The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center (WHCMSC) completed a bathymetric and shallow seismic-reflection survey during the period of June 9, 2021 to June 24, 2021 in water depths from 2 m to 30 m for a portion of the outer Cape Cod nearshore environment between Marconi and Nauset Beaches. The products from this survey will help to support white shark research on their shallow-water behavior in the dynamic nearshore environment at Cape Cod National Seashore (CACO). CACO visitors’ safety is threatened by interactions between the public and white sharks. This project provides CACO with baseline data and information on nearshore white shark habitat, specifically in the nearshore shoreface, bathymetric trough, and longshore bar. This data release provides the geophysical data collected from outer Cape Cod during USGS Field Activities 2021-002-FA in 2021.

Accurate data and maps of sea floor geology are important first steps toward protecting fish habitat, delineating marine resources, and assessing environmental changes due to natural or human impacts. To address these concerns the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management (CZM), comprehensively mapped the Cape Cod Bay sea floor to characterize the surface and shallow subsurface geologic framework. Geophysical data collected include swath bathymetry, backscatter, and seismic reflection profile data. Ground-truth data, including sediment samples, underwater video, and bottom photographs were also collected. This effort is part of a long-term collaboration between the USGS and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to map the State’s waters, 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. This collaboration produces high-resolution geologic maps and Geographic Information System (GIS) data that serve the needs of research, management and the public. Data collected as part of this mapping cooperative continue to be released in a series of USGS Open-File Reports and Data Releases (https://www.usgs.gov/centers/whcmsc/science/geologic-mapping-massachusetts-seafloor). This data release provides the geophysical and geologic sampling data collected in Cape Cod Bay during USGS Field Activities 2019-002-FA and 2019-034-FA in 2019.

Accurate data and maps of sea floor geology are important first steps toward protecting fish habitat, delineating marine resources, and assessing environmental changes due to natural or human impacts. To address these concerns the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management (CZM), comprehensively mapped the Cape Cod Bay sea floor to characterize the surface and shallow subsurface geologic framework. Geophysical data collected include swath bathymetry, backscatter, and seismic reflection profile data. Ground-truth data, including sediment samples, underwater video, and bottom photographs were also collected. This effort is part of a long-term collaboration between the USGS and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to map the State’s waters, 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. This collaboration produces high-resolution geologic maps and Geographic Information System (GIS) data that serve the needs of research, management and the public. Data collected as part of this mapping cooperative continue to be released in a series of USGS Open-File Reports and Data Releases (https://www.usgs.gov/centers/whcmsc/science/geologic-mapping-massachusetts-seafloor). This data release provides the geophysical and geologic sampling data collected in Cape Cod Bay during USGS Field Activities 2019-002-FA and 2019-034-FA in 2019.

In November 2021, the U.S. Geological Survey collected high-resolution multibeam sonar data in the vicinity of Eel Pond, in Woods Hole, Massachusetts using a dual-head Teledyne Seabat T20-R multibeam echo sounder (MBES). The main objective of this survey was to evaluate new sonar system features prior to their use in future field activities. In addition to bathymetry and relative acoustic backscatter data, normalized acoustic backscatter data were also collected. Unlike relative backscatter data, normalized backscatter data compensate for adjustments made to sonar power, gain, absorption, spreading, and frequency parameters made during acquisition. In order for backscatter intensity levels to remain consistent along survey lines, and from line to line, relative backscatter data require that minimal adjustments are made to these parameters during acquisition, which can degrade the sonar performance for a given survey site. However, the ability to allow the sonar acquisition software to change sonar parameters based on variations in bathymetry and the survey environment during acquisition allows these parameters to be optimized. Having these parameters optimized for this survey allowed the USGS to evaluate this new normalized backscatter capability to ensure the collected backscatter intensity levels were referenced to a factory calibrated level. Eel Pond in Woods Hole, MA was chosen as a test area for its proximity to the USGS Coastal and Marine Science Center. It provides a variety of substrates on which to evaluate the performance of the sonar, and bathymetric/backscatter data of this area may prove useful to other projects and institutions in the area.

In November 2021, the U.S. Geological Survey collected high-resolution multibeam sonar data in the vicinity of Eel Pond, in Woods Hole, Massachusetts using a dual-head Teledyne Seabat T20-R multibeam echo sounder (MBES). The main objective of this survey was to evaluate new sonar system features prior to their use in future field activities. In addition to bathymetry and relative acoustic backscatter data, normalized acoustic backscatter data were also collected. Unlike relative backscatter data, normalized backscatter data compensate for adjustments made to sonar power, gain, absorption, spreading, and frequency parameters made during acquisition. In order for backscatter intensity levels to remain consistent along survey lines, and from line to line, relative backscatter data require that minimal adjustments are made to these parameters during acquisition, which can degrade the sonar performance for a given survey site. However, the ability to allow the sonar acquisition software to change sonar parameters based on variations in bathymetry and the survey environment during acquisition allows these parameters to be optimized. Having these parameters optimized for this survey allowed the USGS to evaluate this new normalized backscatter capability to ensure the collected backscatter intensity levels were referenced to a factory calibrated level. Eel Pond in Woods Hole, MA was chosen as a test area for its proximity to the USGS Coastal and Marine Science Center. It provides a variety of substrates on which to evaluate the performance of the sonar, and bathymetric/backscatter data of this area may prove useful to other projects and institutions in the area.

In spring and summer 2017, the U.S. Geological Survey’s Gas Hydrates Project conducted two cruises aboard the research vessel Hugh R. Sharp to explore the geology, chemistry, ecology, physics, and oceanography of sea-floor methane seeps and water column gas plumes on the northern U.S. Atlantic margin between the Baltimore and Keller Canyons. Split-beam and multibeam echo sounders and a chirp subbottom profiler were deployed during the cruises to map water column backscatter, sea-floor bathymetry and backscatter, and subsurface stratigraphy associated with known and undiscovered sea-floor methane seeps. The first cruise, known as the Interagency Mission for Methane Research on Seafloor Seeps and designated as field activity 2017-001-FA, was conducted from May 4 to May 11, 2017, and acquired geophysical data to support remotely operated vehicle exploration of seep sites using the Global Explorer, which is operated by Oceaneering International, Inc. Geophysical operations during cruise 2017-002-FA from August 25 to September 6, 2017, were also focused on mapping water column methane plumes, sea-floor seep sites, and subseafloor strata, but primarily supported conductivity, temperature, and depth instrument deployment, surface-water methane-concentration mapping, and water-sampling operations as part of a collaborative study with the University of Rochester of the effect of methane seepage on ocean water biogeochemistry. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Ocean Exploration and Research partially sponsored cruise 2017-001-FA, and the U.S. Department of Energy partially sponsored both cruises.

In spring and summer 2017, the U.S. Geological Survey’s Gas Hydrates Project conducted two cruises aboard the research vessel Hugh R. Sharp to explore the geology, chemistry, ecology, physics, and oceanography of sea-floor methane seeps and water column gas plumes on the northern U.S. Atlantic margin between the Baltimore and Keller Canyons. Split-beam and multibeam echo sounders and a chirp subbottom profiler were deployed during the cruises to map water column backscatter, sea-floor bathymetry and backscatter, and subsurface stratigraphy associated with known and undiscovered sea-floor methane seeps. The first cruise, known as the Interagency Mission for Methane Research on Seafloor Seeps and designated as field activity 2017-001-FA, was conducted from May 4 to May 11, 2017, and acquired geophysical data to support remotely operated vehicle exploration of seep sites using the Global Explorer, which is operated by Oceaneering International, Inc. Geophysical operations during cruise 2017-002-FA from August 25 to September 6, 2017, were also focused on mapping water column methane plumes, sea-floor seep sites, and subseafloor strata, but primarily supported conductivity, temperature, and depth instrument deployment, surface-water methane-concentration mapping, and water-sampling operations as part of a collaborative study with the University of Rochester of the effect of methane seepage on ocean water biogeochemistry. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Ocean Exploration and Research partially sponsored cruise 2017-001-FA, and the U.S. Department of Energy partially sponsored both cruises.

In June 2022, the U.S. Geological Survey, in collaboration with the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management, collected high-resolution geophysical data, in Nantucket Sound to understand the regional geology in the vicinity of Horseshoe Shoal. This effort is part of a long-term collaboration between the USGS and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to map the State’s waters, support research on the Quaternary evolution of coastal Massachusetts, resolve the influence of sea-level change and sediment supply on coastal evolution, and strengthen efforts to understand the type, distribution, and quality of subtidal marine habitats. This collaboration produces high-resolution geologic data that serve the needs of research, management, and the public. Data collected as part of this mapping cooperative continue to be released in a series of USGS Open-File Reports and Data Releases https://www.usgs.gov/centers/whcmsc/science/geologic-mapping-massachusetts-seafloor.

In June 2022, the U.S. Geological Survey, in collaboration with the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management, collected high-resolution geophysical data, in Nantucket Sound to understand the regional geology in the vicinity of Horseshoe Shoal. This effort is part of a long-term collaboration between the USGS and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to map the State’s waters, support research on the Quaternary evolution of coastal Massachusetts, resolve the influence of sea-level change and sediment supply on coastal evolution, and strengthen efforts to understand the type, distribution, and quality of subtidal marine habitats. This collaboration produces high-resolution geologic data that serve the needs of research, management, and the public. Data collected as part of this mapping cooperative continue to be released in a series of USGS Open-File Reports and Data Releases https://www.usgs.gov/centers/whcmsc/science/geologic-mapping-massachusetts-seafloor.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center (WHCMSC) completed a bathymetric and shallow seismic-reflection survey during the period of June 9, 2021 to June 24, 2021 in water depths from 2 m to 30 m for a portion of the outer Cape Cod nearshore environment between Marconi and Nauset Beaches. The products from this survey will help to support white shark research on their shallow-water behavior in the dynamic nearshore environment at Cape Cod National Seashore (CACO). CACO visitors’ safety is threatened by interactions between the public and white sharks. This project provides CACO with baseline data and information on nearshore white shark habitat, specifically in the nearshore shoreface, bathymetric trough, and longshore bar. This data release provides the geophysical data collected from outer Cape Cod during USGS Field Activities 2021-002-FA in 2021.