thumbnail

Sea-floor morphology and sedimentary environments in southern Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island

Open-File Report 2015-1149
Prepared in cooperation with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
By: , , , , and 
https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20151149

Links

Abstract

Multibeam echosounder data collected by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration along with sediment samples and still and video photography of the sea floor collected by the U.S. Geological Survey were used to interpret sea-floor features and sedimentary environments in southern Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, as part of a long-term effort to map the sea floor along the northeastern coast of the United States. Sea-floor features include rocky areas and scour depressions in high-energy environments characterized by erosion or nondeposition, and sand waves and megaripples in environments characterized by coarse-grained bedload transport. Two shipwrecks are also located in the study area. Much of the sea floor is relatively featureless within the resolution of the multibeam data; sedimentary environments in these areas are characterized by processes associated with sorting and reworking. This report releases bathymetric data from the multibeam echosounder, grain-size analyses of sediment samples, and photographs of the sea floor and interpretations of the sea-floor features and sedimentary environments. It provides base maps that can be used for resource management and studies of topics such as benthic ecology, contaminant inventories, and sediment transport.

Suggested Citation

McMullen, K.Y., Poppe, L.J., Blackwood, D.S., Nardi, M.J., and Andring, M.A., 2015, Sea-floor morphology and sedimentary environments in southern Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2015–1149, 1 DVD-ROM, http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/ofr20151149.

ISSN: 2331-1258 (online)

Study Area

Table of Contents

  • Abstract
  • Introduction
  • Setting
  • Methods
  • Bathymetry
  • Sediments
  • Bottom Photography
  • Geographic Information System Data Catalog
  • Summary
  • Acknowledgments
  • References
  • Contacts
Publication type Report
Publication Subtype USGS Numbered Series
Title Sea-floor morphology and sedimentary environments in southern Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island
Series title Open-File Report
Series number 2015-1149
ISBN 978-1-4113-3933-0
DOI 10.3133/ofr20151149
Year Published 2015
Language English
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey
Publisher location Reston, VA
Contributing office(s) Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center
Description HMTL Document
Time Range Start 2011-06-01
Time Range End 2011-09-30
Country United States
State Rhode Island
Other Geospatial Narragansett Bay
Online Only (Y/N) Y
Additional Online Files (Y/N) N
Google Analytic Metrics Metrics page
Additional publication details