Digital seafloor character data of the Gulf of Alaska from historical National Ocean Service (NOS) smooth sheets

Publication Date

2016-08-03

Start Date

1892

End Date

2001

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.

In 2012, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and National Oceanic and 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 (http://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/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 Geophysics Data Center’s online data portal (NDGC, http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov). Data on smooth sheets hold densely packed data including 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, and areas of kelp or sea grass. References: 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, available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/2006/146/. Jenkins, C.J., 1997, Building offshore soils databases: Sea Technology, v. 38, p. 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., available 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., available at http://pubs.usgs.gov/ds/2005/118/.

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• Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center

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