Global Marine Geophysical Cruise Data and Pacific Islands Nearshore Bathymetry
Updated 3mo ago
6filesPDF
Available on 2 platforms
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Description
Worldwide bathymetry, magnetic, gravity, and seismic shot point navigation data collected during marine cruises from 1939 to the present. A subset focuses on singlebeam bathymetry data collected since March 2012 around nearshore areas of the U.S. Pacific Islands, including the Hawaiian and Mariana Archipelagos, American Samoa, and the Pacific Remote Island Areas. These data are stored in the MGD77 exchange format and are searchable by geographic area, year, institution, platform, cruise, date, or data type.
Use Cases
Mapping seafloor topography and nearshore habitats based on singlebeam bathymetry data.
Analyzing geological structures and crustal composition using magnetic and gravity anomaly data.
Correlating seismic reflection profiles with precise navigation using shot point identification data.
Assessing changes in coastal bathymetry over time for ecosystem monitoring.
Validating newer multibeam survey data by comparison with historical singlebeam records.
Strengths
Contains a long-term, global collection of marine geophysical data spanning from 1939 to the present.
Includes error analysis for the Pacific Islands subset, where singlebeam data was compared to overlapping multibeam data.
Limitations
Key metadata such as row counts, file sizes, and specific column names are unavailable across all sources.
The dataset's provenance combines a global archive with a specific regional subset, which may cause confusion about scope.
Provenance
Source
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce
Collection Method
Data collected during marine cruises; singlebeam data acquired from NOAA small boats with transom-mounted echosounders.
Time Range
1939 to present (global); March 2012 to present (Pacific Islands nearshore subset)
Freshness
Last updated on 2026-03-14 according to datagov platform entries.
Geography
Worldwide; specific focus on U.S. Pacific Islands Region (Hawaiian and Mariana Archipelagos, American Samoa, Pacific Remote Island Areas)
Data is available in multiple user-selectable formats but originates from the MGD77 exchange format. The 'File formats' metadata provided (PDF) appears to be incorrect or incomplete for the core data.