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Sea-Floor Character and Sedimentary Processes of Great Round Shoal Channel, Offshore Massachusetts


Introduction

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Title Page
Introduction
Setting
Methods
Overview
Discussion
Interpretation
Data Catalog
Acknowledgments
References
List of Figures
Bottom Photographs
Sediment Data
Contacts
Disclaimers

The imagery, interpretive data layers, and data presented herein were derived from multibeam echo-sounder and sidescan-sonar data collected in the vicinity of Great Round Shoal Channel, the main passage through shoals located at the eastern entrance to Nantucket Sound, Massachusetts, and from the stations occupied to verify these acoustic data (fig. 1). Basic data layers show sea-floor topography, sun-illuminated shaded relief, and backscatter intensity; interpretive layers show the distributions of surficial sediment, sedimentary environments, and sea-floor features. Presented verification data include sediment grain-size analyses and a gallery of still photographs of the seabed.

The multibeam and sidescan data, which together cover an approximately 39.9-km² area of sea floor, were collected during National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) hydrographic survey H11079 (fig. 1). Although originally collected for charting purposes, these data provide a fundamental framework for research and management activities along this part of the Massachusetts coastline (Noji and others, 2004), show the composition and terrain of the seabed, and provide information on sediment transport and benthic habitat.

This publication is the third in a series of U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) digital reports describing the sea-floor geology around Cape Cod. The first focused on the area off the eastern shore of the outer Cape (Poppe and others, 2006); the second on a passage through the Elizabeth Islands (Poppe and others, 2007).

Click on figures for larger images.

Figure 1. Index map of Cape Cod and the Islands showing location of the study area and  directions of net sediment transport on the east-facing shores of Cape Cod and Nantucket (Strahler, 1988).
Figure 1. Index map of Cape Cod and the Islands showing location of the study area (red polygon). Blue arrows show directions of net sediment transport on the east-facing shores of Cape Cod and Nantucket (Strahler, 1988).
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