Shallow Geology, Sea-Floor Texture, and Physiographic Zones of the Inner Continental Shelf From Aquinnah to Wasque Point, Martha’s Vineyard, and Eel Point to Great Point, Nantucket, Massachusetts

Open-File Report 2018-1181
Prepared in cooperation with the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management
By: , and 

Links

  • Document: Report (6.07 MB pdf)
  • Related Works:
    • Open-File Report 2012–1157 - Shallow Geology, Seafloor Texture, and Physiographic Zones of the Inner Continental Shelf From Nahant to Northern Cape Cod Bay, Massachusetts
    • Open-File Report 2014–1220 - Shallow Geology, Sea-Floor Texture, and Physiographic Zones of Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts
    • Open-File Report 2015–1153 - Sea-Floor Texture and Physiographic Zones of the Inner Continental Shelf From Salisbury to Nahant, Massachusetts, Including the Merrimack Embayment and Western Massachusetts Bay
    • Open-File Report 2016–1119 - Shallow Geology, Sea-Floor Texture, and Physiographic Zones of Vineyard and Western Nantucket Sounds, Massachusetts
  • Data Release: USGS data release - Geospatial Data Layers of Shallow Geology, Sea-Floor Texture, and Physiographic Zones from the Inner Continental Shelf of Martha’s Vineyard from Aquinnah to Wasque Point, and Nantucket from Eel Point to Great Point
  • Project Site: Project Site - Geologic Mapping of the Massachusetts Seafloor
  • Download citation as: RIS | Dublin Core

Abstract

A series of interpretive maps that describe the shallow geology, distribution, and texture of sea-floor sediments, and physiographic zones of the sea floor along the south and west shores of Martha’s Vineyard and the north shore of Nantucket, Massachusetts, were produced by using high-resolution geophysical data (interferometric and multibeam swath bathymetry, light detection and ranging (lidar) bathymetry, backscatter intensity, and seismic-reflection profiles), sediment samples, and bottom photographs. These interpretations are intended to aid statewide efforts to inventory and manage coastal and marine resources, link with existing data interpretations, and provide information for research focused on coastal evolution and environmental change. Marine geologic mapping of the inner continental shelf of Massachusetts is a statewide cooperative effort of the U.S. Geological Survey and the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management.

Suggested Citation

Pendleton, E.A., Baldwin, W.E., Ackerman, S.D., Foster, D.S., Andrews, B.D., Schwab, W.C., and Brothers, L.L., 2019, Shallow geology, sea-floor texture, and physiographic zones of the inner continental shelf from Aquinnah to Wasque Point, Martha’s Vineyard, and Eel Point to Great Point, Nantucket, Massachusetts: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2018–1181, 37 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20181181.

ISSN: 2331-1258 (online)

Study Area

Table of Contents

  • Acknowledgments
  • Abstract
  • Introduction
  • Methods
  • Results
  • Discussion
  • Summary
  • References Cited
  • Appendix 1. Links to Geospatial Data Layers
Publication type Report
Publication Subtype USGS Numbered Series
Title Shallow geology, sea-floor texture, and physiographic zones of the inner continental shelf from Aquinnah to Wasque Point, Martha’s Vineyard, and Eel Point to Great Point, Nantucket, Massachusetts
Series title Open-File Report
Series number 2018-1181
DOI 10.3133/ofr20181181
Year Published 2019
Language English
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey
Publisher location Reston, VA
Contributing office(s) Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center
Description vii, 37 p.
Country United States
State Massachusetts
Online Only (Y/N) Y
Additional Online Files (Y/N) N
Google Analytic Metrics Metrics page
Additional publication details