MBDS.SHP - Location of the Massachusetts Bay Disposal Site

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Frequently-anticipated questions:


What does this data set describe?

Title: MBDS.SHP - Location of the Massachusetts Bay Disposal Site
Abstract:
The U.S. Geological Survey has conducted geologic mapping to characterize the sea floor offshore of Massachusetts. The mapping was carried out using a Simrad Subsea EM 1000 Multibeam Echo Sounder on the Frederick G. Creed on four cruises conducted between 1994 and 1998. The mapping was conducted in cooperation with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and with support from the Canadian Hydrographic Service and the University of New Brunswick. The long-term goal of this mapping effort is to produce high-resolution geologic maps and a Geographic Information System (GIS) project that presents images and grids of bathymetry, shaded relief bathymetry, and backscatter intensity data from these surveys that will serve the needs of research, management and the public.
  1. How should this data set be cited?

    Butman, Bradford, 2007, MBDS.SHP - Location of the Massachusetts Bay Disposal Site: Data Series 99, U.S. Geological Survey, Coastal and Marine Geology Program, Woods Hole Science Center, Woods Hole, MA.

    Online Links:

    This is part of the following larger work.

    Butman, Bradford, Valentine, Page C., Middleton, Tammie J., and Danforth, William W., 2007, A GIS Library of Multibeam Data for Massachusetts Bay and the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, Offshore of Boston, Massachusetts: Data Series 99, U.S. Geological Survey, Coastal and Marine Geology Program, Woods Hole Science Center, Woods Hole, MA.

    Online Links:

  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?

    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -70.605312
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -70.560335
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 42.435099
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 42.401761

  3. What does it look like?

  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?

    Calendar_Date: 2007
    Currentness_Reference: publication date

  5. What is the general form of this data set?

    Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: vector digital data

  6. How does the data set represent geographic features?

    1. How are geographic features stored in the data set?

      This is a Vector data set. It contains the following vector data types (SDTS terminology):

      • G-polygon (1)

    2. What coordinate system is used to represent geographic features?

      Horizontal positions are specified in geographic coordinates, that is, latitude and longitude. Latitudes are given to the nearest 0.000000. Longitudes are given to the nearest 0.000000. Latitude and longitude values are specified in Decimal degrees.

      The horizontal datum used is North American Datum of 1983.
      The ellipsoid used is Geodetic Reference System 80.
      The semi-major axis of the ellipsoid used is 6378137.000000.
      The flattening of the ellipsoid used is 1/298.257222.

  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?

    mbds
    Shapefile Attribute Table (Source: ESRI)

    FID
    Internal feature number. (Source: ESRI)

    Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated.

    Shape
    Feature geometry. (Source: ESRI)

    Coordinates defining the features.

    AREA
    A mathematical calculation of the size of a two-dimensional geographic feature, measured in square units. (Source: <http://support.esri.com/index.cfm?fa=knowledgebase.gisDictionary.search&searchTerm=area>)

    ValueDefinition
    10747990square meters

    PERIMETER
    distance around boundary of feature measured in units

    ValueDefinition
    11628meters

    MBDS_ID
    Identification number assigned to feature when created in ARCINFO

    ValueDefinition
    1integer


Who produced the data set?

  1. Who are the originators of the data set? (may include formal authors, digital compilers, and editors)

  2. Who also contributed to the data set?

  3. To whom should users address questions about the data?

    U.S. Geological Survey
    c/o Bradford Butman
    Oceanographer
    384 Woods Hole Rd
    Woods Hole, MA 02543-1598
    USA

    (508) 548-8700 x2212 (voice)
    (508) 457-2309 (FAX)
    bbutman@usgs.gov

    Hours_of_Service: 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.


Why was the data set created?

This shapefile shows the location of the Massachusetts Bay Disposal Site in Masachusetts Bay.


How was the data set created?

  1. From what previous works were the data drawn?

    (source 1 of 1)
    U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1992, Massachusetts Bay Disposal Site boundary: Open-File Report 99-439, U.S. Geological Survey, Woods Hole Science Center, Woods Hole, MA.

    This is part of the following larger work.

    Bradford Butman and John Lindsay (eds.), and (ed.), John Lindsay , 2000, A Marine GIS Library for Massachusetts Bay: Focusing on Disposal Sites, Contaminated Sediments, and Sea Floor Mapping: Open-File Report 99-439, U.S. Geological Survey, Coastal and Marine Geology Program, Woods Hole Science Center, Woods Hole, MA.

    Online Links:

    Other_Citation_Details: 1 CD-ROM
    Type_of_Source_Media: CD-ROM

  2. How were the data generated, processed, and modified?

    (process 1 of 1)
    A 2 nautical mile diameter circle was drawn, centered at the coordinates of the Massachusetts Bay Disposal Site (mbds) as listed in the Final Environmental Impact Statement, USEPA, July 1992

    Person who carried out this activity:

    U.S. Geological Survey
    c/o Tammie Middleton
    384 Woods Hole Road
    Woods Hole, MA 02543-1598
    USA

    (508) 548-8700 (voice)
    (508) 457-2310 (FAX)

  3. What similar or related data should the user be aware of?

    Butman, Bradford, and Lindsay, John, 1999, A Marine GIS Library for Massachusetts Bay: Open-File Report 99-439, U.S. Geological Survey, Coastal and Marine Geology Program, Woods Hole Science Center, Woods Hole, MA.


How reliable are the data; what problems remain in the data set?

  1. How well have the observations been checked?

  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?

  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?

  4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?

  5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?


How can someone get a copy of the data set?

Are there legal restrictions on access or use of the data?

Access_Constraints: None.
Use_Constraints:
Public domain data from the U.S. Government are freely redistributable with proper metadata and source attribution. Please recognize the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) as the source of this information.

  1. Who distributes the data set? (Distributor 1 of 2)

    Bradford Butman
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Oceanographer
    384 Woods Hole Road
    Woods Hole, MA 02543-1598
    USA

    (508) 548-8700 x2212 (voice)
    (508) 457-2309 (FAX)
    bbutman@usgs.gov

    Hours_of_Service: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST
  2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set?

    Downloadable Data

  3. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?

    Although these data have been used by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), no warranty expressed or implied is made by the U.S. Geological Survey as to the accuracy of the data. The act of distribution shall not constitute any such warranty, and no responsibility is assumed by the USGS in the use of these data or related materials. Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

  4. How can I download or order the data?

  5. What hardware or software do I need in order to use the data set?

    These data are available in Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) shapefile format. The user must have ArcGIS or ArcView 3.0 or greater software to read and process the data file. In lieu of ArcView or ArcGIS, the user may utilize another GIS application package capable of the importing data. A free data viewer, ArcExplorer, capable of displaying the data is available from ESRI at www.esri.com.


  1. Who distributes the data set? (Distributor 2 of 2)

    U.S. Geological Survey Information Services
    Box 25286 Denver Federal Center
    Denver, Colorado 80225-0046
    USA

    (303) 202-4700 (voice)
    (303) 202-4188 (FAX)

    Hours_of_Service: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mountain Time
  2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set?

    Downloadable Data

  3. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?

    Although these data have been used by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), no warranty expressed or implied is made by the U.S. Geological Survey as to the accuracy of the data. The act of distribution shall not constitute any such warranty, and no responsibility is assumed by the USGS in the use of these data or related materials. Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.

  4. How can I download or order the data?

  5. What hardware or software do I need in order to use the data set?

    These data are available in Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) shapefile format. The user must have ArcGIS or ArcView 3.0 or greater software to read and process the data file. In lieu of ArcView or ArcGIS, the user may utilize another GIS application package capable of the importing data. A free data viewer, ArcExplorer, capable of displaying the data is available from ESRI at www.esri.com.


Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:
Last modified: 26-Mar-2007
Metadata author:
Brad Butman
U.S. Geological Survey
Oceanographer
384 Woods Hole Road
Woods Hole, MA 02543-1598
USA

(508) 548-8700 x2212 (voice)
(508) 457-2309 (FAX)
bbutman@usgs.gov

Metadata standard:
FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata (FGDC-STD-001-1998)
Metadata extensions used:


Generated by mp version 2.9.1 on Tue Mar 27 11:13:44 2007