Data Release

Archive of Digitized Analog Boomer Seismic Reflection Data Collected from the Northern Gulf of Mexico: 1982, 1985, 1989, 1991, and 1992

By Stephen T. Bosse, James G. Flocks, Arnell S. Forde, and Mark A. Kulp

Summary

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program (CMHRP) has actively collected geophysical and sedimentological data in the northern Gulf of Mexico for several decades, including shallow subsurface data in the form of high-resolution seismic reflection profiles (HRSP). Prior to the mid-1990s most HRSP data were collected in analog format as paper rolls of continuous profiles up to 25 meters long. As part of the National Geological and Geophysical Data Preservation Program (NGGDPP), and in collaboration with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Marine Minerals Program, scientists from the USGS St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center (USGS-SPCMSC) converted analog paper records (located in the archives of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of New Orleans) to digital format using a large-format continuous scanner. The scanned image files were subsequently processed to fix distortions and crop out blank spaces prior to exporting as industry standard Society of Exploration Geophysicists data exchange (SEG-Y) formatted files.

This data release serves as an archive of HRSP profiles annotated with header information, converted SEG-Y files, navigation data, and cruise trackline shapefiles. The HRSP data were collected using a boomer seismic system onboard research vessel (R/V) Acadiana, R/V R.J. Russell (Lacoss) and R/V Kit Jones. The first set of Acadiana geophysical cruise data (89-1) was collected southeast of Grand Isle, Louisiana (LA), east of the Chandeleur Islands, LA, and south of Petit Bois Island, Mississippi, from July 28 to August 6, 1989. The second set of Acadiana geophysical cruise data (92-1) was collected along Holly Beach, LA and south of the Louisiana/Texas border from July 23–27, 1992. The first set of Lacoss geophysical cruise data (Lacoss 82-1) was collected along the southwestern coast of Louisiana off-shore of Holly Beach from August 28 to September 18, 1982. The second set of Lacoss geophysical cruise data (Lacoss 85-6) was collected along the Chandeleur Islands from May 15–21, 1985. The first set of Kit Jones geophysical cruise data (Kit Jones 91-1) was collected south of Gulf Shores, Alabama and extends along the panhandle of Florida (FL) from May 15–19, 1991. The second set of Kit Jones geophysical cruise data (Kit Jones 92-3) was collected in a similar region as 91-1, as well as off the coast of St. Vincent Island, FL, from July 15–20, 1992. Data collection and processing methods are described in USGS Data Series 1047.

Bosse, S.T., Flocks, J.G., and Forde, A.S., 2017, Digitized analog boomer seismic-reflection data collected during U.S. Geological Survey cruises Erda 90-1_HC, Erda 90-1_PBP, and Erda 91-3 in Mississippi Sound, June 1990 and September 1991: U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 1047, https://doi.org/10.3133/ds1047.

Data

Suggested Citation

Bosse, S.T., Flocks, J.G., Forde, A.S., and Kulp, M.A., 2020, Archive of digitized analog boomer seismic reflection data collected from the northern Gulf of Mexico: 1982, 1985, 1989, 1991, and 1992: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9YA25SF.