Kelley, J T
EM: jtkelley@maine.edu
AF: University of Maine, Geological Sciences, Orono, ME 04469 United States
AU: Belknap, D F
EM: belknap@maine.edu
AF: University of Maine, Geological Sciences, Orono, ME 04469 United States
AU: Ward, L G
EM: lgward@cisunix.unh.edu
AF: University of New Hampshire, Earth Sciences, Durham, NH 03824
AU: FitzGerald, D M
EM: dunc@bu.edu
AF: Boston University, Earth Sciences, Boston, MA 02215 United States
AU: Larsen, P F
EM: plarsen@bigelow.org
AF: Bigelow Laboratory, McKnown Point, West Boothbay harbor, ME 04575
AB: The Coastal and Marine Geology Program of the USGS, in cooperation with the University of Maine, University of New Hampshire, Boston University, and Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, has compiled surficial sediment data on the sea floor along the northeastern U.S. (USGS Open-File Report 03-001 on CD-ROM). These data, which contain information on sediment grain size and lithology for over 49,000 stations, were compiled as part of the USGS's National Benthic Habitats and Marine Aggregate Resources and Processes Projects to update the existing maps of surficial sediment distribution available for this region. Other potential uses for these data include: (1) defining the geological variability of the sea floor and the distribution of benthic habitats and associated infaunal community structures; (2) improving our understanding of the processes that control the distribution and transport of bottom sediments; (3) locating aggregate resources for beach nourishment and industrial applications and (4) providing a detailed framework for future research, monitoring, and management activities. Because the present distribution of surficial sediment off the northeastern United States is shaped by the deposits left by the last glaciation and reflects the cumulative effects of sediment erosion, transport, sorting, and deposition by storms and tidal currents during the Holocene eustatic rise in sea level, these sediments also represent both a historical record of former conditions and a guide to future sedimentary environments. Most of the sediment data in this report are separated into data layers by their original source project and are provided as single-point vector datasets with sample identifiers, navigation, textural attribute information, and metadata. Unpublished data and data from the gray literature that form parts of earlier compilations are included in datasets attributed to these compilations. All data are intended to be GIS-ready.
UR: http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2003/of03-001/
DE: 3022 Marine sediments--processes and transport
DE: 3099 General or miscellaneous
DE: 3675 Sedimentary petrology
DE: 4219 Continental shelf processes
DE: 4299 General or miscellaneous
SC: Ocean Sciences [OS]
MN: 2004 Ocean Sciences Meeting