These data are part of the effort to map geologic substrates of the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary (SBNMS) region off Boston, Massachusetts. The overall goal is to develop high-resolution (1:25,000) interpretive maps, based on multibeam sonar data and seabed sampling, showing surficial geology and seabed sediment dynamics. The data were collected in collaboration with the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary and will aid research on the ecology of fish and invertebrate species that inhabit the region. Sediment samples were collected aboard the Sanctuary's research vessel, R/V Auk at 679 locations on and near Stellwagen Bank using a customized Van Veen grab sampler integrated into the USGS SEABed Observation and Sampling System (SEABOSS). The SEABOSS, equipped with a video camera, was deployed from the Auk and allowed to drift for a shore period of time approximately 1 meter from the sea floor collecting video imagery of the sea floor. The SEABOSS drift typically culminated in the collection of a sediment sample used for grain-size analysis. Biological specimens were collected from the sediment, if present, and retained by scientists at teh SBNMS in Scituate, Massachusetts.

This field activity is part of the effort to map geologic substrates of the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary region off Boston, Massachusetts. The overall goal is to develop high-resolution (1:25,000) interpretive maps, based on multibeam sonar data and seabed sampling, showing surficial geology and seabed sediment dynamics. This cruise was conducted in collaboration with the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, and the data collected will aid research on the ecology of fish and invertebrate species that inhabit the region. The Sanctuary's research vessel, R/V Auk, visited 53 locations on Stellwagen Bank at which a customized Van Veen grab sampler (SEABOSS) equipped with a video camera and a CTD was deployed in drift mode to collect sediment for grain-size analysis, video imagery of the seabed, and measurements of water column properties.

This field activity is part of the effort to map geologic substrates of the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary region off Boston, Massachusetts. The overall goal is to develop high-resolution (1:25,000) interpretive maps, based on multibeam sonar data and seabed sampling, showing surficial geology and seabed sediment dynamics. This cruise was conducted in collaboration with the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, and the data collected will aid research on the ecology of fish and invertebrate species that inhabit the region. The Sanctuary's research vessel, R/V Auk, visited 13 locations on Stellwagen Bank at which a customized Van Veen grab sampler (SEABOSS) equipped with a video camera and a CTD was deployed in drift mode to collect sediment for grain-size analysis, video imagery of the seabed, and measurements of water column properties.

This field activity is part of the effort to map geologic substrates of the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary region off Boston, Massachusetts. The overall goal is to develop high-resolution (1:25,000) interpretive maps, based on multibeam sonar data and seabed sampling, showing surficial geology and seabed sediment dynamics. This cruise was conducted in collaboration with the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, and the data collected will aid research on the ecology of fish and invertebrate species that inhabit the region. The Sanctuary's research vessel, R/V Auk, visited 57 locations on Stellwagen Bank at which a customized Van Veen grab sampler (SEABOSS) equipped with a video camera and a CTD was deployed in drift mode to collect sediment for grain-size analysis, video imagery of the seabed, and measurements of water column properties.

This field activity is part of the effort to map geologic substrates of the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary region off Boston, Massachusetts. The overall goal is to develop high-resolution (1:25,000) interpretive maps, based on multibeam sonar data and seabed sampling, showing surficial geology and seabed sediment dynamics. This cruise was conducted in collaboration with the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, and the data collected will aid research on the ecology of fish and invertebrate species that inhabit the region. The Sanctuary's research vessel, R/V Auk, visited 75 locations on Stellwagen Bank at which a customized Van Veen grab sampler (SEABOSS) equipped with a video camera and a CTD was deployed in drift mode to collect sediment for grain-size analysis, video imagery of the seabed, and temperature, conductivity, and depth measurements of the water column. Additional information regarding this field activity is available from https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fa=2015-062-FA.

This field activity is part of the effort to map geologic substrates of the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary region off Boston, Massachusetts. The overall goal is to develop high-resolution (1:25,000) interpretive maps, based on multibeam sonar data and seabed sampling, showing surficial geology and seabed sediment dynamics. This cruise was conducted in collaboration with the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, and the data collected will aid research on the ecology of fish and invertebrate species that inhabit the region. The Sanctuary's research vessel, R/V Auk, visited 50 locations on Stellwagen Bank at which a customized Van Veen grab sampler (SEABOSS) equipped with a video camera and a CTD was deployed in drift mode to collect sediment for grain-size analysis, video imagery of the seabed, and measurements of water column properties.

This field activity is part of an effort to map geologic substrates of the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary region off Boston, Massachusetts. The overall goal is to develop high-resolution (1:25,000-scale) interpretive maps, based on multibeam sonar data and seabed sampling, showing surficial geology and seabed sediment dynamics. The data collected in this study will aid research on the ecology of fish and invertebrate species that inhabit the region. On August 22 and 23, 2017, the U.S. Geological Survey, in collaboration with the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, conducted a research cruise aboard the Sanctuary’s Research Vessel Auk, visiting 39 locations within the sanctuary. A customized Van Veen grab sampler (SEABOSS) equipped with a video camera and a conductivity, temperature, and depth (CTD) instrument was deployed in drift mode to collect sediment for grain-size analysis, video imagery of the seabed, and measurements of water column properties.

Accurate data and maps of sea-floor geology are important first steps toward protecting habitat, delineating marine resources, and assessing environmental changes due to natural or human effects. Initiated in 2003, the primary objective of the Geologic Mapping of the Massachusetts Sea Floor program is to develop regional geologic framework information for the management of coastal and marine resources. The program is focused on the inshore waters (primarily 5-30 meters deep, although the region surveyed in this field activity includes waters up to 90 meters deep) of Massachusetts. This dataset, collected aboard the Ocean Survey Vessel (OSV) Bold as part of the Geologic Mapping of the Massachusetts Sea Floor Program, is from U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) sampling survey 2012-035-FA (August 21-27, 2012) by the USGS Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center and the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management with partners from the Massachusetts Bays Program, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. During the survey, surficial sediment samples and bottom still and video imagery were collected in Ipswich Bay and Massachusetts Bay, Massachusetts.

This field activity is part of the effort to map geologic substrates of the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary region off Boston, Massachusetts. The overall goal is to develop high-resolution (1:25,000) interpretive maps, based on multibeam sonar data and seabed sampling, showing surficial geology and seabed sediment dynamics. This cruise was conducted in collaboration with the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, and the data collected will aid research on the ecology of fish and invertebrate species that inhabit the region. The Sanctuary's research vessel, R/V Auk, visited 81 locations on Stellwagen Bank at which a customized Van Veen grab sampler (SEABOSS) equipped with a video camera and a CTD was deployed in drift mode to collect sediment for grain-size analysis, video imagery of the seabed, and measurements of water column properties.