Water Gun Subbottom Seismic Data for New York Bight Seafloor Mapping

A 1995 USGS cruise collected water gun subbottom seismic reflection data and navigation information across the New York Bight from May 7-25. The dataset was created by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to support regional sea-floor environmental mapping. Data and documentation were originally distributed on a DVD-ROM with an HTML interface.

Use Cases

• Mapping subsurface stratigraphy and sediment layers using water gun subbottom reflection profiles.
• Analyzing seafloor morphology and sedimentary environments from seismic data coverage.
• Identifying potential sand sources for beach renourishment by interpreting subbottom seismic facies.
• Investigating the distribution of historical anthropogenic deposits from ocean dumping via seismic reflection character.

Strengths

• Data provides 100% digital sea floor coverage for the surveyed area, a improvement over prior studies.
• Collection occurred during a dedicated 19-day cruise (SEAX 95007) for consistent methodology.

Limitations

• Data is from a single cruise in 1995, offering a snapshot rather than temporal monitoring.
• Original data access required specific DVD-ROM hardware and software, which may be obsolete.

Provenance

Source

U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York District.

Collection Method

Water gun subbottom seismic reflection data and navigation collected aboard the R/V Seaward Explorer.

Time Range

1995-05-07 to 1995-05-25

Freshness

null

Geography

New York Bight, offshore the New York-New Jersey metropolitan area.