Sampling data collected in Cape Cod Bay, Buzzards Bay, and Vineyard Sound; south of Martha's Vineyard; and south and east of Nantucket, Massachusetts, in 2011, U.S. Geological Survey Field Activity 2011-015-FA

Sampling survey 2011-015-FA was conducted aboard the OSV Bold in September 2011 by the U.S. Geological Survey and Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management with partners from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries. Three hundred twenty-two stations were occupied with the large SEABOSS, where operational, or the ship's Van Veen grab sampler in Cape Cod Bay, Buzzards Bay, and Vineyard Sound; south of Martha's Vineyard; and south and east of Nantucket, Massachusetts. Sediment grab samples were collected at 279 of the 322 sampling sites, bottom photographs were collected at all but one station, and video was acquired at 246 sites. These survey data are used to explore the nature of the sea floor and, in conjunction with high-resolution geophysical data, to make interpretive maps of sedimentary environments and validate acoustic remote sensing data.