In freshwater bodies of New Hampshire, the most problematic aquatic invasive plant species is Myriophyllum heterophyllum or variable leaf water-milfoil. Once established, variable leaf water-milfoil forms dense beds that can alter the limnologic characteristics of a waterbody, impacting natural lacustrine communities and their habitats. Variable leaf water-milfoil infestations also disrupt recreational uses of waterbodies and have negatively affected swimming, boating, fishing, and property values in and around several lakes and ponds in New Hampshire. In 1965, Moultonborough Bay, Lake Winnipesaukee became the first waterbody in New Hampshire where variable leaf water-milfoil was observed. Variable leaf water-milfoil is native to the Southeastern and Midwestern areas of the United States where more alkaline waters appear to limit the growth of this plant. Outside its native range, however, it adapts well to the relatively acidic, low-alkalinity, and nutrient-poor conditions of oligotrophic lakes and bays similar to Moultonborough Bay. In 2005, the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) collaborated with the U.S. Geological Survey to investigate the distribution (presence and density) of variable leaf water-milfoil in Moultonborough Bay. This study utilized geophysical systems and conventional water-quality measurements to identify lake-floor environments that may provide suitable habitat for the establishment and growth of variable leaf water-milfoil. The results of the study are intended to assist resource managers in federal and state agencies by providing methods for detecting variable leaf water-milfoil and for identifying areas susceptible to infestation. Ultimately, this information may lead to early detection, prevention, and more effective mitigation strategies. Field activity information for this cruise is available on-line through the U.S. Geological Survey Coastal and Marine Geoscience Data System https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fa=2005-004-FA.

Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center conducted a seasonal collection of surficial sediments from Chincoteague Bay and Tom's Cove, located between Assateague Island and the Delmarva Peninsula in March/April 2014 (2014-301-FA) and October 2014 (2014-322-FA). The sampling efforts were part of a larger U.S. Geological Survey study to assess the effects of storm events on sediment distribution. The objective of this study was to characterize the sediments of Chincoteague Bay in order to create baseline conditions to incorporate with hydrodynamic and sediment transport models in order to evaluate pre- and post-storm (Hurricane Sandy) change. This report serves as an archive for sedimentological data derived from the surface sediment. Data are available for a seasonal comparison between March/April 2014 and October 2014. Downloadable data are available as Excel spreadsheets (sediment samples) and as JPEG files (maps). Additional files include: detailed results of sediment grain size analyses, and formal Federal Geographic Data Committee metadata (data downloads).

Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center conducted a seasonal collection of surficial sediments from Chincoteague Bay and Tom's Cove, located between Assateague Island and the Delmarva Peninsula in March/April 2014 (2014-301-FA) and October 2014 (2014-322-FA). The sampling efforts were part of a larger U.S. Geological Survey study to assess the effects of storm events on sediment distribution. The objective of this study was to characterize the sediments of Chincoteague Bay in order to create baseline conditions to incorporate with hydrodynamic and sediment transport models in order to evaluate pre- and post-storm (Hurricane Sandy) change. This report serves as an archive for sedimentological data derived from the surface sediment. Data are available for a seasonal comparison between March/April 2014 and October 2014. Downloadable data are available as Excel spreadsheets (sediment samples) and as JPEG files (maps). Additional files include: detailed results of sediment grain size analyses, and formal Federal Geographic Data Committee metadata (data downloads).

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.

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.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), is producing detailed geologic maps of the coastal sea floor. Bathymetric data, originally collected by NOAA for charting purposes, provide a framework for research and management activities along southern Narragansett Bay, show the composition and terrain of the seabed, and provide information on sediment transport and benthic habitat. During September 2014, bottom photographs and surficial sediment data were acquired as part of a ground-truth reconnaissance survey of this area. Interpretations were derived from the multibeam-echosounder, sedimentary, and photographic data collected in Narragansett Bay. For more information on the ground-truth survey see https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2014-046-FA.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), is producing detailed geologic maps of the coastal sea floor. Bathymetric data, originally collected by NOAA for charting purposes, provide a framework for research and management activities along southern Narragansett Bay, show the composition and terrain of the seabed, and provide information on sediment transport and benthic habitat. During September 2014, bottom photographs and surficial sediment data were acquired as part of a ground-truth reconnaissance survey of this area. Interpretations were derived from the multibeam-echosounder, sedimentary, and photographic data collected in Narragansett Bay. For more information on the ground-truth survey see https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2014-046-FA.

Water quality in the Barnegat Bay-Little Egg Harbor estuary along the New Jersey coast is the focus of a multidisciplinary research project begun in 2011 by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in partnership with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. This narrow estuary is the drainage for the Barnegat Watershed and flushed by just three inlets connecting it to the Atlantic Ocean, is experiencing degraded water quality, algal blooms, loss of seagrass, and increases in oxygen -depletion events, seaweed, stinging nettles, and brown tide. The scale of the estuary and the scope of the problems within it necessitate a multidisciplinary approach that includes characterizing its physical characteristics (for example, depth, magnitude and direction of tidal currents, distribution of seafloor and subseafloor sediment) and modeling how the physical characteristics interact to affect the estuary's water quality. Scientists from USGS Coastal and Marine Geology Program offices in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, and St. Petersburg, Florida, began mapping the seafloor of the Barnegat Bay-Little Egg Harbor estuary in November 2011 and completed in September 2013. With funding from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and logistical support from the USGS New Jersey Water Science Center, they collected data with a suite of geophysical tools, including swath bathymetric sonar for measuring seafloor depth, a sidescan sonar for collecting acoustic-backscatter data (which provides information about seafloor texture and sediment type), subbottom profiler for imaging sediment layers beneath the floor of the estuary, and sediment samples with bottom photographs for ground validation of the acoustic data. 2011-041-FA: http://woodshole.er.usgs.gov/operations/ia/public_ds_info.php?fa=2011-041-FA 2012-003-FA: http://woodshole.er.usgs.gov/operations/ia/public_ds_info.php?fa=2012-003-FA 2013-014-FA: http://woodshole.er.usgs.gov/operations/ia/public_ds_info.php?fa=2013-014-FA 2013-030-FA: http://woodshole.er.usgs.gov/operations/ia/public_ds_info.php?fa=2013-030-FA

Water quality in the Barnegat Bay-Little Egg Harbor estuary along the New Jersey coast is the focus of a multidisciplinary research project begun in 2011 by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in partnership with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. This narrow estuary is the drainage for the Barnegat Watershed and flushed by just three inlets connecting it to the Atlantic Ocean, is experiencing degraded water quality, algal blooms, loss of seagrass, and increases in oxygen -depletion events, seaweed, stinging nettles, and brown tide. The scale of the estuary and the scope of the problems within it necessitate a multidisciplinary approach that includes characterizing its physical characteristics (for example, depth, magnitude and direction of tidal currents, distribution of seafloor and subseafloor sediment) and modeling how the physical characteristics interact to affect the estuary's water quality. Scientists from USGS Coastal and Marine Geology Program offices in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, and St. Petersburg, Florida, began mapping the seafloor of the Barnegat Bay-Little Egg Harbor estuary in November 2011 and completed in September 2013. With funding from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and logistical support from the USGS New Jersey Water Science Center, they collected data with a suite of geophysical tools, including swath bathymetric sonar for measuring seafloor depth, a sidescan sonar for collecting acoustic-backscatter data (which provides information about seafloor texture and sediment type), subbottom profiler for imaging sediment layers beneath the floor of the estuary, and sediment samples with bottom photographs for ground validation of the acoustic data. 2011-041-FA: http://woodshole.er.usgs.gov/operations/ia/public_ds_info.php?fa=2011-041-FA 2012-003-FA: http://woodshole.er.usgs.gov/operations/ia/public_ds_info.php?fa=2012-003-FA 2013-014-FA: http://woodshole.er.usgs.gov/operations/ia/public_ds_info.php?fa=2013-014-FA 2013-030-FA: http://woodshole.er.usgs.gov/operations/ia/public_ds_info.php?fa=2013-030-FA

Two marine geological surveys were conducted in Nantucket Sound, Massachusetts, in May 2016 and May 2017 by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) as part of an agreement with the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management to map the geology of the sea floor offshore of Massachusetts. Samples of surficial sediment and photographs of the sea floor were collected at 76 sampling sites within the survey area, and sea-floor videos were collected at 75 of the sites. The sediment data and the observations from the photos and videos are used to explore the nature of the sea floor; in conjunction with high-resolution geophysical data, the observations are used to make interpretive maps of sedimentary environments and validate acoustic remote sensing data.