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Color Shaded-Relief GeoTIFF Image Showing the Combined 4-m Multibeam and LIDAR Bathymetry Generated from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Surveys H11224, H11225, H11250, H11251, H11252, H11361, H11441, H11442, H11445, H11446, H11997, H11999, H12012, and H12013 offshore in eastern Long Island Sound and westernmost Block Island Sound (ELISCOMB_4MBAT_GEO.TIF, Geographic, WGS84)

Metadata Updated: September 14, 2025

The USGS, in cooperation with NOAA and the Connecticut DEP, is producing detailed maps of the seafloor in Long Island Sound. The current phase of this cooperative research program is directed toward analyzing how bathymetric relief relates to the distribution of sedimentary environments and benthic communities. As part of this program, digital terrain models (DTMs) from bathymetry collected as part of NOAA's hydrographic charting activities are converted into ESRI raster grids and imagery (primarily of 2-m resolution), verified with bottom sampling and photography, and used to produce interpretations of seabed geology and hydrodynamic processes. Although each of the 18 completed surveys, ranging in area from 12 to 293 square kilometers, individually provides important benthic environmental information, many applications require a geographically broader perspective. For example, the usefulness of individual surveys is limited for the planning and construction of cross-Sound infrastructure, such as cables and pipelines, or for the testing of regional circulation models. To address this need, we integrated 12 multibeam and 2 LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) contiguous bathymetric DTMs into one dataset that covers much of eastern Long Island Sound. The new dataset is adjusted to mean lower low water, is provided in UTM Zone 18 NAD83 and geographic WGS84 projections, and is gridded to 4-m resolution. This resolution is adequate for seafloor-feature and process interpretation, but small enough to be queried and manipulated with standard GIS programs and to allow for future growth. Natural features visible in the grid include exposed bedrock outcrops, boulder lag deposits of submerged moraines, sand-wave fields, and scour depressions that reflect the strength of the oscillating tidal currents. Bedform asymmetry allows interpretations of net sediment transport. Anthropogenic artifacts visible in the bathymetric data include a dredged channel, shipwrecks, dredge spoils, mooring anchors, prop-scour depressions, buried cables, and bridge footings. Together the merged data reveal a larger, more continuous perspective of bathymetric topography than previously available, providing a fundamental framework for research and resource management activities in this major east-coast estuary.

Access & Use Information

Public: This dataset is intended for public access and use. License: No license information was provided. If this work was prepared by an officer or employee of the United States government as part of that person's official duties it is considered a U.S. Government Work.

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Dates

Metadata Created Date September 14, 2025
Metadata Updated Date September 14, 2025

Metadata Source

Harvested from DOI USGS DCAT-US

Additional Metadata

Resource Type Dataset
Metadata Created Date September 14, 2025
Metadata Updated Date September 14, 2025
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey
Maintainer
Identifier http://datainventory.doi.gov/id/dataset/usgs-ba91ad31-836b-49e3-a1f9-ac6a9da9ae5e
Data Last Modified 2021-11-16T00:00:00Z
Category geospatial
Public Access Level public
Bureau Code 010:12
Metadata Context https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.jsonld
Metadata Catalog ID https://ddi.doi.gov/usgs-data.json
Schema Version https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
Catalog Describedby https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.json
Harvest Object Id 212691f9-7d05-4987-8c5c-e35a03867d85
Harvest Source Id 2b80d118-ab3a-48ba-bd93-996bbacefac2
Harvest Source Title DOI USGS DCAT-US
Metadata Type geospatial
Old Spatial -72.666572, 41.079363, -71.975086, 41.391500
Source Datajson Identifier True
Source Hash 16bd6c713603cff9d1b84b7f0b4954729230a5ab381c4e54d3d1a09faedaddf7
Source Schema Version 1.1
Spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": -72.666572, 41.079363, -72.666572, 41.391500, -71.975086, 41.391500, -71.975086, 41.079363, -72.666572, 41.079363}

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