CAORWALL: Bathymetry for the California, Oregon, Washington EEZ

Frequently-anticipated questions:

• What does this data set describe?
  1. How should this data set be cited?
  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?
  3. What does it look like?
  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?
  5. What is the general form of this data set?
  6. How does the data set represent geographic features?
  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?
• Who produced the data set?
  1. Who are the originators of the data set?
  2. Who also contributed to the data set?
  3. To whom should users address questions about the data?
• Why was the data set created?
• How was the data set created?
  1. From what previous works were the data drawn?
  2. How were the data generated, processed, and modified?
• 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 data, including topology?
• How can someone get a copy of the data set?
  1. Are there legal restrictions on access or use of the data?
  2. Who distributes the data?
  3. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set?
  4. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?
  5. How can I download or order the data?
• Who wrote the metadata?

Title: CAORWALL: Bathymetry for the California, Oregon, Washington EEZ

Abstract:

Bathymetry for the California, Oregon, Washington Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Bathymetry contours range from 100-m contours from 200m to maximum depth.

Supplemental_Information:

Most of the contours between 30 degrees N and 40 degrees N were scanned from a 1:1,000,000 scale map published by Chase and others (1981) and from 1:250,000 scale unpublished work sheets made in conjunction with the map compilation. Contours from areas not included in the 1981 map were scanned from unpublished maps

Chase and others (1981) used the following sources to compile the published and unpublished maps. Data for the area seaward of the continental slope (water depths greater than approximately 2000 meters) were obtained primarily from the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey's (C&GS) 1955 Pacific Exploratory Survey, a systematic and detailed (approximately 8-nautical mile trackline spacing) survey between Mexico and Canada. The U.S. Geological Survey provided data from cruises S3-78-NC, S15-78-NC, L2-77-NC, L10-76-NC, K-73-NC, and Bartlett 72. Data were also obtained from Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO) cruises Merazine, Blue Flash, Kayak B, Scan I, and Seven Tow (Chase and Menard, 1971; Chase and others, 1975; Wilde and others, 1976). The 200-meter contour was derived from the National Ocean Service (NOS) and Coast and Geodetic Survey (C&GS) charts 1206N-15, 1206N-16, 1306N-19, 1306N-20, 1307N-11B, 1307N-18, and 1308N-12.

Between 40 degrees N and 49 degrees N latitude the bathymetric contours were obtained from five sources. Boundaries of the areas covered by each data source are provided in the graphics display. In the area bounded by 44 degrees N and 45.5 degrees N latitude, and 125 degrees W and 126 degrees W longitude, contours were computer drawn from gridded digital data gathered by the NOAA. The original data are from high-resolution bathymetric surveys conducted in the U.S. Pacific EEZ by the NOS using multi-beam, swath-sounding techniques.

For the remainder of the continental slope, the Cascadia Basin, the Gorda Basin, and the Tufts Abyssal Plain the contours were scanned from the maps and work sheets of Chase and others (1981). Just as in the 30 degrees N - 40 degrees N area, data used in the region seaward of the continental slope were obtained primarily from the C&GS 1955 Pacific Exploratory Survey. Also data were used from USGS cruises S3-78-NC, S15-78-NC, L2-77-NC, L10-76-NC, K-73-NC, and Bartlett 72 and from SIO cruises Kayak B, Scan I, and Seven Tow (Chase and Menard, 1971; Wilde and others, 1979; Wilde and others, 1978; Wilde and others, 1977).

The 200-meter contour was derived from the C&GS charts 1308N-12, 1308N-17, and 1308N-22.

1. How should this data set be cited?

   U.S. Geological Survey, 1991, CAORWALL: Bathymetry for the California, Oregon, Washington EEZ: Open-File Report 91-396, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

   Online Links:

   • <http://coastalmap.marine.usgs.gov/GISdata/regional/westcoast/bathymetry/caorwall.zip>

   This is part of the following larger work.

   , 1991, GLORIA Imagery and Bathymetry from the U.S. EEZ off Washington, Oregon, and California: Open File Report 91-396, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

2. What geographic area does the data set cover?

   West_Bounding_Coordinate: -132.024963

   East_Bounding_Coordinate: -115.952383

   North_Bounding_Coordinate: 49.007683

   South_Bounding_Coordinate: 29.929792

3. What does it look like?

   caorwall (GIF)

   Image showing bathymetry contours off the U.S. West Coast

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

   Calendar_Date: Dec-1991

   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):

      • String (6406)

   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?

   caorwall.dbf

   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.

   FNODE_

   TNODE_

   LPOLY_

   RPOLY_

   LENGTH

   Length of arc segment in native units

   CAORWALL_

   CAORWALL_I

   LTYPE

   Line type identifier

   Value	Definition
   isobath	isobath/bathymetry contour

   INCREM

   Contour interval as positive value (Source: Data compiler)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	200
   Maximum:	5300
   Units:	meters
   Resolution:	100

   DEPTH

   Contour depth interval as negative value (Source: Data Compiler)

   Range of values
   Minimum:	-5300
   Maximum:	-200
   Units:	meters
   Resolution:	100

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

2. Who also contributed to the data set?

   Digitizing and final editing was done by Muriel Grim and Chris Hines (AMG) (current version 12/91). Conversion to Arc/Info by F.L. Wong.

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

   Florence Wong
   U.S. Geological Survey
   

   fwong@usgs.gov
   

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 information about the deep water Pacific Ocean area of the U.S. westcoast.

1. From what previous works were the data drawn?

   map I-2089-C (source 1 of 5)

   Chase, T.E., Wilde, P., Normark, W.R., Evenden, G.I., Miller, C.P., Seekins, B.A., Young, J.O., Grim, M.S., and Lief, C.J., 1992, Map Showing Bottom Topography of the Pacific Continental Margin, Point Conception to Point Loma: Miscellaneous Investigations Series I-2089-C, Reston, VA, U.S. Geological Survey.

   Type_of_Source_Media: paper

   Source_Scale_Denominator: 1000000

   Source_Contribution:

   Bathymetric contours from map were digitized by Muriel Grim and Chris Hines.

   map I-2090-C (source 2 of 5)

   Chase, T.E., Wilde, P., Normark, W.R., Evenden, G.I., Miller, C.P., Seekins, B.A., Young, J.O., Grim, M.S., and Lief, C.J., 1992, Map Showing Bottom Topography of the Pacific Continental Margin, Cape Mendocino to Point Conception: Miscellaneous Investigations Series I-2090-C, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

   Type_of_Source_Media: paper

   Source_Scale_Denominator: 1000000

   Source_Contribution:

   Bathymetric contours from map were digitized by Muriel Grim and Chris Hines.

   map I-2091-C (source 3 of 5)

   Grim, M.S., Chase, T.E., Lief, C.J., Seekins, B.A., Evenden, G.I., Holmes, M.L., Normark, W.R., Wilde, P., Fox, C.G., Lief, C.J., and Seekins, B.A., 1992, Map Showing Bottom Topography of the Pacific Continental Margin, Strait of Juan de Fuca to Cape Mendocino: Miscellaneous Investigations Series I-2091-C, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

   Type_of_Source_Media: paper

   Source_Scale_Denominator: 1000000

   Source_Contribution:

   Bathymetric contours from map were digitized by Muriel Grim and Chris Hines.

   (source 4 of 5)

   Type_of_Source_Media: paper

   Source_Scale_Denominator: 1000000

   Source_Contribution:

   The 200-meter contour between latitude 40 degrees N - 49 degrees N was derived from the Coast and Geodetic Survey charts 1308N-12, 1308N-17, and 1308N-22

   (source 5 of 5)

   Type_of_Source_Media: paper

   Source_Scale_Denominator: 1000000

   Source_Contribution:

   The 200-meter contour between latitude 30 degrees N - 40 degrees N was derived from the National Ocean Service (NOS) and Coast and Geodetic Survey (C&GS) charts 1206N-15, 1206N-16, 1306N-19, 1306N-20, 1307N-11B, 1307N-18, and 1308N-12

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

   Date: Unknown (process 1 of 3)

   Source maps were digitized by Muriel Grim and Chris Hines. Digitized contours were then converted to MAPGEN 'coast' file for accessing by vector plotting program

   Date: 1997 (process 2 of 3)

   Bathymetry contours stored in the 'coast' file format for MAPGEN were extracted and converted to Arc/Info coverages.

   Person who carried out this activity:
   

   Florence Wong
   U.S. Geological Survey
   345 Middlefield Road
   Menlo Park, CA 94025
   USA
   

   (650) 329-5327 (voice)
   (650) 329-5198 (FAX)
   fwong@usgs.gov
   

   Data sources produced in this process:

   • caorwall

   Date: 30-May-2002 (process 3 of 3)

   Converted the Arc/Info file to an ESRI shapefile

   Person who carried out this activity:
   

   Valerie Paskevich
   U.S. Geological Survey
   Information Specialist / GIS Coordinator
   384 Woods Hole Road
   Woods Hole, MA 02543-1598
   USA
   

   (508) 548-8700 x2281 (voice)
   (508) 457-2310 (FAX)
   vpaskevich@usgs.gov
   

   Data sources used in this process:

   • caorwall

   Data sources produced in this process:

   • caorwall.dbf
   • caorwall.shp
   • carorwall.shx

1. How well have the observations been checked?

   Contours are "derivative" data, the result of interpolation and interpretation between actual bathymetric measurements. Reliability is dependent on the accuracy of the original navigation and depth soundings, the density of the soundings, and the contourer's understanding of seafloor morphology. Because the depth soundings were compiled from many sources and the density of the soundings in the area was variable the quality of contours in this database should be expected to be highly variable.

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?

   No additional checks for topological consistency were performed on the data.

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.

These data are not to be used for navigation purposes. Mariners should refer to the appropriate nautical chart.

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

   U.S. Geological Survey
   c/o Florence Wong
   GIS Coordinator
   345 Middlefield Road
   Menlo Park, CA 94025
   USA
   

   (650) 329-5327 (voice)
   (540) 329-5198 (FAX)
   fwong@usgs.gov
   

2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set?

   Downloadable Data: caorwall.shp

3. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?

   Although these data have been used by the U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Department of the Interior, 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 U.S. Geological Survey in the use of this data, software, or related materials.

4. How can I download or order the data?
   • Availability in digital form:

     Data format:	Size: 9.298

   • Cost to order the data:

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

   The bathymetry overlay is available in an ArcView shapefile format. The user must have ESRI's ArcView 3.0 or greater software to read and process the data file. In lieu of ArcView, the user may utilize another GIS application package capable of importing the data.

Dates:

Last modified: 12-Mar-2004

Metadata author:

U.S. Geological Survey
c/o Valerie Paskevich
Computer Specialist
384 Woods Hole Road
Woods Hole, MA 02543-1598
USA

(508) 548-8700 x2281 (voice)
(508) 457-2310 (FAX)
vpaskevich@usgs.gov

Metadata standard:

FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata (FGDC-STD-001-1998)