This data set includes pseudo-colored backscatter intensity of the sea floor offshore of northeastern Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The data were collected with a multibeam sea floor mapping system during USGS survey 98015, conducted November 9 - 25, 1998. The surveys were conducted using a Simrad EM 1000 multibeam echo sounder mounted aboard the Canadian Coast Guard vessel Frederick G. Creed. This multibeam system utilizes 60 electronically aimed receive beams spaced at intervals of 2.5 degrees that insonify a strip of sea floor up to 7.5 times the water depth (swath width of 100 to 200 m within the survey area). The horizontal resolution of the beam on the sea floor is approximately 10% of the water depth. Vertical resolution is approximately 1 percent of the water depth. With pseudo-colored backscatter intensity, the backscatter intensity is combined with the topography to display the distribution of intensity in relation to the topography. In the image shown here, the backscatter intensity is represented by a suite of eight colors ranging from blue, which represents low intensity, to red, which represents high intensity. These data are draped over a shaded relief image created by vertically exaggerating the topography four times and then artificially illuminating the relief by a light source positioned 45 degrees above the horizon from an azimuth of 0 degrees. The resulting image displays light and dark intensities within each color band that result from a feature's position with respect to the light source. For example, north-facing slopes, receiving strong illumination, show as a light intensity within a color band, whereas south-facing slopes, being in shadow, show as a dark intensity within a color band.

This data set includes pseudo-colored backscatter intensity of the sea floor offshore of northeastern Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The data were collected with a multibeam sea floor mapping system during USGS survey 98015, conducted November 9 - 25, 1998. The surveys were conducted using a Simrad EM 1000 multibeam echo sounder mounted aboard the Canadian Coast Guard vessel Frederick G. Creed. This multibeam system utilizes 60 electronically aimed receive beams spaced at intervals of 2.5 degrees that insonify a strip of sea floor up to 7.5 times the water depth (swath width of 100 to 200 m within the survey area). The horizontal resolution of the beam on the sea floor is approximately 10% of the water depth. Vertical resolution is approximately 1 percent of the water depth. With pseudo-colored backscatter intensity, the backscatter intensity is combined with the topography to display the distribution of intensity in relation to the topography. In the image shown here, the backscatter intensity is represented by a suite of eight colors ranging from blue, which represents low intensity, to red, which represents high intensity. These data are draped over a shaded relief image created by vertically exaggerating the topography four times and then artificially illuminating the relief by a light source positioned 45 degrees above the horizon from an azimuth of 0 degrees. The resulting image displays light and dark intensities within each color band that result from a feature's position with respect to the light source. For example, north-facing slopes, receiving strong illumination, show as a light intensity within a color band, whereas south-facing slopes, being in shadow, show as a dark intensity within a color band.

This data set includes pseudo-colored backscatter intensity of the sea floor offshore of northeastern Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The data were collected with a multibeam sea floor mapping system during USGS survey 98015, conducted November 9 - 25, 1998. The surveys were conducted using a Simrad EM 1000 multibeam echo sounder mounted aboard the Canadian Coast Guard vessel Frederick G. Creed. This multibeam system utilizes 60 electronically aimed receive beams spaced at intervals of 2.5 degrees that insonify a strip of sea floor up to 7.5 times the water depth (swath width of 100 to 200 m within the survey area). The horizontal resolution of the beam on the sea floor is approximately 10% of the water depth. Vertical resolution is approximately 1 percent of the water depth. With pseudo-colored backscatter intensity, the backscatter intensity is combined with the topography to display the distribution of intensity in relation to the topography. In the image shown here, the backscatter intensity is represented by a suite of eight colors ranging from blue, which represents low intensity, to red, which represents high intensity. These data are draped over a shaded relief image created by vertically exaggerating the topography four times and then artificially illuminating the relief by a light source positioned 45 degrees above the horizon from an azimuth of 0 degrees. The resulting image displays light and dark intensities within each color band that result from a feature's position with respect to the light source. For example, north-facing slopes, receiving strong illumination, show as a light intensity within a color band, whereas south-facing slopes, being in shadow, show as a dark intensity within a color band.

This data set includes backscatter intensity of the sea floor offshore of northern Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The data were collected with a multibeam sea floor mapping system during USGS survey 98015, conducted November 9 - 25, 1998. The surveys were conducted using a Simrad EM 1000 multibeam echo sounder mounted aboard the Canadian Coast Guard vessel Frederick G. Creed. This multibeam system utilizes 60 electronically aimed receive beams spaced at intervals of 2.5 degrees that insonify a strip of sea floor up to 7.5 times the water depth (swath width of 100 to 200 m within the survey area). The horizontal resolution of the beam on the sea floor is approximately 10% of the water depth. Vertical resolution is approximately 1 percent of the water depth. With backscatter intensity, the intensity of the acoustic return from the sea floor from the multibeam system, is a function of the properties of the surficial sediments and of the bottom roughness. Generally, a strong return (light gray tones) is associated with rock or coarse-grained sediment, and a weak return (dark gray tones) with fine-grained sediments. However, the micro-topography, such as ripples, burrows, and benthic populations also affect the reflectivity of the sea floor. Direct observations, using bottom photography or video, and surface samples, are needed to verify interpretations of the backscatter intensity data. The backscatter data have a weak striping that runs parallel to the ship's track. Some of the striping is the result of poor data return at nadir that appears as evenly-spaced thin speckled lines. Some striping is also due to critical angle effects, where the intensity of return varies as a function of the angle of incidence of the incoming sound on the seafloor (Hughes-Clark and others, 1997).

This data set includes backscatter intensity of the sea floor offshore of northern Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The data were collected with a multibeam sea floor mapping system during USGS survey 98015, conducted November 9 - 25, 1998. The surveys were conducted using a Simrad EM 1000 multibeam echo sounder mounted aboard the Canadian Coast Guard vessel Frederick G. Creed. This multibeam system utilizes 60 electronically aimed receive beams spaced at intervals of 2.5 degrees that insonify a strip of sea floor up to 7.5 times the water depth (swath width of 100 to 200 m within the survey area). The horizontal resolution of the beam on the sea floor is approximately 10% of the water depth. Vertical resolution is approximately 1 percent of the water depth. With backscatter intensity, the intensity of the acoustic return from the sea floor from the multibeam system, is a function of the properties of the surficial sediments and of the bottom roughness. Generally, a strong return (light gray tones) is associated with rock or coarse-grained sediment, and a weak return (dark gray tones) with fine-grained sediments. However, the micro-topography, such as ripples, burrows, and benthic populations also affect the reflectivity of the sea floor. Direct observations, using bottom photography or video, and surface samples, are needed to verify interpretations of the backscatter intensity data. The backscatter data have a weak striping that runs parallel to the ship's track. Some of the striping is the result of poor data return at nadir that appears as evenly-spaced thin speckled lines. Some striping is also due to critical angle effects, where the intensity of return varies as a function of the angle of incidence of the incoming sound on the seafloor (Hughes-Clark and others, 1997).

This data set includes backscatter intensity of the sea floor offshore of eastern Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The data were collected with a multibeam sea floor mapping system during USGS survey 98015, conducted November 9 - 25, 1998. The surveys were conducted using a Simrad EM 1000 multibeam echo sounder mounted aboard the Canadian Coast Guard vessel Frederick G. Creed. This multibeam system utilizes 60 electronically aimed receive beams spaced at intervals of 2.5 degrees that insonify a strip of sea floor up to 7.5 times the water depth (swath width of 100 to 200 m within the survey area). The horizontal resolution of the beam on the sea floor is approximately 10% of the water depth. Vertical resolution is approximately 1 percent of the water depth. With backscatter intensity, the intensity of the acoustic return from the sea floor from the multibeam system, is a function of the properties of the surficial sediments and of the bottom roughness. Generally, a strong return (light gray tones) is associated with rock or coarse-grained sediment, and a weak return (dark gray tones) with fine-grained sediments. However, the micro-topography, such as ripples, burrows, and benthic populations also affect the reflectivity of the sea floor. Direct observations, using bottom photography or video, and surface samples, are needed to verify interpretations of the backscatter intensity data. The backscatter data have a weak striping that runs parallel to the ship's track. Some of the striping is the result of poor data return at nadir that appears as evenly-spaced thin speckled lines. Some striping is also due to critical angle effects, where the intensity of return varies as a function of the angle of incidence of the incoming sound on the seafloor (Hughes-Clark and others, 1997).

This data set includes backscatter intensity of the sea floor offshore of eastern Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The data were collected with a multibeam sea floor mapping system during USGS survey 98015, conducted November 9 - 25, 1998. The surveys were conducted using a Simrad EM 1000 multibeam echo sounder mounted aboard the Canadian Coast Guard vessel Frederick G. Creed. This multibeam system utilizes 60 electronically aimed receive beams spaced at intervals of 2.5 degrees that insonify a strip of sea floor up to 7.5 times the water depth (swath width of 100 to 200 m within the survey area). The horizontal resolution of the beam on the sea floor is approximately 10% of the water depth. Vertical resolution is approximately 1 percent of the water depth. With backscatter intensity, the intensity of the acoustic return from the sea floor from the multibeam system, is a function of the properties of the surficial sediments and of the bottom roughness. Generally, a strong return (light gray tones) is associated with rock or coarse-grained sediment, and a weak return (dark gray tones) with fine-grained sediments. However, the micro-topography, such as ripples, burrows, and benthic populations also affect the reflectivity of the sea floor. Direct observations, using bottom photography or video, and surface samples, are needed to verify interpretations of the backscatter intensity data. The backscatter data have a weak striping that runs parallel to the ship's track. Some of the striping is the result of poor data return at nadir that appears as evenly-spaced thin speckled lines. Some striping is also due to critical angle effects, where the intensity of return varies as a function of the angle of incidence of the incoming sound on the seafloor (Hughes-Clark and others, 1997).

This data set includes sun-illuminated of the sea floor offshore of eastern Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The data were collected with a multibeam sea floor mapping system during USGS survey 98015, conducted November 9 - 25, 1998. The surveys were conducted using a Simrad EM 1000 multibeam echo sounder mounted aboard the Canadian Coast Guard vessel Frederick G. Creed. This multibeam system utilizes 60 electronically aimed receive beams spaced at intervals of 2.5 degrees that insonify a strip of sea floor up to 7.5 times the water depth (swath width of 100 to 200 m within the survey area). The horizontal resolution of the beam on the sea floor is approximately 10% of the water depth. Vertical resolution is approximately 1 percent of the water depth. The sun-illuminated topographic (shaded relief) image has a 4-m pixel size and was created by vertically exaggerating the topography two times and then artificially illuminating the relief by a light source positioned 45 degrees above the horizon from an azimuth of 0 degrees. In the resulting image, topographic features are enhanced by strong illumination on the northwestward-facing slopes and by shadows cast on southeastern slopes. The image also accentuates small features (relief of a few meters) that could not be effectively shown as contours alone at this scale. Unnatural-looking features or patterns oriented parallel or perpendicular to survey tracklines are artifacts of data collection and environmental conditions. The data have a weak striping that runs parallel to the ship's track. Some of the striping is the result of poor data return at nadir that appears as evenly-spaced thin speckled lines. Some striping is also due to critical angle effects, where the intensity of return varies as a function of the angle of incidence of the incoming sound on the seafloor (Hughes-Clark and others, 1997).

This data set includes sun-illuminated of the sea floor offshore of eastern Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The data were collected with a multibeam sea floor mapping system during USGS survey 98015, conducted November 9 - 25, 1998. The surveys were conducted using a Simrad EM 1000 multibeam echo sounder mounted aboard the Canadian Coast Guard vessel Frederick G. Creed. This multibeam system utilizes 60 electronically aimed receive beams spaced at intervals of 2.5 degrees that insonify a strip of sea floor up to 7.5 times the water depth (swath width of 100 to 200 m within the survey area). The horizontal resolution of the beam on the sea floor is approximately 10% of the water depth. Vertical resolution is approximately 1 percent of the water depth. The sun-illuminated topographic (shaded relief) image has a 4-m pixel size and was created by vertically exaggerating the topography two times and then artificially illuminating the relief by a light source positioned 45 degrees above the horizon from an azimuth of 0 degrees. In the resulting image, topographic features are enhanced by strong illumination on the northwestward-facing slopes and by shadows cast on southeastern slopes. The image also accentuates small features (relief of a few meters) that could not be effectively shown as contours alone at this scale. Unnatural-looking features or patterns oriented parallel or perpendicular to survey tracklines are artifacts of data collection and environmental conditions. The data have a weak striping that runs parallel to the ship's track. Some of the striping is the result of poor data return at nadir that appears as evenly-spaced thin speckled lines. Some striping is also due to critical angle effects, where the intensity of return varies as a function of the angle of incidence of the incoming sound on the seafloor (Hughes-Clark and others, 1997).

This data set includes sun-illuminated of the sea floor offshore of eastern Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The data were collected with a multibeam sea floor mapping system during USGS survey 98015, conducted November 9 - 25, 1998. The surveys were conducted using a Simrad EM 1000 multibeam echo sounder mounted aboard the Canadian Coast Guard vessel Frederick G. Creed. This multibeam system utilizes 60 electronically aimed receive beams spaced at intervals of 2.5 degrees that insonify a strip of sea floor up to 7.5 times the water depth (swath width of 100 to 200 m within the survey area). The horizontal resolution of the beam on the sea floor is approximately 10% of the water depth. Vertical resolution is approximately 1 percent of the water depth. The sun-illuminated topographic (shaded relief) image has a 4-m pixel size and was created by vertically exaggerating the topography two times and then artificially illuminating the relief by a light source positioned 45 degrees above the horizon from an azimuth of 0 degrees. In the resulting image, topographic features are enhanced by strong illumination on the northwestward-facing slopes and by shadows cast on southeastern slopes. The image also accentuates small features (relief of a few meters) that could not be effectively shown as contours alone at this scale. Unnatural-looking features or patterns oriented parallel or perpendicular to survey tracklines are artifacts of data collection and environmental conditions The data have a weak striping that runs parallel to the ship's track. Some of the striping is the result of poor data return at nadir that appears as evenly-spaced thin speckled lines. Some striping is also due to critical angle effects, where the intensity of return varies as a function of the angle of incidence of the incoming sound on the seafloor (Hughes-Clark and others, 1997).