Digital seafloor character data of the Gulf of Alaska from historical National Ocean Service (NOS) smooth sheets
Dates
Publication Date
2016-08-03
Start Date
1892-01-01
End Date
2001-12-31
Citation
Golden, N.E., Reid, J.A., Zimmermann, M., Lowe, E.N., and Hansen, A.S., 2016, Digitized seafloor characterization data from the Gulf of Alaska: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/F7CV4FT9.
Summary
In 2012, US Geological Survey (USGS) and National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) embarked on an ambitious project to digitize surficial seafloor data from existing National Ocean Service (NOS) smooth sheets in the Gulf of Alaska including numerous bays bordering the Gulf. USGS and NOAA are using the data for the nation-wide usSEABED project that seeks to compile and unify existing seafloor characterization point data into GIS-friendly data using the dbSEABED program (Jenkins, 1997; Reid and others, 2005; Buczkowski and others, 2006; Reid and others, 2006) and for the North Pacific Research Board’s Gulf of Alaska Integrated Ecosystems Research Program (NPRB, GOA-IERP, http://www.nprb.org/gulf-of-alaska-project) juvenile [...]
Summary
In 2012, US Geological Survey (USGS) and National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) embarked on an ambitious project to digitize surficial seafloor data from existing National Ocean Service (NOS) smooth sheets in the Gulf of Alaska including numerous bays bordering the Gulf. USGS and NOAA are using the data for the nation-wide usSEABED project that seeks to compile and unify existing seafloor characterization point data into GIS-friendly data using the dbSEABED program (Jenkins, 1997; Reid and others, 2005; Buczkowski and others, 2006; Reid and others, 2006) and for the North Pacific Research Board’s Gulf of Alaska Integrated Ecosystems Research Program (NPRB, GOA-IERP, http://www.nprb.org/gulf-of-alaska-project) juvenile groundfish survival project. In addition, NOAA “Deepwater Sponges and Corals” project uses these data to predict viable habitat for those species.
Smooth sheets are available through the National Geophysical Data Center’s online data portal (NDGC, http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov) and are the basis for well-known navigational charts used by mariners throughout the United States coastal waters, extending onto the continental shelf and deeper waters. Smooth sheets can hold densely packed data, particularly bathymetric data, compared to navigational charts and therefore are a good source of useable data. Data on smooth sheets record water depth, surficial seafloor character that variably includes: rockiness, hardness/softness, sediment size, color, and constituents; as well as navigational hazards including anthropogenic sites or remains, rocky reefs, areas of kelp or sea grass, and other sites of importance to mariners.
This data release provides surficial seafloor characteristics point data across the Gulf of Alaska for spatial extent: West longitude -154.586589; East longitude -136.067554; North latitude 60.899214; South latitude 56.230582, as digitized directly from NOS smooth sheets published from 1892 to 2001 and archived at NGDC. Geo-rectification and digitization methods were adapted from Zimmermann and Benson, 2013. The vector shapefile and a comma-separated value (.csv) table version of the shapefile dbf information is available to download from the "Attached Files" section of this webpage. These files of individual point data (N = 116,752), include smooth sheet number (H#####), unique site number location, collection date, and seafloor notation. Unique site numbers were assigned randomly to each notation on a smooth sheet, starting at “_0”. Examples of seafloor notations include: rk (= rock); bu C (= blue clay); hrd (= hard); fne S (= fine sand); Co (= coral) or similar codes; the full code key is given in the Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Department of Defense, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, “Chart No. 1: Symbols, Abbreviations and Terms used on Paper and Electronic Navigational Charts” (2013). In some cases, the seafloor character is indicated by a symbol or other drawing, such as an asterisk, “*”. During the digitization process, the symbols or drawings are replaced or complemented by the corresponding sediment code in the NOS Sediment Code chart referenced above. For example, an asterisk (“*”) indicates “rk” or “rock”. Distribution of NOS seafloor-characteristics data across the Gulf varies widely: nearer the shoreline, data are more densely distributed; on the mid and outer continental shelf, data are more sparsely spaced. This distribution follows the need of mariners to have more information about potential hazards and possible anchoring locations as they near the shore.
An accompanying table lists the NOS smooth sheets used in this project (N = 329, plus insets), the number of samples for each smooth sheet, the year of collection (1892 to 2001), and the smooth sheet scale (from 1:2,000 to 1:600,000). For some more recent sheets, written descriptions from affiliated reports are included. The cited locations of the points were adjusted as necessary in GIS to match the location on the geo-rectified smooth sheet in GIS as projected in North American Datum of 1983.
NOAA has published the companion regional bathymetric data and its derivatives and sediment characteristics data for Cook Inlet and areas of the Aleutian Islands at http://www.afsc.noaa.gov/RACE/groundfish/bathymetry/.
The project was funded through the USGS Coastal and Marine Geology Program, NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, and Alaska Fisheries Science Center Interagency Agreement AKC-119 (May 2012).
Acknowledgements:
Funding for this effort was through the USGS Coastal and Marine Geology Program and NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service. Thanks to the efforts of Jennifer Reynolds , additional funding was provided by University of Alaska, Fairbanks. The authors also acknowledge Kalei Shotwell and Chris Rooper, NOAA, for funding USGS to complete the project. The authors recognize the work of Megan Prescott, NOAA, and Paul Waiters, Sara Kaiser, and Blake McBride, of University of California, Santa Cruz, who assisted with the digitization and proofing process.
Citations:
Buczkowski, B.J., Reid, J.A., Jenkins, C.J., Reid, J.M., Williams, S.J., and Flocks, J.G., 2006, usSEABED: Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean (Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands) offshore surficial sediment data release: U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 146, version 1.0. Online at http://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/2006/146/.
Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Department of Defense, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, 2013, U.S. Chart No. 1: Symbols, Abbreviations and Terms used on Paper and Electronic Navigational Charts, 12 th edition, 132 p., online at http://www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/mcd/chartno1.htm
Jenkins, C.J. 1997. Building Offshore Soils Databases. Sea Technology, 38(12), pp. 25-28.
Reid, J.A., Reid, J.M., Jenkins, C.J., Zimmermann, M., Williams, S.J., and Field, M.E., 2006, usSEABED: Pacific Coast (California, Oregon, Washington) offshore surficial-sediment data release: U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 182, version 1.0. Online at http://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/2006/182/.
Reid, J.M., Reid, J.A., Jenkins, C.J., Hastings, M.E., Williams, S.J., and Poppe, L.J, 2005, usSEABED: Atlantic coast offshore surficial sediment data release: U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 118, version 1.0. Online at http://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/2005/118/.
Zimmermann, M. and J. Benson. 2013. Smooth sheets: How to work with them in a GIS to derive bathymetry, features and substrates. U.S. Dept. Commerce, NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-AFSC-249, 52 p., online at http://www.afsc.noaa.gov/Publications/AFSC-TM/NOAA-TM-AFSC-249.pdf.
These data are intended for science researchers, students, policy makers, and the general public. The data can be used with geographic information systems (GIS) software to display geologic and oceanographic information. Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Although this Federal Geographic Data Committee-compliant metadata file is intended to document the data set in nonproprietary form, as well as in ArcGIS format, this metadata file may include some ArcGIS-specific terminology.
