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St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center

Louisiana Sedimentary and Environmental Database

LASED (Louisiana Sedimentary and Environmental Database) is the result of combined efforts of the U.S. Geological Survey, state and academic collaborators to manage decades of geologic data from the Louisiana coastal zone. The database incorporates a wide range of data types (sediment-sample logs and analyses, geophysical profiles, raster-image basemaps, logbooks, etc.) that are integrated with spatial data to provide processing and visualization capabilities using standard GIS and Internet-browsing tools. The public can access the database by using the LASEDViewer to view the data and create map products. Within the LASEDViewer, featured layers are displayed over one of four basemap layers. For a guide the the LASEDViewer and it's tools, please see the user guide. For further information about the database or to obtain copies of the data, contact B. Dwyer.

Open LASEDViewer

Important Browser Settings:

The LASEDViewer is an Adobe Flash application. Your browser will need the Flash plug-in, available from Adobe here: (http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/). If your browser uses a Flash-blocking utility, please disable this function in order to access the LASEDViewer. The site was developed for Flash version 9 and later.

BASEMAP LAYERS:

The LASEDViewer displays one of four basemaps (see clickable example below): street, USGS topographic, satellite or shaded-relief map. The user can switch easily between the various basemaps using the viewer's Map menu. As you zoom in, the basemaps display greater detail, or resolution.  For example, the topographic map will display 1:100,000 series maps when zoomed out, but as you zoom in, it will display 1:24,000 series maps.  The default is the street map. To change the background basemap, mouse over the globe icon on the title bar and the Map drop-down menu will appear. By clicking on one of the first four icons, you can change the background basemap. You can also change the basemap by clicking on one of the icons in title bar.

Interactive example of LASED base maps. You can change the background basemap by clicking on tabs above the map. The basemaps display greater detail or resolution as you zoom. Drag the pointer on the left side of the map or click on the plus or minus sign to change the zoom level. Can't see the example? Download the Flash plug-in.

FEATURED LAYERS:

Users can also specify layers to be displayed over the basemap. The layers are arranged by theme in folders found in the Map drop-down menu. Clicking on the name of the folder opens a widget that allows the user to turn individual layers on and off using a checkbox.

LASED Core Samples:

Sediment samples and cores collected by the USGS and other agencies in the northern Gulf of Mexico between 1982 and 2001. Some layers in this set have hyperlinks to core photographs, description sheets, analytical results, and cruise logs.

usSEABED Database:

usSEABED is a database of known seafloor characteristics within he Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the United States. Data layers presented here include word-based and lab-based analyses of surficial samples. These data have been released via usSEABED: Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean (Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands) Offshore Surficial Sediment Data Release (USGS Data Series 146).

LASED Seismic Reflection Profiles:

Tracklines and shotpoint locations of boomer and chirp seismic reflection profiles collected by the USGS and other agencies between 1982 and 2002. The trackline locations are hyperlinked to printable, processed profiles. Some datasets also include geospatially interactive profiles which allow a user to obtain a geographic location and depth from the profile for a cursor position.

LASED Bathymetry:

Area-specific bathymetry is available for Lake Pontchartrain, Lake Maurepas, Lake Borgne, offshore Louisiana, and the Gulf of Mexico.

LASED Sidescan Sonar Mosaics:

Sidescan sonar mosaics are available for four locations in or near Lake Pontchartrain. These areas are small and high-resolution viewing may be necessary to display. The data were collected by the USGS in 1998.

Sea-Floor Change Atlas:

This atlas contains scanned, georectified images from the Louisiana Barrier Island Erosion Study: Atlas of sea-floor changes from 1878 to 1989 (USGS Misc. Investigations Series I-2150-B, List and others, 1994).

Louisiana Geology:

Includes layers for earthquakes locations and surficial geology from the Louisiana Geological Survey (LGS).

Bugs/Notes:

In order to view a specific featured layer, you must enable both the visibility checkbox of the invidual layer and the checkbox for the folder in which it resides. In certain situations, layers within the LASED Cores and LASED Seismic folders will remain visible no matter whether their individual visibility checkbox is on or off. This only affects five specific layers that are always on by default.

If you cannot fully access the information on this page, please contact B. Dwyer.

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URL: http://coastal.er.usgs.gov/lased/index.html
Page Contact Information: B. Dwyer
Page Last Modified: May 06, 2013 @ 09:24 AM (JSG)