Variability in sediment properties with depth and the thickness of individual sedimentary layers are critical determinants of seabed acoustic response. The New England Mud Patch (NEMP), located south of Cape Cod, is an unusual feature on the U.S. Continental Shelf in that it is composed of fine-grained sediment layers containing a relatively-homogeneous mix of sand, silt, and clay-sized particles bounded by more typical sandy shelf sediments. The unique characteristics and nature of this deposit is due to a derivation of sediments that have been transported to, and deposited in, a basal bowl-shaped depression since the last glacial maximum. Ninety-two piston, vibra-, and gravity cores with a maximum length of 8.2 meters were collected from across the New England Mud Patch during a 2-leg, 10-day cruise aboard the R/V Endeavor in the spring of 2016. Geologic characterization and analysis of a subset of the cores including grain size, CaCO3, mineral composition, and bulk index properties (undrained shear strength, water content, density, and porosity) of discrete samples was carried out at the USGS Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center's (WHCMSC) Sediment Analysis Laboratory. This data release contains the results of these analyses, along with visual core descriptions and summary sheets for each core analyzed for this study.

Variability in sediment properties with depth and the thickness of individual sedimentary layers are critical determinants of seabed acoustic response. The New England Mud Patch (NEMP), located south of Cape Cod, is an unusual feature on the U.S. Continental Shelf in that it is composed of fine-grained sediment layers containing a relatively-homogeneous mix of sand, silt, and clay-sized particles bounded by more typical sandy shelf sediments. The unique characteristics and nature of this deposit is due to a derivation of sediments that have been transported to, and deposited in, a basal bowl-shaped depression since the last glacial maximum. Ninety-two piston, vibra-, and gravity cores with a maximum length of 8.2 meters were collected from across the New England Mud Patch during a 2-leg, 10-day cruise aboard the R/V Endeavor in the spring of 2016. Geologic characterization and analysis of a subset of the cores including grain size, CaCO3, mineral composition, and bulk index properties (undrained shear strength, water content, density, and porosity) of discrete samples was carried out at the USGS Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center's (WHCMSC) Sediment Analysis Laboratory. This data release contains the results of these analyses, along with visual core descriptions and summary sheets for each core analyzed for this study.

Variability in sediment properties with depth and the thickness of individual sedimentary layers are critical determinants of seabed acoustic response. The New England Mud Patch (NEMP), located south of Cape Cod, is an unusual feature on the U.S. Continental Shelf in that it is composed of fine-grained sediment layers containing a relatively-homogeneous mix of sand, silt, and clay-sized particles bounded by more typical sandy shelf sediments. The unique characteristics and nature of this deposit is due to a derivation of sediments that have been transported to, and deposited in, a basal bowl-shaped depression since the last glacial maximum. Ninety-two piston, vibra-, and gravity cores with a maximum length of 8.2 meters were collected from across the New England Mud Patch during a 2-leg, 10-day cruise aboard the R/V Endeavor in the spring of 2016. Geologic characterization and analysis of a subset of the cores including grain size, CaCO3, mineral composition, and bulk index properties (undrained shear strength, water content, density, and porosity) of discrete samples was carried out at the USGS Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center's (WHCMSC) Sediment Analysis Laboratory. This data release contains the results of these analyses, along with visual core descriptions and summary sheets for each core analyzed for this study.

Variability in sediment properties with depth and the thickness of individual sedimentary layers are critical determinants of seabed acoustic response. The New England Mud Patch (NEMP), located south of Cape Cod, is an unusual feature on the U.S. Continental Shelf in that it is composed of fine-grained sediment layers containing a relatively-homogeneous mix of sand, silt, and clay-sized particles bounded by more typical sandy shelf sediments. The unique characteristics and nature of this deposit is due to a derivation of sediments that have been transported to, and deposited in, a basal bowl-shaped depression since the last glacial maximum. Ninety-two piston, vibra-, and gravity cores with a maximum length of 8.2 meters were collected from across the New England Mud Patch during a 2-leg, 10-day cruise aboard the R/V Endeavor in the spring of 2016. Geologic characterization and analysis of a subset of the cores including grain size, CaCO3, mineral composition, and bulk index properties (undrained shear strength, water content, density, and porosity) of discrete samples was carried out at the USGS Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center's (WHCMSC) Sediment Analysis Laboratory. This data release contains the results of these analyses, along with visual core descriptions and summary sheets for each core analyzed for this study.

Variability in sediment properties with depth and the thickness of individual sedimentary layers are critical determinants of seabed acoustic response. The New England Mud Patch (NEMP), located south of Cape Cod, is an unusual feature on the U.S. Continental Shelf in that it is composed of fine-grained sediment layers containing a relatively-homogeneous mix of sand, silt, and clay-sized particles bounded by more typical sandy shelf sediments. The unique characteristics and nature of this deposit is due to a derivation of sediments that have been transported to, and deposited in, a basal bowl-shaped depression since the last glacial maximum. Ninety-two piston, vibra-, and gravity cores with a maximum length of 8.2 meters were collected from across the New England Mud Patch during a 2-leg, 10-day cruise aboard the R/V Endeavor in the spring of 2016. Geologic characterization and analysis of a subset of the cores including grain size, CaCO3, mineral composition, and bulk index properties (undrained shear strength, water content, density, and porosity) of discrete samples was carried out at the USGS Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center's (WHCMSC) Sediment Analysis Laboratory. This data release contains the results of these analyses, along with visual core descriptions and summary sheets for each core analyzed for this study.

Variability in sediment properties with depth and the thickness of individual sedimentary layers are critical determinants of seabed acoustic response. The New England Mud Patch (NEMP), located south of Cape Cod, is an unusual feature on the U.S. Continental Shelf in that it is composed of fine-grained sediment layers containing a relatively-homogeneous mix of sand, silt, and clay-sized particles bounded by more typical sandy shelf sediments. The unique characteristics and nature of this deposit is due to a derivation of sediments that have been transported to, and deposited in, a basal bowl-shaped depression since the last glacial maximum. Ninety-two piston, vibra-, and gravity cores with a maximum length of 8.2 meters were collected from across the New England Mud Patch during a 2-leg, 10-day cruise aboard the R/V Endeavor in the spring of 2016. Geologic characterization and analysis of a subset of the cores including grain size, CaCO3, mineral composition, and bulk index properties (undrained shear strength, water content, density, and porosity) of discrete samples was carried out at the USGS Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center's (WHCMSC) Sediment Analysis Laboratory. This data release contains the results of these analyses, along with visual core descriptions and summary sheets for each core analyzed for this study.

Variability in sediment properties with depth and the thickness of individual sedimentary layers are critical determinants of seabed acoustic response. The New England Mud Patch (NEMP), located south of Cape Cod, is an unusual feature on the U.S. Continental Shelf in that it is composed of fine-grained sediment layers containing a relatively-homogeneous mix of sand, silt, and clay-sized particles bounded by more typical sandy shelf sediments. The unique characteristics and nature of this deposit is due to a derivation of sediments that have been transported to, and deposited in, a basal bowl-shaped depression since the last glacial maximum. Ninety-two piston, vibra-, and gravity cores with a maximum length of 8.2 meters were collected from across the New England Mud Patch during a 2-leg, 10-day cruise aboard the R/V Endeavor in the spring of 2016. Geologic characterization and analysis of a subset of the cores including grain size, CaCO3, mineral composition, and bulk index properties (undrained shear strength, water content, density, and porosity) of discrete samples was carried out at the USGS Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center's (WHCMSC) Sediment Analysis Laboratory. This data release contains the results of these analyses, along with visual core descriptions and summary sheets for each core analyzed for this study.

To aid in geologic studies of sediment transport and environmental change in coastal marsh, 1-centimeter (cm) foraminiferal subsamples were taken from seven sediment push cores collected in the Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (GNDNERR), Mississippi, in October 2016. The push cores were collected along two, shore-perpendicular transects at 5, 15, 25, and 50 meters (m) from the shoreline, on opposite sides of Middle Bay during U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Field Activities Number (FAN) 2016-358-FA, also known as alternate FAN 16CCT07. Foraminiferal subsamples were processed and analyzed at the USGS St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center (SPCMSC). Sediment characteristics, loss-on-ignition (LOI), and site location information for the core sites can be found in Marot and others (2019; https://doi.org/10.5066/P9FO8R3Y). Downloadable data are available as Excel spreadsheets (.xlsx), comma-separated values text files (.csv), and Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) metadata (.txt and .xml).

Microfossil (benthic foraminifera) samples were obtained from surficial grab (denoted with “G”) and push core (denoted with “M”) sediments collected in Grand Bay estuary, Mississippi and Alabama, to aid in the paleoenvironmental understanding of Grand Bay estuary. The data presented here were collected as part of the U.S. Geological Survey’s Sea-level and Storm Impacts on Estuarine Environments and Shorelines (SSIEES) project, and Barrier Island Evolution Research (BIER) project. Sampling was conducted in May 2016 [field activity number (FAN) 2016-331-FA, alternate FAN 16CCT03]. In the field, 15 cores were collected in tidal creek mouths, proximal to tidal creek mouths, in protected coves, and in the open Grand Bay estuary. Surface samples were collected at each core site location. At the St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center (SPCMSC), 13 of the 15 cores were selectively subsampled for foraminifera, resulting in a total of 64 push core subsamples. Estuarine surface grab samples and push core subsamples were processed in the laboratory to three size fractions (63–125 micrometers (μm), 125–850 μm, and >850 μm), of which the 125–850 μm fraction was picked. The raw foraminiferal count data from the picked subsamples are provided below. For further information regarding foraminiferal collection and/or processing methods, refer to Ellis and others (2017a, https://doi.org/10.3133/ds1060). For information regarding 16CCT03 site locations, water quality parameters and sediment properties, refer to Marot and others (2019, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9FO8R3Y). For related datasets from the Mississippi Sound area, please refer to Haller and others (2018a, https://doi.org/10.5066/F7MC8X5F; and 2018b, https://doi.org/10.5066/F7445KSG), Ellis and others (2018, https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20171165), Ellis and others (2017b, https://doi.org/10.3133/ds1046), and DeWitt and others (2017, https://doi.org/10.3133/ds1070). Downloadable data are available as Excel spreadsheets, comma-separated values text files, and formal Federal Geographic Data Committee metadata.

Microfossil (benthic foraminifera) samples were obtained from surficial grab (denoted with “G”) and push core (denoted with “M”) sediments collected in Grand Bay estuary, Mississippi and Alabama, to aid in the paleoenvironmental understanding of Grand Bay estuary. The data presented here were collected as part of the U.S. Geological Survey’s Sea-level and Storm Impacts on Estuarine Environments and Shorelines (SSIEES) project, and Barrier Island Evolution Research (BIER) project. Sampling was conducted in May 2016 [field activity number (FAN) 2016-331-FA, alternate FAN 16CCT03]. In the field, 15 cores were collected in tidal creek mouths, proximal to tidal creek mouths, in protected coves, and in the open Grand Bay estuary. Surface samples were collected at each core site location. At the St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center (SPCMSC), 13 of the 15 cores were selectively subsampled for foraminifera, resulting in a total of 64 push core subsamples. Estuarine surface grab samples and push core subsamples were processed in the laboratory to three size fractions (63–125 micrometers (μm), 125–850 μm, and >850 μm), of which the 125–850 μm fraction was picked. The raw foraminiferal count data from the picked subsamples are provided below. For further information regarding foraminiferal collection and/or processing methods, refer to Ellis and others (2017a, https://doi.org/10.3133/ds1060). For information regarding 16CCT03 site locations, water quality parameters and sediment properties, refer to Marot and others (2019, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9FO8R3Y). For related datasets from the Mississippi Sound area, please refer to Haller and others (2018a, https://doi.org/10.5066/F7MC8X5F; and 2018b, https://doi.org/10.5066/F7445KSG), Ellis and others (2018, https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20171165), Ellis and others (2017b, https://doi.org/10.3133/ds1046), and DeWitt and others (2017, https://doi.org/10.3133/ds1070). Downloadable data are available as Excel spreadsheets, comma-separated values text files, and formal Federal Geographic Data Committee metadata.