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Bathymetry - Western & Central Gulf of Mexico

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photo of bathymetry The mapping of bathymetry (or depth to the sea floor) provides base maps for USGS studies as well as for other federal, state and local agencies. Mapping the bathymetry of the coast and shallow portion of the U.S. is important because these areas are used for recreation, transportation, and waste disposal; contain most of the currently harvested fisheries resources; provide habitat for juvenile and endangered species; are valued for their aesthetics; and are most affected by human activities.
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Items below are listed from most recently updated to least recently updated.

These are results 1 through 16 of 16 matches.

Publication
Hurricane Impacts on the Coastal Environment - USGS Fact Sheet
Description: In terms of insured losses, Hurricane Andrew is the most severe catastrophe in the Nation history. Prior to the arrival of Andrew, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Louisiana Geological Survey (LGS), acquired an extensive body of information and data on the behavior and long-term erosion of Louisiana barrier islands. As a result, we have a clear understanding of pre-storm conditions in this area; Andrew provided an opportunity to learn in detail the impact of a very large storm on Louisiana coastal environment.
updated: 2004-03-02 pages include:

Publication
The Lake Pontchartrain Basin: Louisiana's Troubled Urban Estuary - USGS Fact Sheet
Description: Scientific studies recently begun by the U.S. Geological Survey suggest that several key natural processes and human-induced environmental factors are directly affecting the health of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin, one of America's largest estuaries. An increased knowledge of the critical geologic and estuarine processes affecting the Basin is essential for its management, improving environmental conditions, and mitigating future problems in the region. Such baseline information is of immediate value to planners and decision makers involved in the task of reversing the Basin's environmental degradation and restoring its water and habitat qualities.
updated: 2004-03-02 pages include:

Research Project
Pacific Sea-Floor Mapping
Description: Images of the sea floor off the coasts of California, Hawaii, Gulf of Mexico, and Lake Tahoe. Backscatter and swath bathymetry, regular and in 3-D!
updated: 2003-10-29 pages include:

Publication
USGS OFR 02-411 - Multibeam Mapping of Selected Areas of the Outer Continental Shelf, Northwestern Gulf of Mexico - Data, Images, and GIS
Description: Following the publication of high-resolution (5-meter spatial resolution) multibeam echosounder (MBES) images of the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary area of the northwest Gulf of Mexico (Gardner et al., 1998), the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary (FGBNMS) and the Minerals Management Service (MMS) have been interested in additional MBES data in the area. A coalition of FGBNMS, MMS, and the US Geological Survey (USGS) was formed to map additional areas of interest in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico (Figure 1) in 2002. FGBNMS chose the survey areas and the USGS chose the MBES. MMS and FGBNMS funded the mapping and the USGS organized the ship and multibeam systems through a cooperative agreement between the USGS and the University of New Brunswick. The objective of the cruise was to map seven regions of interest to MMS and the FGBNMS. This report provides the multibeam bathymetry and acoustic backscatter data, images, FGDC-compliant metadata, and a geographic information system (GIS) project from the 2002 surveys. This report also provides the multibeam bathymetry and acoustic backscatter data, images, and metadata from the 1997 USGS survey of East and West Flower Garden Bank and Stetson Bank.
updated: 2003-10-29 pages include:

Publication
USGS OFR 02-410 - USGS Western Region Coastal and Marine Geology Cruise Report, R/V Ocean Surveyor Cruise O1-02-GM: Bathymetry and Acoustic Backscatter of Selected Areas of the Outer Continental Shelf, Northwestern Gulf of Mexico
Description: Following the publication of high-resolution multibeam echosounder (MBES) images and data of the Flower Gardens area of the northwest Gulf of Mexico outer continental shelf (Gardner et al., 1998), the Flower Gardens Banks National Marine Sanctuary (FGBNMS) and the Minerals Management Service (MMS) have been interested in additional MBES data in the area. A coalition of FGBNMS, MMS, and the US Geological Survey (USGS) was formed to map additional areas of interest in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico (Fig. 1) in 2002. The areas were chosen by personnel of the FGBNMS and the choice of MBES was made by the USGS. MMS and FGBNMS funded the mapping and the USGS organized the ship and multibeam systems through a Cooperative Agreement between the USGS and the University of New Brunswick. The University of New Brunswick (UNB) contracted the RV Ocean Surveyor and the EM1000 MBES system from C&C; Technologies, Inc., Lafayette, LA. C&C; personnel oversaw data collection whereas UNB personnel conducted the cruise and processed all the data. USGS personnel were responsible for the overall cruise including the final data processing and digital map products.
updated: 2003-10-29 pages include:

Publication
USGS OFR 02-396 - Cruise Report: R/V Moana Wave Cruise M-1-02-GM: Bathymetry and Acoustic Backscatter of the Mid and Outer Continental Shelf, Head of De Soto Canyon, Northeastern Gulf of Mexico
Description: The mid to outer continental shelf off Mississippi-Alabama and off northwest Florida were the focus of US Geological Survey (USGS) multibeam echosounder (MBES) mapping cruises in 2000 and 2001, respectively. These areas were mapped to investigate the extent of "deep-water reefs" first suggested by Ludwick and Walton (1957). The reefs off Mississippi and Alabama were initially described in water depths of 60 to 120 m (Ludwick and Walton, 1957) but the 2000 mapping found reef and hardgrounds to be much more extensive than previously thought (Gardner et al., 2001). The persistent trend of reef-like features along the outer shelf of Mississippi-Alabama suggested the trend might continue along the northwest Florida mid and outer shelf so a MBES-mapping effort was mounted in 2001 to test this suggestion. It is critical to determine the accurate location, geomorphology, and types of the ridges and reefs that occur in this region to understand the Quaternary history of the area and to assess their importance as benthic habitats for fisheries. The 2001 survey found a series of shelf-depth platforms with ridges (possibly reefs) constructed on their surfaces (Gardner et al., 2002).
updated: 2003-10-29 pages include:

Data Set
Open-File Report 03-002, Texture, Carbonate Content, and Preliminary Maps of Surficial Sediments of the Flower Garden Banks Area, Northwestern Gulf of Mexico Outer Shelf, Title Page
Description: The purpose of this report is to release texture and carbonate content data from 107 seafloor sediments collected within and near the East and West Flower Garden Banks areas of the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary and to show relationships between these data and existing bathymetric data.
updated: 2003-10-22 pages include:

Publication
Primary Causes of Wetland Loss at Madison Bay, Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana - USGS Open File Report 03-060
Description: The Gulf Coast Basin is a region where subsidence and fault activation are common around large, mature oil and gas fields even though moderately deep hydrocarbon production has generally been disregarded as the primary cause. This project will test the hypothesis that long-term, large-volume oil and gas production in the Gulf Coast Basin has resulted in land-surface subsidence and activation of deep-seated faults around some fields.
updated: 2003-03-11 pages include:

Publication
Environmental Atlas of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin - USGS Open File Report 02-206
Description: The Environmental Atlas of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin provides citizens, planners, managers, educators, scientists and other professionals with a multidisciplinary and integrated source of information on Lake Pontchartrain and its surrounding Basin.
updated: 2002-05-14 pages include:

Publication
An Environmental and Geological Bibliography for Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana
Description: This presentation has been prepared both as a CD ROM and as a Web site for those with access to the Internet. It contains examples of illustrations that would not be available in normal local libraries, including a slide show designed to introduce Lake Pontchartrain to school and general audiences, satellite photographs, and downloadable environmental atlas pages. It also includes information on presentations and organizations involved in a series of scientific conferences on the environment of Lake Pontchartrain.
updated: 2002-04-24 pages include:

Publication
Lake Pontchartrain, LA, Geochemistry
Description: Geology, geologic history, sediments, circulation, satellite imagery, of Lake Pontchartrain, LA, and a sediment database and geochemical assessment of the Lake.
updated: 2002-04-23 pages include:

Map
Coastal and Marine Geology Program Internet Map Server
Description: This site serves Interactive maps and Geographic Information System (GIS) data from regions around the United States.
updated: 2001-03-01 pages include:

Publication
Mapping Turbidite System Pathways on the Lousiana Continental Slope with GLORIA and Multibeam Bathymetry
Description: GLORIA (long-range) sidescan sonar images and multibeam bathymetry show turbidite system pathways on the Louisiana Continental Slope, the filling of salt withdrawal basins by coarse-grained sediment, and the subsequent deformation of these pathways by movement of the underlying salt. Two turbidite systems were mapped; one was traced from the seaward edge of a Pleistocene-aged delta to the rise, while a second was traced across part of the upper slope before it disappeared. Each system crossed areas where salt was shallow and places where it was deeply buried. Where the pathways cross shallow salt, they are narrow (less than 2 km wide), and in places have the appearance of a braided stream. Where the salt was deeply buried under salt-withdrawal basins, the pathways broadened to fill the basins creating high-backscatter areas (coarse-grained deposits?) as large as 18 km in diameter.
updated: 2000-12-12 pages include:

General Information
Education and Outreach Information
Description: Helpful information about Activities at the USGS Western Region Coastal and Marine Geology Team.
updated: 2000-11-20 pages include:

Research Project
Geologic Framework and Processes of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin
Description: Lake Pontchartrain and adjacent lakes form one of the largest and most important estuaries in the Gulf Coast Region. The estuary drains the Pontchartrain Basin, an area of over 12,000 square kilometers situated on the eastern side of the Mississippi River delta plain. In Louisiana, nearly one-third of the state population lives within the 14 parishes of the Pontchartrain Basin.
updated: 2000-03-15 pages include:

Educational Materials
About Gas Hydrates and a USGS gas hydrate project
Description: Questions and answers about submarine gas hydrates: an ice-like crystalline solid formed of water and gas that is found in places under the sea floor and has important implications to techniques of deep-sea drilling and future energy supplies.
updated: 1999-03-08 pages include:

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Coastal and Marine Geology Program > Online Science Resource Locator > Bathymetry - Western & Central Gulf of Mexico