7 

Prepared in cooperation with the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management

High-Resolution Geophysical Data From the Inner 

Continental Shelf: South of Martha’s Vineyard and

North of Nantucket, Massachusetts

Open-File Report 2016–1168

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Prepared in cooperation with the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management

High-Resolution Geophysical Data From the Inner 

Continental Shelf: South of Martha’s Vineyard and North of 

Nantucket, Massachusetts

By Seth D. Ackerman, Laura L. Brothers, David S. Foster, Brian D. Andrews, Wayne E. Baldwin, and William C. 

Schwab

Open-File Report 2016–1168
U.S. Department of the Interior

SALLY JEWELL, Secretary

U.S. Geological Survey

Suzette M. Kimball, Director

U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, Virginia: 2016

For more information on the USGS—the Federal source for science about the Earth,

its natural and living resources, natural hazards, and the environment—visit

http://www.usgs.gov/ or call 1–888–ASK–USGS (1–888–275–8747).

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visit http://www.usgs.gov/pubprod/.

Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply

endorsement by the U.S. Government.

Although this information product, for the most part, is in the public domain, it also may

contain copyrighted materials as noted in the text. Permission to reproduce copyrighted items

must be secured from the copyright owner.

Suggested citation: 

Ackerman, S.D., Brothers, L.L., Foster, D.S., Andrews, B.D., Baldwin, W.E., and Schwab, W.C., 2016, High-resolution 

geophysical data from the inner continental shelf—South of Martha’s Vineyard and north of Nantucket, Massachusetts:

U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2016–1168, 21 p., http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/ofr20161168. 

ISSN 2331-1258 (online)
iii

Acknowledgments

Funding for this research was provided by the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management (CZM). We 

especially thank Bruce Carlisle, Dan Sampson, Emily Huntley, Adrienne Pappal, Todd Callahan, and Bob Boeri from 

CZM for their collaboration in this project. We thank the Captain and Crew of the motor vessel Scarlett Isabella for 

their assistance during data collection.

The following U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) personnel participated during survey 2013–003–FA: William Schwab, 

Laura Brothers, William Danforth, Emile Bergeron, Charles Worley, Brian Andrews, Eric Moore, David Foster, Wayne 

Baldwin, Seth Ackerman, and Lee Sorrel (University of Maine student). We also thank the USGS staff of surveys 

2007–011–FA and 2010–072–FA for providing survey data from areas directly adjacent to this study area. Technical 

and (or) editorial reviews by Elizabeth Pendleton, Bonny Clarke, VeeAnn Cross, and Jonas Casey-Williams improved 

the quality, clarity and organization of the report. We also thank Gail Wynne and Andrea Toran for all of their help in

preparing this report for publication. 

v 

Contents

Acknowledgments .........................................................................................................................................iii

Abstract ......................................................................................................................................................... 1

Introduction.................................................................................................................................................... 1

Geologic Setting......................................................................................................................................... 2

Data Collection and Processing..................................................................................................................... 2

Survey Operations ..................................................................................................................................... 2

Bathymetry................................................................................................................................................. 3

Acoustic Backscatter.................................................................................................................................. 4

Seismic-Reflection Profiling ....................................................................................................................... 5

Sampling.................................................................................................................................................... 5

Additional Geophysical Data...................................................................................................................... 6

References Cited........................................................................................................................................... 7

Figures......................................................................................................................................................... 10

Appendix 1. Geophysical Data .................................................................................................................... 18

Figures

1. Map showing the locations of the survey areas and local physiographic features south of 

Martha's Vineyard and north of Nantucket, Massachusetts............................................................ 10

2. Photograph of motor vessel Scarlett Isabella, used for surveying in this project ............................ 11

3. Map showing tracklines along which bathymetric data were collected in the survey areas, south

of Martha's Vineyard and north of Nantucket, Massachusetts........................................................ 12

4. Map showing depth-colored shaded-relief bathymetry of the sea floor in the survey areas, south

of Martha's Vineyard and north of Nantucket, Massachusetts ........................................................ 13

5. Map showing tracklines along which acoustic-backscatter data were collected in the survey

areas, south of Martha's Vineyard and north of Nantucket, Massachusetts ................................... 14

6. Map showing acoustic-backscatter intensity of the sea floor in the survey areas, south of 

Martha's Vineyard and north of Nantucket, Massachusetts............................................................ 15

7. Map showing tracklines along which seismic-reflection profiles were collected in the survey

areas, south of Martha's Vineyard and north of Nantucket, Massachusetts ................................... 16

8. Map showing the location of additional geophyscial data in Massachusetts waters near the 

survey areas south of Martha's Vineyard and north of Nantucket................................................... 17

Table 

1. Survey details for the data collected in the study areas south of Martha’s Vineyard and north of

Nantucket, Massachusetts, May to June 2013 ................................................................................. 3
vi 

Conversion Factors 

International System of Units to U.S. customary units

Multiply By To obtain

Length

meter (m) 3.281 foot (ft) 

kilometer (km) 0.6214 mile (mi)

kilometer (km) 0.5400 mile, nautical (nmi) 

meter (m) 1.094 yard (yd) 

Area

square kilometer (km2) 247.1 acre

square kilometer (km2) 0.3861 square mile (mi2)

Datum

Vertical coordinate information is referenced to mean lower low water (MLLW).

Horizontal coordinate information is referenced to the World Geodetic System of 1984 (WGS 84). 

Abbreviations

CZM Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management

EPA U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

FA field activity

FGDC Federal Geographic Data Committee

GeoTIFF georeferenced tagged image file format

GIS geographic information system 

GPS Global Positioning System

HTML hypertext markup language

JPEG Joint Photographic Experts Group

kHz kilohertz

MassGIS Massachusetts Office of Geographic Information Systems

MLLW mean lower low water

MOF Marine Operations Facility 

MV motor vessel 

MVCO Martha’s Vineyard Coastal Observatory

OSV ocean survey vessel 

NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

PDF portable document format

PNG portable network graphics

RTK–GPS Real Time Kinematic Global Positioning System

RV research vessel 

SEA Systems Engineering and Assessment, Ltd.

SEG–Y Society of Exploration Geophysicists Y format for seismic data

USGS U.S. Geological Survey

UTM Universal Transverse Mercator

WGS 84 World Geodetic System of 1984

WHOI Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

XML extensible markup language
1 

High-Resolution Geophysical Data From the Inner 

Continental Shelf: South of Martha’s Vineyard and North 

of Nantucket, Massachusetts

By Seth D. Ackerman, Laura L. Brothers, David S. Foster, Brian D. Andrews, Wayne E. Baldwin, and William C. 

Schwab

Abstract

The U.S. Geological Survey and the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management have 

cooperated to map approximately 185 square kilometers of the inner continental shelf south of Martha’s 

Vineyard and north of Nantucket, Massachusetts. This report contains geophysical data collected by the 

U.S. Geological Survey during a survey in 2013. The geophysical data include (1) swath bathymetry 

collected by using interferometric sonar, (2) acoustic backscatter from the interferometric sonar, and (3) 

seismic-reflection profiles from a chirp subbottom profiler. These spatial data support research on the 

Quaternary evolution of coastal Massachusetts, the influence of sea-level change and sediment supply 

on coastal evolution, and efforts to understand the type, distribution, and quality of subtidal marine 

habitats in the coastal ocean of Massachusetts. 

Introduction

This report presents high-resolution spatial data for the sea floor south of Martha’s Vineyard and 

north of Nantucket, Massachusetts (fig. 1). Approximately 185 square kilometers (km2) of the sea floor 

was mapped within these two survey areas in water depths between 6 to 32 meters (m). This report is 

the 17th in a series of publications produced by a cooperative mapping program between the U.S. 

Geological Survey (USGS) and the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management (CZM; 

http://woodshole.er.usgs.gov/project-pages/coastal_mass/; Ackerman and others, 2006, 2012, 2015; 

Andrews and others, 2010, 2012; Baldwin and others, 2016; Barnhardt and others, 2006, 2009, 2010; 

Foster and others, 2015; Pendleton and others, 2011, 2013, 2014a, 2014b, 2015; Turecek and others, 

2012). This mapping program provides interpretive geologic datasets that can be used by managers and 

scientists to delineate marine resources, assess environmental change, inventory marine habitats, and 

support research concerning sea-level change, sediment supply, and coastal evolution. Detailed 

information and mapping products related to this cooperative can be accessed at 

http://woodshole.er.usgs.gov/project-pages/coastal_mass/. 

The marine geophysical data in this report were obtained during a USGS research cruise in 2013 

aboard the motor vessel (MV) Scarlett Isabella (fig. 2). Additional bathymetric data were recently 

collected by the USGS with the same interferometric sonar for unrelated research projects. Data 

abutting the survey area south of Martha’s Vineyard were collected around the Martha’s Vineyard 

Coastal Observatory in 2007 (fig. 1, Denny and others, 2009), and another survey was conducted within 

Muskeget Channel, situated between Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, in 2010 (Pendleton and others, 
2 

2014b). Other bathymetric data from the region, collected by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration (NOAA) to update navigation charts, have been used throughout this mapping program 

to help characterize sea-floor geology and morphology. Data from these adjacent and nearby surveys are 

not included in this report, but links are provided in the references section. 

The overall goal of the USGS–CZM mapping cooperative is to characterize the sea floor and 

shallow substrate inside the 3-mile limit of State waters, using high-resolution geophysical techniques, 

sediment sampling, and sea-floor photography and videography. The products developed and the 

knowledge gained in this project have broad applicability to scientific and resource-management issues

in the region. Seabed-characterization maps and geospatial data help scientists understand the processes 

that have shaped the inner continental shelf and coast and illustrate the geologic and geomorphic 

evolution of the nearshore region over time, thereby helping to evaluate the vulnerability of these 

coastal environments. This report provides a science foundation for managing marine habitats, 

addressing offshore development projects, and assessing environmental changes caused by natural 

processes or human activities. 

Geologic Setting

Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket are the two largest islands in southeastern Massachusetts and 

are located approximately 6 and 45 kilometers (km) south of Cape Cod, respectively (fig. 1). The study 

area includes the inner continental shelf just south of Martha’s Vineyard, between Nomans Land Island 

and Muskeget Channel, and north of Nantucket Island between Tuckernuck Island and Great Point spit 

(fig. 1). The present-day coastal landscapes and offshore geology of these areas are the result of glacial 

and marine processes acting on the region over approximately the past 27,000 years (Oldale, 1992; 

Uchupi and Oldale, 1994; Uchupi and others, 1996; Balco, 2011). The Laurentide ice sheet was 

responsible for the ice-marginal deposits that form Cape Cod and the Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket 

Islands. The most prominent features of these deposits are large moraine ridges (2–10 km wide; 50–

100 m high) fronted by shallow-sloping outwash planes. These end moraines were deposited by the 

Buzzards Bay and Cape Cod Bay lobes of the Laurentide ice sheet and mark the southern extent of its 

most recent advance. The Buzzards Bay lobe deposited the end moraine that makes up Nomans Land 

and the western side of Martha’s Vineyard, while the Cape Cod Bay lobe deposited the end moraines 

present on the eastern side of Martha’s Vineyard and on Nantucket (Larson, 1982; Oldale, 1992). 

Glacial outwash planes were deposited southward of the end moraines as the glacier retreated.

Following glacial retreat, Holocene sea-level rise further modified the landscape through erosional and 

depositional processes related to transgression (Kaye, 1964; Oldale, 1992; Uchupi and Oldale, 1994; 

Uchupi and others, 1996). Oceanographic processes including waves, currents and tides continue to 

shape the coast and adjacent sea-floor deposits (Goff and others, 2005; Gutierrez and others, 2003). 

Data Collection and Processing

Survey Operations

A suite of acoustic sonars including an interferometric sonar (bathymetry and backscatter), a 

sidescan sonar (backscatter), and a chirp seismic-reflection profiler (subsurface stratigraphy and 

structure), were used to map approximately 185 km2

 of the inner continental shelf. The geophysical 

mapping (survey 2013–003–FA; table 1) was conducted during a research cruise aboard the MV 

Scarlett Isabella (fig. 2) from May 22 to June 11, 2013. Methods used in the collection, processing, and 

analysis of the data are detailed in the following sections. A full description of the data-acquisition 
3 

parameters, processing steps, and accuracy assessments can be found in the metadata files for each 

individual spatial dataset (appendix 1). Typically, geophysical observations are validated by the 

collection of sediment samples, bottom photographs, and video data soon after this type of survey. 

However, validation data were collected within much of this study area 18 months prior to survey 2013–

003–FA during a sampling survey conducted by the USGS, the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone 

Management (CZM), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (see “Sampling” section below). 

Sediment samples, video, and photographs were also collected in the area north of Nantucket in May 

2016. 

Table 1. Survey details for the data collected in the study areas south of Martha’s Vineyard and north of 

Nantucket, Massachusetts, May to June 2013. [A U.S. Geological Survey field activity number (for example, 2013–003–FA) may also be referenced as a five-digit number 

(for example, 13003). kHz, kilohertz] 

Survey Vessel Begin date End date

Instrument used

Bathymetry Backscatter1 Seismic 

reflection

2013–003–FA

(13003) 

Scarlett 

Isabella

22-May-13 11-June-13 SWATHplus

234 kHz

SWATHplus

234 kHz

and

Edgetech 4200 

at 100 and 400 kHz

EdgeTech 512i

0.5–12 kHz

1

Backscatter data were collected during this survey by using the SEA SWATHplus and an Edgetech 4200 sidescan sonar;

only the SWATHplus interferometic backscatter data were processed to completion and published in this report. 

Bathymetry

Approximately 1,900 linear kilometers of bathymetric data (fig. 3; table 1) were acquired in the 

survey areas south of Martha’s Vineyard and north of Nantucket by using a Systems Engineering and 

Assessment, Ltd. (SEA) SWATHplus-M 234-kilohertz (kHz) interferometric sonar system at a rate of 

15 pings per second. During survey 2013–003–FA, the sonar transducers were mounted on a rigid pole 

from the port side of the MV Scarlett Isabella (fig. 2) about 2.17 m below the water line. A Coda 

Octopus F185R motion reference unit, mounted directly above the transducers, measured vertical 

displacement (heave) and attitude (pitch and roll) of the vessel during data acquisition. Sound-velocity 

profiles were collected approximately every 2 to 4 hours with an ODIM MVP30 moving vessel profiler 

or an AML Oceanographic Minos-X vertical sound velocity profiler. Bathymetric data were collected 

with a variable range, sonar transmit power of 80 percent, transmit length of 43 cycles, and a receive 

length of 4,096 samples. Survey lines were run at an average speed of 5 nautical miles per hour (knots) 

and were spaced approximately 100 m apart to obtain overlapping swaths of data and full coverage of 

the sea floor.

Real Time Kinematic Global Positioning System (RTK–GPS) navigation was used to determine 

horizontal positioning and vertical water-level heights. Corrections were sent via cellular modem and 

very high frequency (VHF) radio to the survey vessel from a base station on land. The primary reference 

station (MOF2) was located at the USGS Marine Operations Facility (MOF) in Falmouth, Mass. (fig. 1). 

A NOAA VDatum transformation grid was used to offset the ellipsoidal water-level height corrections 

to the mean lower low water (MLLW) tidal datum within HYPACK (version 2013). 

SEA SWATHplus acquisition software (version 3.07.17.00) and the Computer Aided Resource 

Information System (CARIS) Hydrographic Information Processing System (HIPS, version 8.0) were 

used to collect and process the raw bathymetric soundings. Navigation data were inspected and edited, 
4 

soundings were adjusted by using corrections from RTK–GPS water-level heights and sound-velocity 

profile data, and any spurious soundings were eliminated before the final processed soundings were 

gridded at a resolution of 5 meters per pixel (fig. 4).

Approximately 660 linear kilometers of interferometric-bathymetry data were collected by the 

USGS south of Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., in 2007 as part of a separate project (Denny and others, 

2009) to study the area around Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s (WHOI) Martha’s Vineyard 

Coastal Observatory (MVCO). Therefore the 2013 survey avoided collecting new data over this area, 

with the exception of a few widely spaced coincident lines, along which data were collected for 

comparison to the 2007 data. The data from survey 2007–011–FA were collected aboard the research 

vessel (RV) Megan T. Miller with the same bathymetric-sonar system used during the 2013 survey. The 

2007 data, which were collected along tracklines spaced between 40–70 meters apart, are available in 

Denny and others (2009). Note that the final corrected soundings from the 2007 survey were referenced 

to a local vertical datum at the WHOI MVCO, not to MLLW. 

The 2013 USGS swath bathymetric dataset is available as a 5-m per pixel digital elevation 

model in 32-bit floating point georeferenced tagged image file format (GeoTIFF) in appendix 1. A 

depth-colored shaded-relief image can also be found in appendix 1. Additional details about the 

acquisition and processing of the swath bathymetric data can be found in the metadata for the trackline 

and raster spatial datasets in appendix 1. 

Acoustic Backscatter

Approximately 1,920 linear kilometers of acoustic backscatter data (figs. 5 and 6) were collected 

in the survey areas south of Martha’s Vineyard and north of Nantucket during USGS field activity 

2013–003–FA using a SEA SWATHplus-M 234-kHz interferometric sonar system and an Edgetech 

4200 SP Chirp sidescan sonar. The SWATHplus system was mounted on a rigid pole from the port side 

of the MV Scarlett Isabella, and the Edgetech 4200 was towed approximately 5 to 10 m above the sea

floor from a J-frame on the stern. Navigation for the SWATHplus-M was recorded from the RTK–GPS 

antenna mounted directly above the SWATHplus-M system, and navigation from the Edgetech 4200 

was recorded with a Global Positioning System (GPS) antenna mounted on top of the acquisition 

laboratory van (fig. 2). For the Edgetech 4200, horizontal offsets from the GPS antenna to the towed 

sidescan-sonar system, including cable-out linear layback, were measured and accounted for in the 

SonarWiz acquisition software (version 5.05.0015). Edgetech sidescan-sonar data were typically 

acquired with a swath width of 200 m (100 m to either side of vessel). 

Backscatter from both the Edgetech4200 sidescan sonar and the SEA SWATHplus-M 234-kHz 

interferometric sonar system were preliminarily processed during the survey. Imagery from the 

SWATHplus system were of superior quality and used during postprocessing to produce the final 

backscatter mosaics. Raw data from the Edgetech 4200, which had some technical issues, were archived 

and not postprocessed. 

SWATHplus backscatter data were processed by using SonarWiz (multiple versions between 

5.06.0018 and 6.0.1.0032) between 2013 and 2015. The data were imported from SWATHplus SXR

files, then line-by-line bottom-tracking corrections were applied to remove the water column at nadir. 

The SonarWiz automatic bottom-tracking algorithm was used and generally performed well. Automatic

tracking parameters were adjusted slightly from line to line but typically were set to a blanking value of 

7, a duration value of 2, and a threshold of 93 with line smoothing turned on. Some lines required 

manual adjustment to the automatic bottom-tracking delineation, which was performed as needed in the 

SonarWiz bottom-tracking editor. In general, there was also an additional altitude offset of a half meter

applied to the bottom tracking in order to minimize residual nadir artifacts in some parts of the mosaic. 
5 

Gain was applied to the processing by using an empirical gain normalization function (EGN) with port 

and starboard intensities set to 67. 

Because of the size of the survey areas, subsets of backscatter imagery were individually 

exported from SonarWiz at 1-m per pixel resolution and then mosaicked together into a composite, 1-m 

per pixel resolution 8-bit GeoTIFF file by using Global Mapper (version 17.0).

The gray-scale GeoTIFF mosaic of backscatter imagery for the survey areas can be found in 

appendix 1. Not all backscatter data were used in the final mosaic. Omissions include data from tielines, 

data from files in areas where more complete or higher resolution data were available from adjacent 

sonar survey lines, and excessively noisy data. 

Additional details about the acquisition and processing of the backscatter data can be found in 

the metadata for the trackline and GeoTIFF mosaic spatial datasets in appendix 1. 

Seismic-Reflection Profiling

Approximately 1,920 linear kilometers of chirp seismic-reflection data were collected in the 

survey areas south of Martha’s Vineyard and north of Nantucket using an EdgeTech Geo-Star FSSB 

subbottom profiling system and an SB-0512i towfish (FM swept frequency 0.5 to 12 kHz), which was 

mounted on a catamaran and towed between 30 and 50 m astern of the survey vessel (fig. 7). SonarWiz 

seismic-acquisition software (version 5.03.0016) was used to control the Geo-Star topside unit, digitally 

log trace data in the SEG–Y rev. 1 format (IEEE floating point), and record GPS navigation coordinates 

to the SEG–Y trace headers (in arc seconds of latitude and longitude, multiplied by a scalar of 100). 

During field activity 2013–003–FA, data were acquired by using a 0.25-second shot rate, a 5-

millisecond pulse length, and a 0.5- to 8-kHz frequency sweep, with recorded trace lengths of 

approximately 100 milliseconds (2,170 samples per trace at a 0.000046-second sample interval). 

Navigation was recorded with a GPS antenna mounted on top of the acquisition laboratory van. 

Horizontal offsets from the GPS antenna to the towed seismic-reflection system, including layback, 

were measured and accounted for during postprocessing. 

Seismic-reflection data were processed by using SIOSEIS (version 2013.2; Henkart, 2011) and 

Seismic Unix (version 4.2; Cohen and Stockwell, 2011; Stockwell and Cohen, 2008). All navigation 

data were extracted from trace headers, edited, and saved to ASCII text files. Water column portions of 

the traces were muted, and the effects of sea-surface heave were minimized. Trace amplitudes were 

gained by using a time-varying function and normalized by using automatic gain control. Profiles of the 

final processed trace data are included in this report as 8-bit, gray-scale, variable-density plots in the 

portable network graphics (PNG) format. The final shot-point and trackline navigation data are also 

included in two Esri shapefiles in appendix 1. 

Additional details about the acquisition and processing of seismic-reflection data can be found in 

the metadata for the trackline and shot-point spatial datasets and in the metadata for the PNG profile 

images in appendix 1. 

Sampling

A sampling survey aboard the ocean survey vessel (OSV) Bold (USGS field activity 2011–015–

FA) conducted by the USGS, CZM, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) preceded the 

collection of geophysical data in this area. Forty-five samples from this sampling survey are coincident 

with the geophysical data collected during USGS field activity 2013–003–FA. In addition, 55 new 

samples were collected in May 2016 (USGS field activity 2016–005–FA) in the area north of 

Nantucket. Data from these two sampling surveys will be used to verify the geophysical survey data and 

to help form the basis for future interpretive geologic maps. Spatial data, including the results of 
6 

sediment sample analyses and the locations of bottom photographs collected during these two surveys, 

are currently unpublished. Video of the sea floor can be accessed via the USGS Coastal and Marine 

Geology Program’s Video and Photograph Portal (Golden and Ackerman, 2015) 

Additional Geophysical Data

Additional geophysical and geologic data, including swath bathymetry, acoustic backscatter, 

seismic-reflection profiles, and sampling data, are available for areas nearby and directly adjacent to the 

survey areas of this study (fig. 8). Some of these data were collected as part of the cooperative mapping 

program between the USGS and the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management (CZM); other 

data were collected by the USGS or NOAA during the past decade. The data and (or) additional 

information about these datasets are available online:

• USGS Datasets:

• South of Martha’s Vineyard (near the WHOI MVCO; Denny and others, 2009)—

http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2008/1288/

• Muskeget Channel (Pendleton and others, 2014b)— http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/ofr20121258

• Vineyard Sound (Andrews and others, 2012)—http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2012/1006

• Vineyard South and western Nantucket Sound (Baldwin and others, 2016)— 

http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/ofr20161119

• Edgartown Harbor (Poppe and others, 2010)— http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2009/1001

• Buzzards Bay (Ackerman and others, 2012)—http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2012/1002/

• Buzzards Bay (Foster and others, 2015)— http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/ofr20141220

• Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound (Ackerman and others, 2015)— 

http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/ofr20141221

• Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound (Pendleton and others, 2014a)— 

http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/ofr20131020

• NOAA datasets:

• Edgartown Harbor (H11346, surveyed in 2004)—

http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/docucomp/page?url=http://surveys.ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/NOS/hsm

db/H10001-H12000/H11346_hsmdb.xml&view=hydro/survey&header=none

• Great Round Shoal (H11079, surveyed in 2004)—

http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/docucomp/page?url=http://surveys.ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/NOS/hsm

db/H10001-H12000/H11079_hsmdb.xml&view=hydro/survey&header=none

• Cross Rip Channel (H12007, surveyed in 2009)—

http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/docucomp/page?url=http://surveys.ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/NOS/hsm

db/H12001-H14000/H12007_hsmdb.xml&view=hydro/survey&header=none

• Vineyard Sound (H11920, surveyed in 2008)—

http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/docucomp/page?url=http://surveys.ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/NOS/hsm

db/H10001-H12000/H11920_hsmdb.xml&view=hydro/survey&header=none
7 

References Cited

Ackerman, S.D., Andrews, B.D., Foster, D.S., Baldwin, W.E., and Schwab W.C., 2012, High-resolution 

geophysical data from the inner continental shelf—Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts: U.S. Geological 

Survey Open-File Report 2012–1002, accessed April 2, 2016, at http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2012/1002/. 

Ackerman, S.D., Butman, Bradford, Barnhardt, W.A., Danforth, W.W., and Crocker, J.M., 2006, Highresolution geologic mapping of the inner continental shelf—Boston Harbor and approaches, 

Massachusetts: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2006–1008, DVD–ROM. [Also available at 

http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2006/1008/.] 

Ackerman, S.D., Pappal, A.L., Huntley, E.C., Blackwood, D.S., and Schwab, W.C., 2015, Geological 

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

U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2014–1221, 30 p., accessed April 2, 2016, at 

http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/ofr20141221. 

Andrews, B.D., Ackerman, S.D., Baldwin, W.E., and Barnhardt, W.A., 2010, Geophysical and sampling 

data from the inner continental shelf—Northern Cape Cod Bay, Massachusetts: U.S. Geological 

Survey Open-File Report 2010–1006, DVD–ROM. [Also available at 

http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2010/1006/.] 

Andrews, B.D., Ackerman, S.D., Baldwin, W.E., Foster, D.S., and Schwab, W.C., 2012, Highresolution geophysical data from the inner continental shelf at Vineyard Sound, Massachusetts: U.S. 

Geological Survey Open-File Report 2012–1006, DVD–ROM. [Also available at 

http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2012/1006/.] 

Balco, Greg, 2011, Contributions and unrealized potential contributions of cosmogenic-nuclide 

exposure dating to glacier chronology, 1990–2010: Quaternary Science Reviews, v. 30, no. 1, p. 3–27. 

[Also available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.quascirev.2010.11.003.] 

Baldwin, W.E., Foster, D.S., Pendleton, E.A., Barnhardt, W.A., Schwab, W.C., Andrews, B.D., and 

Ackerman, S.D., 2016, Shallow geology, sea-floor texture, and physiographic zones of Vineyard 

Sound and western Nantucket Sound, Massachusetts: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 

2016–1119, accessed September 2, 2016, at http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/ofr20161119. 

Barnhardt, W.A., Ackerman, S.D., Andrews, B.D., and Baldwin, W.E., 2010, Geophysical and sampling 

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10 

Figures

Figure 1. Map showing the locations of the survey areas (shaded in red) and local physiographic features south 

of Martha's Vineyard and north of Nantucket, Massachusetts. The area shaded in orange was surveyed in 2007 by 

the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), using the same bathymetric sonar and seismic system for an unrelated 

project. Is., Island; MA, Massachusetts; MassGIS, Massachusetts Office of Geographic Information; MOF, Marine 

Operations Facility; NGDC, National Geophysical Data Center; NOAA, National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration; UTM, Universal Transverse Mercator; WGS 84, World Geodetic System of 1984. 
11 

Figure 2. Photograph of motor vessel (MV) Scarlett Isabella, used for surveying in this project. 
12 

Figure 3. Map showing tracklines along which bathymetric data were collected in the survey areas, south of 

Martha's Vineyard and north of Nantucket, Massachusetts. UTM, Universal Transverse Mercator; WGS 84, World 

Geodetic System of 1984. 
13 

Figure 4. Map showing depth-colored shaded-relief bathymetry of the sea floor in the survey areas, south of 

Martha's Vineyard and north of Nantucket, Massachusetts. Coloring represents depth in meters, relative to the 

mean lower low water (MLLW) datum. UTM, Universal Transverse Mercator; WGS 84, World Geodetic System of 

1984. 
14 

Figure 5. Map showing tracklines along which acoustic-backscatter data were collected in the survey areas, 

south of Martha's Vineyard and north of Nantucket, Massachusetts. UTM, Universal Transverse Mercator; WGS 84, 

World Geodetic System of 1984. 
15 

Figure 6. Map showing acoustic-backscatter intensity of the sea floor in the survey areas, south of Martha's 

Vineyard and north of Nantucket, Massachusetts. Backscatter intensity is an acoustic measure of the hardness and 

roughness. In general, high values (light tones) represent rock, boulders, cobbles, gravel, and coarse sand. Low 

values (dark tones) generally represent fine sand and muddy sediment. UTM, Universal Transverse Mercator; 

WGS 84, World Geodetic System of 1984. 
16 

Figure 7. Map showing tracklines along which seismic-reflection profiles were collected in the survey areas, 

south of Martha's Vineyard and north of Nantucket, Massachusetts. UTM, Universal Transverse Mercator; WGS 84, 

World Geodetic System of 1984. 
17 

Figure 8. Map showing the location of additional geophyscial data in Massachusetts waters near the survey 

areas south of Martha's Vineyard and north of Nantucket (red polygons). These data were collected by the U.S. 

Geological Survey (USGS, orange polygons) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA, 

blue polygons). Is., Island; MA, Massachusetts; MassGIS, Massachusetts Office of Geographic Information; MOF, 

Marine Operations Facility; NGDC, National Geophysical Data Center; NOAA, National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration; UTM, Universal Transverse Mercator; WGS 84, World Geodetic System of 1984. 
18 

Appendix 1. Geophysical Data

This section describes the data collected for this project, the location of the data, and how to 

access them.

Data Format and Projection

All vector data are delivered as Esri shapefiles in the World Geodetic System of 1984 (WGS 84) 

geographic coordinate system. The raster data are georeferenced tagged image file format (GeoTIFF) 

files in Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM), Zone 19, WGS 84 projection. These data can also be 

accessed through the U.S. Geological Survey Coastal and Marine Geology Program Web Map server 

(http://coastalmap.marine.usgs.gov/).

All spatial data are distributed with Esri-style Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) 

metadata in extensible markup language (XML) format. Metadata are also provided for all spatial data 

in text (TXT) and FGDC classic hypertext markup language (HTML) formats. Esri ArcCatalog 10.x or 

9.x can also be used to examine the metadata in a variety of additional formats.

Data Access

The complete datasets from this project can be accessed in two different ways, depending on 

available software.

1. If you have ArcGIS 9.x or 10.x, all shapefile and raster data may be viewed and manipulated, 

although Spatial Analyst extension will be required to fully work with the raster datasets. 

ArcGIS 10.3 or higher is required to use the ArcMap project 2016-1148_10_3.mxd with all of 

the datasets pre-loaded. 

2. If you do not have any geographic information system (GIS) software, a free software download 

is available to view the data.

If You Have ArcGIS

Make a new folder structure on your computer matching the structure shown in the “Data 

Organization” section, then download each of the ZIP files in the data catalog below to the 

corresponding folder on your computer. Download the ArcMap document 2016-1148_10_3.mxd to the 

parent "GIS" directory. This map document has all the data layers loaded in the table of contents and 

uses relative links, so there is no need to change any pathways for drive letters, if all folders remain the 

same under the parent directory (GIS). After unzipping each of the files, your GIS folder should be 

organized as described in the “Data Organization” section. Alternatively, you may also try to download 

and replicate the contents of the GIS folder on your computer. Note: the ArcMap project 2016-

1148_10_3.mxd will only work with ArcGIS version 10.3 or higher. 

If You Do Not Have Any GIS Software

You can still view all the data via other free mapping applications distributed by Esri for 

Windows, Linux, and Unix operating systems. Download the free Esri software, ArcExplorer 

(http://www.esri.com/software/arcgis/explorer/index.html), or other open-source GIS software to view 

the datasets.
19 

Data Organization

The data are organized in folders on the Web site where this report is served 

(http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/ofr20161168). The file structure is described below. Data layers can be 

downloaded individually from the table below. Individual layers are provided in compressed (ZIP) files. 

Files in a ZIP archive can be extracted with various free software programs that can be found online. 

GIS_catalog.—Top-level directory for all spatial data. Copy or download the files to this folder 

on a local hard drive. Note: The size of the uncompressed GIS directory is approximately 3 

gigabytes (GB). 

2016-1168_10_3.mxd—ArcGIS 10.3 map document with all data loaded in the ArcMap table of 

contents. 

raster.—Folder containing all raster spatial data in GeoTIFF format. Contains the following 

subdirectories: 

bathy.—Folder containing bathymetry GeoTIFF of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) 

interferometric sonar data as well as a depth-colored shaded-relief (hillshade) GeoTIFF 

image of the bathymetry data.

backscatter.—Folder containing the sidescan-sonar backscatter GeoTIFF mosaic.

hyperlink_images.—Folder containing seismic profile images in portable network graphics 

(PNG) format. Seismic profile images can be hyperlinked to the 2013–003–FA_512i_shottrack 

layer in the ArcMap document (MXD) table of contents. Use the hyperlink tool in ArcGIS to 

click on these survey lines and view the linked image. (This should work flawlessly if the entire 

content of the GIS directory is copied from the disc and the seismic profile images are unzipped 

according to the README.txt instructions included in the hyperlink_images folder). 

shapefile.—Folder containing shapefiles in geographic coordinate system WGS 84. 

navigation.—Folder containing ZIP-compressed raw HYPACK navigation files from USGS 

survey 2013–003–FA.
20 

Data Catalog

Vector Data.—The vector data are stored and delivered in shapefile format in geographic coordinates. 

The hyperlinks in the “Layer (metadata)” column are linked to the metadata for the shapefile. The link 

in the "Download file (size)" column provides access to a compressed ZIP file, which contains the 

shapefile and the metadata. 

Layer (metadata) Description Preview

Download 

file

(size)

2013-003-FA_BathyTracklines Tracklines for the swath bathymetry surveys

Shapefile

(6 

megabytes 

[MB]) 

2013-003-FA_512i_shot500

Locations of seismic shotpoints at 500-shot 

intervals and the unique shot navigation 

(in CSV format)

Shapefile

(<1 MB) 

2013-003-FA_512i_shottrack Tracklines of seismic profiles Shapefile

(21 MB) 

2013-003-FA_BackscatterTracklines Tracklines of the swath backscatter survey Shapefile

(8 MB) 

OUTLINE25K_POLY

Outline of the Commonwealth of 

Massachusetts (from the Massachusetts 

Office of Geographic Information 

[MassGIS]) 

Shapefile

(2.3 MB)

Raster Data.—The primary coordinate system for the raster data is WGS 84 UTM Zone 19. The link in 

the "Download file (size)" column provides access to a compressed ZIP file, which contains the raster 

data and the metadata. 

Raster Layer (metadata) Description Preview Download file

(size)

2013-003-FA_Bath5m

5-m bathymetric 32-bit continuous floating 

point GeoTIFF and depth-colored shadedrelief image 

GeoTIFFs

(40 MB) 

2013-003-FA _Backscatter1m

1-meter (m) backscatter mosaic of sidescansonar data in 8-bit continuous unsigned 

integer GeoTIFF format

GeoTIFF

(104 MB) 
21 

Image Data.—The link in the "Download file (size)" column provides access to a compressed ZIP file, 

which contains images in JPEG format and the metadata. 

Hyperlinked Images 

(metadata) Description Preview Download file (size)

2013-003-FA_512i_images Seismic-reflection profile images in PNG format 2013-003-FA_512i_images

(844 MB)

Navigation Data.—The link in the "Download (file (size)" column provides access to a compressed ZIP 

file, which contains the navigation files and the metadata. 

Navigation Description Download file (size)

2013-003-FA_HYPACK Navigation data from USGS survey 2013–003–FA 

(13003) 2013-003-FA_HYPACK (625 MB)

For more information concerning this report, contact:

Director, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine

Science Center

U.S. Geological Survey 

384 Woods Hole Road

Quissett Campus

Woods Hole, MA 02543-1598

WHSC_science_director@usgs.gov

508-548-8700 or 508-457-2200

or visit our Web site at:

http://woodshole.er.usgs.gov/

Publishing support by: 

The Pembroke Publishing Service Center.
ISSN 2331

-1258 (online)

http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/ofr201611689 

Ackerman and others—High-Resolution Geophysical Data From the Inner Continental Shelf: South of Martha’s Vineyard and North of Nantucket, Massachusetts—OFR 2016–1168