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Geological sampling data and benthic biota classification: Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound, Massachusetts

January 7, 2015

Sea-floor sample collection is an important component of a statewide cooperative mapping effort between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management (CZM). Sediment grab samples, bottom photographs, and video transects were collected within Vineyard Sound and Buzzards Bay in 2010 aboard the research vesselConnecticut. This report contains sample data and related information, including analyses of surficial-sediment grab samples, locations and images of sea-floor photography, survey lines along which sea-floor video was collected, and a classification of benthic biota observed in sea-floor photographs and based on the Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard (CMECS). These sample data and analyses information are used to verify interpretations of geophysical data and are an essential part of geologic maps of the sea floor. These data also provide a valuable inventory of benthic habitat and resources. Geographic information system (GIS) data, maps, and interpretations, produced through the USGS and CZM mapping cooperative, are intended to aid efforts to manage coastal and marine resources and to provide baseline information for research focused on coastal evolution and environmental change.

Publication Year 2015
Title Geological sampling data and benthic biota classification: Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound, Massachusetts
DOI 10.3133/ofr20141221
Authors Seth D. Ackerman, Adrienne L. Pappal, Emily C. Huntley, Dann S. Blackwood, William C. Schwab
Publication Type Report
Publication Subtype USGS Numbered Series
Series Title Open-File Report
Series Number 2014-1221
Index ID ofr20141221
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse
USGS Organization Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center
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