Additional Details

Description

Project Summary

In March of 2010, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducted geophysical surveys offshore of Petit Bois Island, Mississippi, and Dauphin Island, Alabama. These efforts were part of the USGS Gulf of Mexico Science Coordination partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to assist the Mississippi Coastal Improvements Program (MsCIP) and the Northern Gulf of Mexico (NGOM) Ecosystem Change and Hazards Susceptibility Project by mapping the shallow geologic stratigraphic framework of the Mississippi Barrier Island Complex. These geophysical surveys will provide the data necessary for scientists to define, interpret, and provide baseline bathymetry and seafloor habitat for this area and to aid scientists in predicting future geomorphological changes of the islands with respect to climate change, storm impact, and sea-level rise. Furthermore, these data will provide information for barrier island restoration, particularly in Camille Cut, and protection for the historical Fort Massachusetts on Ship Island, Mississippi. For more information please refer to http://ngom.usgs.gov/gomsc/mscip/index.html.

This report serves as an archive of the processed swath bathymetry and side scan sonar data (SSS). Data products herein include gridded and interpolated surfaces, seabed backscatter images, and ASCII x,y,z data products for both swath bathymetry and side scan sonar imagery. Additional files include trackline maps, navigation files, GIS files, Field Activity Collection System (FACS) logs, and formal FGDC metadata. Scanned images of the handwritten and digital FACS logs are also provided as PDF files. Refer to the Acronyms page for expansion of acronyms and abbreviations used in this report.

The USGS Center for Coastal and Marine Science - St. Petersburg assigns a unique identifier to each cruise or field activity. For example, 10CCT02 tells us the data were collected in 2010 for the Coastal Change and Transport (CCT) study and the data were collected during the second field (02) activity for that project in that calendar year. Refer to http://walr us.wr.usgs.gov/infobank/programs/html/definition/activity.html for a detailed description of the method used to assign the field activity ID.

Data were collected aboard the R/V Tommy Munro (http://www.usm.edu/gcrl/research_vessels/tommy.munro.php). Side scan sonar and interferometric swath bathymetry data were collected simultaneously along the navigational tracklines. The side scan sonar was towed off the port quarter of the vessel, generally within 3 m of the sea surface. The interferometric swath transducer was attached to the base of a rigid pole mount and deployed abeam to starboard side of the vessel. See the digital FACS equipment log for details about the acquisition equipment used. Both raw datasets were stored digitally and processed using CARIS HIPS and SIPS software at the USGS St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center. For more detailed information on processing, refer to the Equipment and Processing page. This survey was required to take place in the late winter months, in which strong winds and rough seas contributed to an overall reduction of data quality. The rough seas can be attributed to both the movement of the navigational and swath pole mount noise seen in the side scan sonar amplitude data. Chirp data were also collected during this survey and are archived separately.

Height In Inches

5.500

Length In Inches

5.000

Pieces

1

Languages

English