Search USGSSearch

SEARCH · Search USGS

Results for “NOAA Data Report”

Search indexed USGS publications on groundwater, aquifers, geologic maps, mineral resources and earthquakes. Explore source records by subject and place.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Baseline assessments for coral reef community structure and demographics on West Maui

The coastal and upslope terrains of West Maui have had a long history of impacts owing to more than a century of human activities. Resource extraction, agriculture, as well as residential and resort development have caused land-based pollution that impairs water quality and adversely impact the adjacent marine ecosystem. Today, West Maui’s coral reefs are chronically impacted by the effects of land-based pollution, mainly sedimentation and nutrients, with documented losses of 30 – 75% in coral cover over the last 20 years. Nonetheless, despite their current status and levels of environmental impact, these coral reef communities represent a key local resource and a counterpoint to the overall low coral reef development levels both island- and state-wide. This is of high relevance because the occurrence of coral-rich assemblages and accreted reef complexes statewide is sparse. Only limited segments along the coastlines of Maui, Hawai‘i, Lana‘i, Moloka‘i, and Kaho‘olawe, harbor mature, fringing coral reefs; and unfortunately, many of them are seriously threatened by terrestrial runoff. This report describes the results of baseline assessment surveys of coral reef benthic structure, coral community demographics, and coral condition. These surveys are intended to provide benchmarks for continued monitoring efforts and provide a gauge for comparing and evaluating the effectiveness of management actions to reduce land-based sources of pollution in priority watersheds on West Maui. Within this context, 12 permanent, long-term monitoring sites were strategically established adjacent to the 7 primary stream drainages (Wahikuli, Honokōwai, Mahinahina, Kahana/Ka‘opala, Honokeana, Honokahua, and Honolua) within the five priority watersheds (Wahikuli, Honokōwai, Kahana, Honokahua, and Honolua). Herein, benthic cover and composition, coral demographics, and coral condition of the monitoring sites are described and contrasted in the “Benthic Characterization” and “Synthesis and Discussion” sections of this report. The baseline assessments revealed that although some areas harbor prominent coral reef structures with high live coral cover and multispecies assemblages, others are characterized by sediment-impacted corals in impoverished and species-poor communities. Mean coral cover varied widely, from 49% at Wahikuli-shallow to 4.6% at Mahinahina-shallow. Similarly, coralline algal cover averaged 12.7% at Ka‘opala and Honokeana-north, but was altogether absent at the Mahinahina sites. Macroalgae was a minor component of the benthos across all study sites, representing only up to 2.3% at Mahinahina-south, while turf algae varied considerably, from 41% at Honokeana-north to 84% at the Honokahua site. Consequently, the Benthic Substrate Ratio (BSR) also varied considerably region wide, with the highest values (≥ 1), suggesting a healthier reef condition reported for the Wahikuli, Honokeana, and Honokōwai sites; and the lowest (≤ 0.5), suggesting impairment in structure and function, recorded at the Honolua and Honokahua sites. Adult colony densities were the highest at the Wahikuli (27 col/m 2 ) but lowest at the Ka‘opala (7 col/m2 ) site. And, colony partial mortality peaked at the Ka‘opala (33%) and was the lowest at the Honokeana Bay (12%). Moreover, in-situ and derived estimates of water turbidity and sediment loading revealed that the Ka‘opala and Wahikuli stream sites ranked the highest for turbidity, whereas the Honokōwai and Ka‘opala sites ranked highest for sediment loading. Chronic and episodic terrestrial sediment stress has resulted in coral reef community demise, clearly illustrated at the Honolua, Honokahua, and Ka‘opala sites, where coral benthic cover and colony abundances ranked the lowest and levels of turf algae ranked among the highest. Left unattended, land-based pollution impacts will continue to negatively affect the coral reef communities of West Maui. And, under the current turbidity and sediment loading conditions, the coral-rich habitats in the Wahikuli and Honōkowai Watersheds are probably at greatest risk, given they harbor the most prominent and well-developed reefs in the region, characterized by the highest coral cover, colony densities, and structural complexity.

Hawaii

Samoa basin abyssal mapping: Box coring leg

This cruise report describes work from leg three of the NOAA American Samoa Abyssal Mapping effort, OPR-T900-KR-26. Leg one preceded this effort and collected ship-based acoustic data. Leg two collected autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) data and began before, continued contemporaneously, and finished subsequently to leg three. The USGS field activity number assigned to this expedition is 2026-604-FA. The objective of this expedition was to collect representative box cores to inform prospectivity analyses through the region, and co-located interdisciplinary datasets as practical. USGS personnel directed the sampling locations and took custody of the box cores once recovered shipboard. USGS personnel then photographed and described the cores, subsampled, conducted analyses including wet weights and time sensitive measurements, and preserved subsamples and additional components for future work. Data releases co-released with this report are listed in the section “paired data releases.” NOAA released data from all legs of this effort in near-real time. Details of the preceding legs, the data, and NOAA’s project summary available from NOAA, (2026). This report is an expedition summary with preliminary datasets; remaining data releases and publications will be forthcoming.

EarthArXiv

Sidescan-Sonar Imagery and Surficial Geologic Interpretations of the Sea Floor in Western Rhode Island Sound

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have been working together to interpret sea-floor geology along the northeastern coast of the United States. In 2004, the NOAA Ship RUDE completed survey H11322, a sidescan-sonar and bathymetric survey that covers about 60 square kilometers of the sea floor in western Rhode Island Sound. This report interprets sidescan-sonar and bathymetric data from NOAA survey H11322 to delineate sea-floor features and sedimentary environments in the study area. Paleozoic bedrock and Cretaceous Coastal Plain sediments in Rhode Island Sound underlie Pleistocene glacial drift that affects the distribution of surficial Holocene marine and transgressional sediments. The study area has three bathymetric highs separated by a channel system. Features and patterns in the sidescan-sonar imagery include low, moderate, and high backscatter; sand waves; scarps; erosional outliers; boulders; trawl marks; and dredge spoils. Four sedimentary environments in the study area, based on backscatter and bathymetric features, include those characterized by erosion or nondeposition, coarse-grained bedload transport, sorting and reworking, and deposition. Environments characterized by erosion or nondeposition and coarse-grained bedload transport are located in shallower areas and environments characterized by deposition are located in deeper areas; environments characterized by sorting and reworking processes are generally located at moderate depths.

Open-File Report

Project PROBE Leg I - Report and archive of multibeam bathymetry and acoustic backscatter , CTD/XBT and GPS navigation data collected during USGS Cruise 02051 (NOAA Cruise RB0208) Puerto Rico Trench September 24, 2002 to September 30, 2002

On September 24-30, 2002, six days of scientific surveying to map a section of the Puerto Rico Trench (PRT) took place aboard the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) ship Ron Brown. The cruise was funded by NOAA's Office of Ocean Exploration. Multibeam bathymetry and acoustic-backscatter data were collected over an area of about 25,000 sq. km of the Puerto Rico trench and its vicinity at water depths of 4000-8400 m. Weather conditions during the entire survey were good; there were light to moderate winds and 1-2 foot swells experiencing minor chop. The roll and pitch of the ship's interaction with the ocean were not conspicuous. Cruise participants included personnel from USGS, NOAA, and University of New Hampshire Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping/Joint Hydrographic Center. The cruise resulted in the discovery of a major active strike-slip fault system close to the trench, submarine slides on the descending North American tectonic plate, and an extinct mud volcano, which was cut by the strike-slip fault system. Another strike-slip fault system closer to Puerto Rico that was previously considered to accommodate much of the relative plate motion appears to be inactive. The seaward continuation of the Mona Rift, a zone of extension between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic that generated a devastating tsunami in 1918, was mapped for the first time.

Open-File Report

Surficial geology of the sea floor in Long Island Sound offshore of Orient Point, New York

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (CT DEP) are working cooperatively to map and interpret features of the sea floor along the northeastern coast of the United States. This report presents multibeam bathymetry and sidescan-sonar data obtained during NOAA survey H11446, which was conducted in a 12-km2 area in Long Island Sound offshore of Orient Point, NY. In addition, sediment and photographic data from 26 stations obtained during a USGS verification cruise are presented. Overall, the sea floor slopes gently seaward, but topography is more complex in sand-wave and boulder areas, which are evident in the multibeam and sidescan-sonar data from the study area. Sand waves generally have north-south-oriented crests with 10- to 20-m wavelengths. Sand-wave asymmetry indicates eastward net sediment transport in the east and westward net sediment transport in the northern and western parts of the study area. Areas with boulders on the sea floor are typically hummocky and are part of a glacial moraine system. Boulders are typically encrusted with seaweed, sponges, and anemones as shown in the bottom photography.

Open-File Report

Data summary of June-July 1975 floods in eastern North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota

Torrential rains during late June and early July 1975, combined with wet antecedent conditions, caused severe flooding, mainly along the lower reaches of the Sheyenne and Maple Rivers and their tributaries in North Dakota, and in the Buffalo and Wild Rice River basins in Minnesota. The Red River of the North from the Fargo-Moorhead area to the Halstad, Minnesota area was also severely flooded. Because much of the region is extremely flat, large areas of the two States were inundated by flood waters. Damage, mostly agricultural, was widespread and damage estimates exceeded a quarter of a billion dollars. Local, State, and Federal officials need factual information to evaluate, coordinate, and manage programs concerned with flood losses. The purpose of this report is to provide quickly a summary of some of the basic data collected on the June-July 1975 floods. Only a part of the information collected by the U.S. Geological Survey on the extent and magnitude of the floods is presented. This information includes the magnitude and frequency of the instantaneous maximum stages (water-surface elevations) and flow rates for 62 sites, measured sediment loads at 7 sites, and hydrographs of daily mean flow at 6 sites. Additional streamflow information associated with the floods will be provided subsequently in annual data releases of the Geological Survey. The report also describes availability of graphic or photographic data depicting the areal extent of inundation. Those data may be obtained from the Applications Assistance Branch, EROS Data Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Sioux Falls, S. Dak. 57198. Only a minimal amount of rainfall data are summarized in this report to aid in documenting the flood event. These data were provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S. Department of Commerce, and by the Minnesota State Office of Climatology. This assistance in providing the data and in reviewing the form of its presentation is appreciated.

Minnesota, North Dakota

Interpolation of reconnaissance multibeam and single-beam bathymetry offshore of Milford, Connecticut

This report releases echosounder data from the northern part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) hydrographic survey H11044 in Long Island Sound, off Milford, Connecticut. The data have been interpolated and regridded into a complete-coverage data set and image of the sea floor. The grid produced as a result of the interpolation is at 10-m resolution. These data extend an already published set of reprocessed bathymetric data from the southern part of survey H11044. In Long Island Sound, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with NOAA and the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, is producing detailed maps of the sea floor. Part of the current phase of research involves studies of sea-floor topography and its effect on the distributions of sedimentary environments and benthic habitats. This data set provides a more continuous perspective of the sea floor than was previously available. It helps to define topographic variability and benthic-habitat diversity for the area and improves our understanding of oceanographic processes controlling the distribution of sediments and benthic habitats. Inasmuch as precise information on environmental setting is important for selecting sampling sites and accurately interpreting point measurements, this data set can also serve as a base map for subsequent sedimentological, geochemical, and biological research.

Connecticut

Sidescan-sonar imagery and surficial geologic interpretations of the sea floor in central Rhode Island Sound

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has been working with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to interpret the surficial geology of areas along the northeastern coast of the United States. During 2004, the NOAA Ship RUDE conducted Hydrographic Survey H11321 in Rhode Island Sound. This sidescan-sonar and bathymetry survey covers an area of 93 km? located 12 km southeast of Brenton Point, RI in water depths of 28-39 m (fig. 1). The purpose of this report is to delineate sea floor features and sedimentary environments of this area in central Rhode Island Sound using sidescan-sonar and bathymetric data from NOAA Survey H11321 and seismic-reflection data from a previous USGS field study (Needell and others, 1983a). This is important for the study of benthic habitats and provides a framework for future research. Prior work in this area includes the mapping of surface sediments and surficial geology. McMaster (1960) collected sediment samples from Rhode Island Sound and Narragansett Bay and mapped our study area as having a sandy sea floor. In addition, one sample of sand from the National Ocean Service (NOS) Hydrographic Database came from a location in the northeast part of our study area in 1939 (fig. 2; Poppe and others, 2003). McMaster and others (1968) used seismic-reflection profiles to map the locations of a cuesta of Cretaceous sediments crossing Rhode Island Sound and post-Cretaceous drainage channels. Knebel and others (1982) identified sedimentary environments in Rhode Island Sound using sidescan sonographs. Needell and others (1983b) studied the Quaternary geology and mapped the structure, sedimentary environments, and geologic hazards in Rhode Island Sound using sidescan-sonar and seismic-reflection data. Sidescan-sonar and bathymetric data from NOAA Survey H11320, which overlaps the far eastern edge of our study area, was interpreted to consist of basins surrounded by a moraine and bathymetric highs composed of till with areas of rocks, sand waves, hummocks, glaciolacustrine erosional outliers, small scarps and elongate hills (fig. 1; McMullen and others, 2007). Some of those features extend into this study area.

Rhode Island

Core descriptions, core photographs, physical property logs and surface textural data of sediment cores recovered from the continental shelf of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary during the research cruises M-1-95-MB, P-2-95-MB, and P-1-97-MB

In response to the 1992 creation of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS), the United States Geological Survey (USGS) initiated a multiyear investigation of the Sanctuary continental margin. As part of the investigative effort, this report summarizes the shipboard procedures, subsequent laboratory analyses, and data results from three seafloor sampling cruises conducted on the continental shelf between Monterey peninsula, CA and San Francisco, CA. The cruises were conducted in 1995 aboard the NOAA Ship McArthur (M-1-95-MB) and in 1995 and 1997 aboard the R/V Point Sur (P-2-95-MB and P-1-97-MB). Scientists and representatives from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the California Department of Fish and Game (CDFG), the University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC), and the San Jose State University Moss Landing Marine Laboratory (SJSU-MLML) supported the research effort. In this report we present sediment descriptions, sediment textural data, physical property logs, station metadata, and photographs of subcores from a total of three hundred and eighty four sample stations. At these sites either a box corer, MultiCore™r, grab sampler or a combination of these sampling devices were used to collect the sea floor sediments. The report is presented in an interactive web-based format with each mapped core station linked to the corresponding description and photo, and to a spreadsheet of surface texture and other sampling data.

California

National requirements for improved elevation data

This report presents the results of surveys, structured interviews, and workshops conducted to identify key national requirements for improved elevation data for the United States and its territories, including coastlines. Organizations also identified and reported the expected economic benefits that would be realized if their requirements for improved elevation were met (appendixes 1–3). This report describes the data collection methodology and summarizes the findings. Participating organizations included 34 Federal agencies, 50 States and two territories, and a sampling of local governments, tribes, and nongovernmental orgnizations. The nongovernmental organizations included The Nature Conservancy and a sampling of private sector businesses. These data were collected in 2010-2011 as part of the National Enhanced Elevation Assessment (NEEA), a study to identify program alternatives for better meeting the Nation’s elevation data needs. NEEA tasks included the collection of national elevation requirements; analysis of the benefits and costs of meeting these requirements; assessment of emerging elevation technologies, lifecycle data management needs, and costs for managing and distributing a national-scale dataset and derived products; and candidate national elevation program alternatives that balance costs and benefits in meeting the Nation’s elevation requirements. The NEEA was sponsored by the National Digital Elevation Program (NDEP), a government coordination body with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) as managing partner that includes the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), among the more than a dozen agencies and organizations. The term enhanced elevation data as used in this report refers broadly to three-dimensional measurements of land or submerged topography, built features, vegetation structure, and other landscape detail. Additional information about NEEA and its later use in the development of a 3D Elevation Program (3DEP) can be found at http://nationalmap.gov/3DEP/index.html.

Open-File Report

Oculina Bank: Sidescan sonar and sediment data from a deep-water coral reef habitat off east-central Florida

The Experimental Oculina Research Reserve (EORR) is located along the shelf edge off east-central Florida in water depths of about 60 to 100 meters. It is about 7.5 km wide and 43 km long and encompasses numerous high-relief rocky pinnacles where Oculina varicosa , a fragile deep-water coral, grows. These coral reefs have historically been the sites of prolific grouper spawning aggregations and have supported a large variety of other reef fish (Gilmore and Jones, 1992). Serious decline of the fishery in the area prompted the establishment of the EORR. The data presented in this open-file report were collected as part of a cooperative project between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Coastal and Marine Geology Program and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The project’s goal was to provide reconnaissance geologic maps of the Experimental Oculina Research Reserve and an unprotected control area north of the reserve to support the NMFS studies of grouper spawning aggregations. To accomplish this, we collected sidescan sonar data and sediment samples throughout both study areas and used video and observations from a manned submersible at selected sites. This report includes digital mosaics of the sidescan sonar data, tabulated sediment data, and interpretative maps of the seafloor geology. The video and submersible observations are not included in this report, but were used in the interpretation of the sidescan data.

Open-File Report

High-resolution geologic mapping of the inner continental shelf: Boston Harbor and approaches, Massachusetts

This report presents the surficial geologic framework data and information for the sea floor of Boston Harbor and Approaches, Massachusetts (fig. 1.1). This mapping was conducted as part of a cooperative program between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management (CZM), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The primary objective of this project was to provide sea floor geologic information and maps of Boston Harbor to aid resource management, scientific research, industry and the public. A secondary objective was to test the feasibility of using NOAA hydrographic survey data, normally collected to update navigation charts, to create maps of the sea floor suitable for geologic and habitat interpretations. Defining sea-floor geology is the first steps toward managing ocean resources and assessing environmental changes due to natural or human activity. The geophysical data for these maps were collected as part of hydrographic surveys carried out by NOAA in 2000 and 2001 (fig. 1.2). Bottom photographs, video, and samples of the sediments were collected in September 2004 to help in the interpretation of the geophysical data. Included in this report are high-resolution maps of the sea floor, at a scale of 1:25,000; the data used to create these maps in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) format; a GIS project; and a gallery of photographs of the sea floor. Companion maps of sea floor to the north Boston Harbor and Approaches are presented by Barnhardt and others (2006) and to the east by Butman and others (2003a,b,c). See Butman and others (2004) for a map of Massachusetts Bay at a scale of 1:125,000. The sections of this report are listed in the navigation bar along the left-hand margin of this page. Section 1 (this section) introduces the report. Section 2 presents the large-format map sheets. Section 3 describes data collection, processing, and analysis. Section 4 summarizes the geologic history of the region and discusses geomorphic and anthropogenic features within the study area. Section 4 also provides references that contain additional information about the region. Appendix 1 provides GIS layers of all the data collected in this study, Appendix 2 contains the grain size textural analyses of sediment samples, and Appendix 3 contains bottom photographs of the sea floor in JPG format.

Massaachusetts

Global and regional sea level rise scenarios for the United States

This report and accompanying datasets from the U.S. Sea Level Rise and Coastal Flood Hazard Scenarios and Tools Interagency Task Force provide 1) sea level rise scenarios to 2150 by decade that include estimates of vertical land motion and 2) a set of extreme water level probabilities for various heights along the U.S. coastline. These data are available at 1-degree grids along the U.S. coastline and downscaled specifically at NOAA tide-gauge locations. Estimates of flood exposure are assessed using contemporary U.S. coastal flood-severity thresholds for current conditions (e.g., sea levels and infrastructure footprint) and for the next 30 years (out to year 2050), assuming no additional risk reduction measures are enacted. This effort builds upon the 2017 Task Force report (Sweet et al., 2017). In particular, the set of global mean sea level rise scenarios from that report are updated and downscaled with output directly from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report (AR6; IPCC, 2021a), through the efforts of the NASA Sea Level Change Team; updates include adjustments to the temporal trajectories and exceedance probabilities of these scenarios based upon end-of-century global temperatures. As with the 2017 report, these global mean sea level rise scenarios are regionalized for the U.S. coastline. In addition, methodology supporting the U.S. Department of Defense Regional Sea Level (DRSL) database (Hall et al., 2016) is adapted for the extreme water level dataset newly developed for this report. This report will be a key technical input for the Fifth National Climate Assessment (NCA5). These data and information are being incorporated into current and planned agency tools and services, such as NOAA’s Sea Level Rise Viewer and Inundation Dashboard, NASA’s Sea Level Change Portal, and others. Although the intent of this report is not to provide authoritative guidance or design specifications for a specific project, it is intended to help inform Federal agencies, state and local governments, and stakeholders in coastal communities about current and future sea level rise to help contextualize its effects for decision-making purposes.

Technical Report

Final report and archive of the swath bathymetry and ancillary data collected in the Puerto Rico Trench region in 2002 and 2003

In 2002 and 2003, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), conducted three exploration cruises that mapped for the first time the morphology of the entire tectonic plate boundary stretching from the Dominican Republic in the west to the Lesser Antilles in the east, a distance of approximately 700 kilometers (430 miles). Observations from these three exploration cruises, coupled with computer modeling and published Global Positioning System (GPS) results and earthquake focal mechanisms, have provided new information that is changing the evaluation of the seismic and tsunami hazard from this plate boundary. The observations collected during these cruises also contributed to the basic understanding of the mechanisms that govern plate tectonics, in this case, the creation of the island of Puerto Rico and the deep trench north of it. Results of the sea floor mapping have been an important component of the study of tsunami and earthquake hazards to the northeastern Caribbean and the U.S. Atlantic coast off the United States.

Puerto Rico

Single-channel seismic-reflection profiles and sidescan sonar records collected during May 15-20, 1978, on the southern New England continental shelf

The U.S. Geological Survey completed a cruise aboard the R/V CAPE HENLOPEN during May 15-20, 1978, to map the surface character, thickness and extent of the fine-grained.sediment deposit that covers an area 100 x 200 km on the southern New England Continental Shelf. The study area lies between Great South Channel to the east and Black Channel to the west, and extends from the 50-m isobath to the shelf edge. Single-channel high-resolution seismic-reflection profiles and echo-sounding profiles were collected along 941 km of trackline, sidescan sonar records were collected along 673 km of trackline. The subbottom profiles were collected by using a Huntec*system that was towed at midwater depths. Filters were set at 1 to 7 kHz. Echo-sounding records were collected by using a 60 kHz EDO Western system. A Klein stdescan sonar, set to scan 100 m to either side of the towed fish, was used to collect the sonographs. Navigation during the survey was done by the scientific staff using Loran-C equipment. Fixes were recorded and logged at least every 15 minutes; after the cruise, they were digitized and stored on magnetic tape. The original records can be seen and studied at the U.S. Geological Survey Data Library at Woods Hole, MA 02543. Microfilm copies of the subbottom, echo­sounding, and sidescan sonar records collected during the cruise can be purchased from the National Geophysical and Solar-Terrestrial Data Center, NOAA (National Oceanic ancl Atmosphere Administration), Boulder, CO 80302.

Open-File Report