This GIS overlay is a component of the U.S. Geological Survey, Woods Hole Science Center's, Gulf of Mexico GIS database. The Gulf of Mexico GIS database is intended to organize and display USGS held data and provide on-line (WWW) access to the data and/or metadata.

Since 1982 the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has collected a large amount of surficial and shallow subsurface geologic information in the deep parts of the Gulf of Mexico. These data include digital sidescan sonar imagery, digital seismic-reflection data, and descriptions and analyses of piston and gravity cores. The data were collected during several different projects that addressed surficial and shallow subsurface geologic processes. Some of these data sets have already been published, but the growing interest in the occurrence and distribution of gas hydrates in the Gulf of Mexico warrants integrating these existing data and associated interpretations into a GIS to provide regional background information for ongoing and future gas hydrate research.

This GIS overlay is a component of the U.S. Geological Survey, Woods Hole Field Center's, Gulf of Mexico ArcView GIS database. The Gulf of Mexico GIS database is intended to organize and display USGS held data and provide on-line (WWW) access to the data and/or metadata. Additional GIS overlays downloaded from the WWW, such as the one described here, are also included in the Gulf of Mexico ArcView GIS database. Attempts to properly attribute such GIS overlays with the WWW address and data compilers has been made.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), and Florida State University (FSU), collected the data presented here as part of a larger study of seafloor habitats on the shelf edge of the northeastern Gulf of Mexico. It is a pilot study, carried out to demonstrate the utility of geologic mapping to fisheries management issues. This report contains sidescan-sonar mosaics, seismic-reflection profiles, texture and calcium carbonate content of sediment samples and interpretative maps of the seafloor morphology, sediments, and benthic habitats of the study area. The study area is an approximately 150-km2 area along the shelf edge in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico. The site is on the eastern side of the DeSoto Canyon and 75 km due south of Cape San Blas on the Florida panhandle. Water depth ranges from about 50 meters (m) to 120 m. It was chosen because reports from fishermen suggested that high-relief rocky outcrops, which are preferred by gag grouper as spawning aggregation sites, would be abundant. The geologic maps help the fisheries biologists select station locations for ongoing monitoring studies and provide a basis for siting of future reserves.

In 2010, the U.S. Geological Survey in Woods Hole, MA and St. Petersburg, FL, in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District conducted geologic mapping to characterize the seafloor and shallow subsurface stratigraphy offshore of the Gulf Islands of Mississippi. The mapping was carried out during two cruises in March, 2010 on the R/V Tommy Munro of Biloxi, MS. Data were acquired with the following equipment: an SEA Ltd SwathPlus interferometric sonar (both 234 kHz and 468 kHz systems), a Klein 3000 and a Klein 3900 dual frequency sidescan-sonar, and an Edgetech 512i chirp subbottom profiling system. The long-term goal of this mapping effort is to produce high-quality, high-resolution geologic maps and geophysical interpretations that can be utilized to identify sand resources within the region and better understand the Holocene evolution and anticipate future changes in this coastal system. More information on the field work can be accessed from the Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center Field Activity webpage https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2010-012-FA or the St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Geology InfoBank https://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/infobank/m/m210gm/html/m-2-10-gm.meta.html.

In 2010, the U.S. Geological Survey in Woods Hole, MA and St. Petersburg, FL, in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District conducted geologic mapping to characterize the seafloor and shallow subsurface stratigraphy offshore of the Gulf Islands of Mississippi. The mapping was carried out during two cruises in March, 2010 on the R/V Tommy Munro of Biloxi, MS. Data were acquired with the following equipment: an SEA Ltd SwathPlus interferometric sonar (both 234 kHz and 468 kHz systems), a Klein 3000 and a Klein 3900 dual frequency sidescan-sonar, and an Edgetech 512i chirp subbottom profiling system. The long-term goal of this mapping effort is to produce high-quality, high-resolution geologic maps and geophysical interpretations that can be utilized to identify sand resources within the region and better understand the Holocene evolution and anticipate future changes in this coastal system. More information on the field work can be accessed from the Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center Field Activity webpage https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2010-012-FA or the St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Geology InfoBank https://walrus.wr.usgs.gov/infobank/m/m210gm/html/m-2-10-gm.meta.html.

This GIS overlay is a component of the U. S Geological Survey, Woods Hole Field Center's, Gulf of Mexico ArcView GIS database. The Gulf of Mexico GIS database is intended to organize and display USGS held data and provide on-line (WWW) access to the data and/or metadata.

This GIS overlay is a component of the U. S Geological Survey, Woods Hole Field Center's, Gulf of Mexico ArcView GIS database. The Gulf of Mexico GIS database is intended to organize and display USGS held data and provide on-line (WWW) access to the data and/or metadata.

This GIS overlay is a component of the U. S Geological Survey, Woods Hole Field Center's, Gulf of Mexico ArcView GIS database. The Gulf of Mexico GIS database is intended to organize and display USGS held data and provide on-line (WWW) access to the data and/or metadata.

This data layer is a point coverage of known sediment samplings, inspections and probings from the usSEABED data collection and integrated using the software system dbSEABED. This data layer represents the calculated (CLC) output of the dbSEABED mining software. It contains results from calculating variables using empirical functions working on the results of extraction or parsing. The CLC data is the most derivative and certainly the least accurate; however, many clients appreciate that it extends the coverage of map areas with attributes, especially physical properties attributes.