Summary Information for Field Activity 2007-001-FA

Area of Operations: Massachusetts Bay, Scituate, Duxbury, Massachusetts, United States, North America, North Atlantic

Dates: April 20, 2007 to May 04, 2007

Chief scientist: Walter Barnhardt

   Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management

Objectives: Sea floor mapping (geophysics only).

Type of Activity: Sea floor mapping;Sea floor mapping

Information to be derived: Sea floor map; Bathymetric maps;

Summary: Completed mapping in shallow water along coast, approx. from Green Harbor to Scituate, to fill in areas not covered by 2006 Megan Miller survey. Collected full coverage bathymetry and backscatter data, and closely spaced grid of sub-bottom profiles. Cruise was delayed 6 days by a strong nor'easter. Lost several days at end of cruise due to weather. Took along two data processors on this cruise for the first time (usually only one) in order to speed up the production. New 4-stroke outboards performed well, very quiet and lots of power. Auto-pilot seldom deviated from programmed HYPACK lines. New pole mount for chirp worked great, allowed tight turns to port w/out prop damage to fish. Now, if we could just find a way to launch/recover the big 512i fish! Total trackline length = 525 km; area mapped = 57 km2; water depths range from 4-20 m. Nearshore area south of Green Harbor (off Duxbury Beach) was not completed due to weather; will fill gaps during July cruise.

Contact: Seth Ackerman (sackerman@usgs.gov)
Brian Andrews (bandrews@usgs.gov)

InfoBank: uses the identifier R-1-07-CD. Visit this site for more information.

Related Links: http://woodshole.er.usgs.gov/project-pages/coastal_mass/
http://soundwaves.usgs.gov/2007/12/pubs.html