Virginia Coast Reserve - Long Term Ecological Research (VCR/LTER) Digital Geospatial Metadata 1. Identification Information 1.1 Citation 8.1 Originator: David L. Richardson, Benjamin H. Clark, Trine Christiansen, and Pat Wiberg 8.2 Publication Date: 199512 8.4 Title: Topography of Lower Phillips Creek Marsh, Brownsville, Virginia, Summer 1994. 8.5 Edition (version): 1.0 8.6 Geospatial Data Presentation Form: model 8.6 Geospatial Data Presentation Form: view 8.8 Publication Information 8.8.1 Publication Place: Charlottesville, VA. 8.8.2 Publisher: Virginia Coast Reserve - Long Term Ecological Research (VCR/LTER) 8.9 Other Citation Details: NSF support grants BSR-8702333-06 and DEB-9211772. 1.2 Description 1.2.1 Abstract: The barrier islands and backbay lagoons and marshes of the Virginia Coast Reserve on the Eastern Shore of Virginia comprise a very dynamic ecosystem, where annual erosion rates in places are measured in tens of meters, and where the location and extent of many channels, marshes, and overwash features depend a great deal upon the intensity and duration of frequent storm events. Elevation relative to tidal and storm inundation and fresh groundwater levels (if present) is a primary control on the distribution of many flora and fauna and on the structure of the communities they compose. Studies underway aimed at marsh chronosequence development, decomposition rates, and marsh response to sea level rise, among others, all rely in part on knowledge of these elevations and their inherent inundation/disturbance probabilities and frequencies. This dataset contains the microtopography of part of the Phillips Creek marsh. 1.2.2 Purpose: VCR/LTER topographic datasets attempt to facilitate research at the VCR/LTER by providing individual researchers a single common source for the most detailed and up-to-date records of surface topography available of the VCR/LTER research sites at which they currently or plan to conduct various research projects. This dataset covers part of the Phillips Creek marsh in Brownsville, Virginia, the VCR's primary mainland marsh study site. The data was collected in the field with a laser total station working from a network of GPS monuments as part of an ongoing effort to survey the microtopography of important research sites of the VCR/LTER. 1.3 Time Period of Content 9.3 Range of Dates/Times 9.3.1 Beginning Date: 19940604 9.3.2 Ending Date: 19941001 1.3.1 Currentness Reference: ground condition 1.4 Status 1.4.1 Progress: Complete 1.4.2 Maintenance and Update Frequency: None planned 1.5 Spatial Domain 1.5.1 Bounding Coordinates 1.5.1.1 West Bounding Coordinate (longitude): -75.9 1.5.1.2 East Bounding Coordinate (longitude): -75.8 1.5.1.3 North Bounding Coordinate (latitude): 37.5 1.5.1.4 South Bounding Coordinate (latitude): 37.4 1.6 Keywords 1.6.1 Theme 1.6.1.1 Theme Keyword Thesaurus: None 1.6.1.2 Theme Keyword: topography 1.6.1.2 Theme Keyword: salt marsh 1.6.2 Place 1.6.2.1 Place Keyword Thesaurus: None 1.6.2.2 Place Keyword: Phillips Creek 1.6.2.2 Place Keyword: Brownsville 1.6.2.2 Place Keyword: Northampton County 1.6.2.2 Place Keyword: Virginia 1.7 Access Constraints: None 1.8 Use Constraints: If you use VCR/LTER-generated data in a publication, please acknowledge the VCR/LTER in addition to the originator, and cite support from the above listed NSF grants. We would also like to receive a copy of your publication(s), sent to the contact below. 1.9 Point of Contact 10.2 Contact Organization Primary 10.1.2 Contact Organization: Virginia Coast Reserve - Long Term Ecological Research (VCR/LTER) 10.1.1 Contact Person: John H. Porter 10.3 Contact Position: Data Manager 10.4 Contact Address 10.4.1 Address Type: mailing and physical address 10.4.2 Address: LTER, Dept. Environmental Sciences, Clark Hall, University of Virginia 10.4.3 City: Charlottesville 10.4.4 State or Province: VA 10.4.5 Postal Code: 22903 10.4.6 Country: USA 10.5 Contact Voice Telephone: (804) 924-8999 10.8 Contact Electronic Mail Address: jporter@lternet.edu or jhp7e@virginia.edu 1.10 Browse Graphic 1.10.1 Browse Graphic File Name: http://atlantic.evsc.virginia.edu/datamaps/topodata/phil2.gif 1.10.2 Browse Graphic Description: Split map showing the location of the surveyed area within the Phillips Creek Marsh, and the resoultion and spacing of survey points along with generated 20 cm. contour lines. 1.10.3 Browse Graphic File Type: GIF 1.11 Data Set Credit: David L. Richardson, Benjamin C. Clark, Trine Christiansen, and Pat Wiberg. All at the Dept. Envi. Sci., University of Virginia. 1.13 Native Data Set Environment: ARC/INFO 6.1 running under SunOS 4.1 on a SUN SPARC station 1. 2. Data Quality Information 2.1 Attribute Accuracy 2.1.1 Attribute Accuracy Report: For position/elevation accuracy, see below. 2.4 Positional Accuracy 2.4.1 Horizontal Positional Accuracy 2.4.1.1 Horizontal Positional Accuracy Report: The minimal internal horizontal positional accuracy (between survey points) is + 10 cm. This was verified in the field by repeated survey shots during the survey days between known GPS monuments and then comparing the differences between each surveyed coordinate and the known coordinates (all for the same monument). The VCR GPS network is based off a B-order High Precision NGRS monument directly measured and accurate to 1.0 cm, with subsequent monuments of the VCR network accurate to 3-5 cm. Which brings the overall absolute accuracy of the surveyed points to + 15 cm. But the internal relative horizontal accuracy is still + 10 cm. 2.4.2 Vertical Positional Accuracy 2.4.2.1 Vertical Positional Accuracy Report: The minimal internal vetical positional accuracy (between survey points) is + 3 cm. This was verified in the field by repeated survey shots during the survey days between known GPS monuments and then comparing the differences between each surveyed coordinate and the known coordinates (all for the same monument). The VCR GPS network is based off a B-order High Precision NGRS monument directly measured and accurate to 1.0 cm but for which we have vertical position only to 0.1 meter, with subsequent monuments of the VCR network therefore accurate to 12-15 cm. Which brings the overall absolute accuracy of the surveyed points to + 20 cm. But the internal relative vertical accuracy is still + 3 cm. 2.5 Lineage 2.5.2 Process Step 2.5.2.1 Process Description: GENERATEd an ARC/INFO point coverage for each field survey using the field surveys' data files as the pt#,x,y coordinate input. Because the initial backsight (point #2) was always a direction without an elevation only used to orient all further points, it was consistantly dropped from the coverages. Each coverage was then BUILT so as to give each a Point Attribute Table (.PAT) file. 2.5.2.3 Process Date (completed): 19941001 2.5.2 Process Step 2.5.2.1 Process Description: Read in elevation data. First, the field surveys' data files were copied to the INFO directory where with the Unix JOVE text editor the x,y coordinates were stripped off, leaving just the desired attribute information. Then, for each field survey coverage, a data file was DEFINEd in INFO having the ITEMS coverage-ID (input width 4, output width 5, type B), and ELEV (6,7,N, decimal places 2), where the coverage-ID was identical to that in the corresponding coverage. Then the edited survey file was read in using IMPORTSDF. Then back in ARC, each INFO data file was added to the corresponding coverage's .PAT file using JOINITEM. 2.5.2.3 Process Date (completed): 19941001 2.5.2 Process Step 2.5.2.1 Process Description: Field survey coverages were combined into one comprehensive coverage. The first field survey coverage was COPIED to the new comprehensive coverage, then in ARCEDIT the points of all other coverages were brought in using GET. 2.5.2.3 Process Date (completed): 19941001 2.5.2.5 Source Produced Citation Abbreviation: PHIL2PTS 2.5.2 Process Step 2.5.2.1 Process Description: Elevation model produced. A TIN was created from the points in the PHILTOPO coverage and converted into a LATTICE using a quintic interpretation. 2.5.2.2 Source Used Citation Abbreviation: PHIL2PTS 2.5.2.3 Process Date (completed): 19950107 2.5.2.5 Source Produced Citation Abbreviation: PHIL2GRD 2.5.2 Process Step 2.5.2.1 Process Description: 20 cm. interval contour line coverage produced using LATTICECONTOUR in ARC. 2.5.2.2 Source Used Citation Abbreviation: PHIL2GRD 2.5.2.3 Process Date (completed): 19950107 2.5.2.5 Source Produced Citation Abbreviation: PHIL2CON 2.5.2.6 Process Contact (processor) 10.2 Contact Organization Primary 10.1.2 Contact Organization: Virginia Coast Reserve - Long Term Ecological Research (VCR/LTER) 10.1.1 Contact Person: David L. Richardson 10.4 Contact Address 10.4.1 Address Type: mailing and physical address 10.4.2 Address: LTER research, Dept. Environmental Sciences, Clark Hall, University of Virginia 10.4.3 City: Charlottesville 10.4.4 State or Province: VA 10.4.5 Postal Code: 22903 10.4.6 Country: USA 10.5 Contact Voice Telephone: (804) 924-8999 10.8 Contact Electronic Mail Address: dlr2n@virginia.edu 3. Spatial Data Organization information 3.2 Direct Spatial Reference Method: Point for PHIL2PTS coverage; Vector for PHIL2CON coverage; Raster for PHIL2GRD lattice. 3.3 Point and Vector Object Information : PHIL2PTS 3.3.1 SDTS Terms Descriptions 3.3.1.1 SDTS Point and Vector Object Type: Point 3.3.1.2 Point and Vector Object Count: 833 3.3 Point and Vector Object Information : PHIL2CON 3.3.1 SDTS Terms Descriptions 3.3.1.1 SDTS Point and Vector Object Type: Network chain, planar graph 3.3.1.2 Point and Vector Object Count: 303 3.4 Raster Object Information : PHIL2GRD 3.4.1 Raster Object Type: Grid Cell 3.4.2 Row Count: 137 3.4.3 Column Count: 116 4. Spatial Reference Information 4.1 Horizontal Coordinate System Definition 4.1.2 Planar 4.1.2.2 Grid Coordinate System Name 4.1.2.2.1 Grid Coordinate System Name: Universal Transverse Mercator 4.1.2.2.2 Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) 4.1.2.2.2.1 UTM Zone Number: 18 4.1.2.4 Planar Coordinate Information 4.1.2.4.1 Planar Coordinate Encoding Method: coordinate pair 4.1.2.4.2 Coordinate Representation 4.1.2.4.2.1 Abscissa Resolution ("x" or column): submeter. 4.1.2.4.2.2 Ordinate Resolution ("y" or row): submeter. 4.1.2.4.4 Planar Distance Units: meters 4.1.4 Geodetic Model 4.1.4.1 Horizontal Datum Name: North American Datum of 1983 4.1.4.2 Ellipsoid Name: Geodetic Reference System 80 4.2 Vertical Coordinate System Definition 4.2.1 Altitude (Elevation) System Definition 4.2.1.1 Altitude Datum Name: North American Vertical Datum of 1988 4.2.1.2 Altitude Resolution: 0.01 meter 4.2.1.3 Altitude Distance Units: meters 4.2.1.4 Altitude Encoding Method: Attribute values 4.2.2 Depth System Definition 4.2.2.1 Depth Datum Name: Mean sea level 4.2.2.2 Depth Resolution: 0.01 meter 4.2.2.3 Depth Distance Units: meters 4.2.2.4 Depth Encoding Method: Attribute values 5. Entity and Attribute Information 5.1 Detailed Description : PHIL2PTS, PHIL2CON. 5.1.1 Entity Type 5.1.1.1 Entity Type Label : identification 5.1.1.2 Entity Type Definition : a unique identification number assigned to each survey point 5.1.2 Attribute 5.1.2.1 Attribute Label: PHIL2PTS-ID 5.1.2.2 Attribute Definition: The unique id number assigned to each surveyed point.. 5.1.2.4 Attribute Domain Values 5.1.2.4.2 Range Domain 5.1.2.4.2.1 Range Domain Minimum: 1 5.1.2.4.2.2 Range Domain Maximum: 9999 5.1.1 Entity Type 5.1.1.1 Entity Type Label : elevation 5.1.1.2 Entity Type Definition: Elevation is the altitude above or the depth below some datum, in this case mean sea level. 5.1.2 Attribute 5.1.2.1 Attribute Label: ELEV 5.1.2.2 Attribute Definition: Elevation above or depth below mean sea level. 5.1.2.4 Attribute Domain Values 5.1.2.4.2 Range Domain (for continuos values) 5.1.2.4.2.1 Range Domain Minimum: -99.99 5.1.2.4.2.2 Range Domain Maximum: 999.99 5.1.2.5 Attribute Units of Measurement : meters 5.1.2.6 Attribute Measurement Resolution: 0.01 meter 5.1.1 Entity Type 5.1.1.1 Entity Type Label : contour elevation 5.1.1.2 Entity Type Definition: Elevation is the altitude above or the depth below some datum, in this case mean sea level. Contour elevation is the elevation of all points along that contour line. 5.1.2 Attribute 5.1.2.1 Attribute Label: CONTOUR 5.1.2.2 Attribute Definition: Elevation of contour line above or depth below mean sea level. 5.1.2.4 Attribute Domain Values 5.1.2.4.2 Range Domain (for continuos values) 5.1.2.4.2.1 Range Domain Minimum: -980 5.1.2.4.2.2 Range Domain Maximum: 9980 5.1.2.5 Attribute Units of Measurement : centimeters 5.1.2.6 Attribute Measurement Resolution: 20 centimeters 6. Distribution Information 6.1 Distributor 10.2 Contact Organization Primary 10.1.2 Contact Organization: Virginia Coast Reserve - Long Term Ecological Research (VCR/LTER) 10.3 Contact Position: Data Manager 10.4 Contact Address 10.4.1 Address Type: mailing and physical address 10.4.2 Address: LTER, Dept. Environmental Sciences, Clark Hall, University of Virginia 10.4.3 City: Charlottesville 10.4.4 State or Province: VA 10.4.5 Postal Code: 22903 10.4.6 Country: USA 10.5 Contact Voice Telephone: (804) 924-8999 10.8 Contact Electronic Mail Address: jporter@lternet.edu or jhp7e@virginia.edu 6.3 Distribution Liability: None 6.4 Standard Order Process 6.4.2 Digital Form 6.4.2.1 Digital Transfer Information : for UNIX platforms, file='phil2.tar'. 6.4.2.1.1 Format Name: ARCE 6.4.2.1.6 File Decompression Technique: standard untar 'tar -xvf phil2.tar' & standard gz 'uncompress '. 6.4.2.1.7 Transfer Size (MB): 0.4 MB 6.4.2.1 Digital Transfer Information : for DOS & Windows platforms, file='phil2z.exe'. 6.4.2.1.1 Format Name: ARCE 6.4.2.1.6 File Decompression Technique: self-extracting zip file, just download and run file, and it will decompress itself. 6.4.2.1.7 Transfer Size (MB): 0.3 MB 6.4.2.1 Digital Transfer Information : coordinate and attribute listings, file='phil1asc.zip'. 6.4.2.1.1 Format Name: ASCII 6.4.2.1.6 File Decompression Technique: zip file, not self-extracting. 6.4.2.1.7 Transfer Size (MB): 0.014 MB (14 KB) 6.4.2.2 Digital Transfer Option 6.4.2.2.1 Online Option 6.4.2.2.1.1 Computer Contact Information 6.4.2.2.1.1.1 Network Address 6.4.2.2.1.1.1.1 Network Resource Name: http://atlantic.evsc.virginia.edu/ under Geographical Data (Topographic Atlas) in the Data URL. 6.4.2.2.1.1.1.1 Network Resource Name: gopher://atlantic.evsc.Virginia.EDU:70/11/Data/Public_VCR_Datasets 6.4.2.2.1.2 Access Instructions: Anyone with access to the Internet via either a WWW browser (such as Mosaic or Netscape) or gopher may connect to the VCR/LTER's server and download the above available dataset in the above format(s), as per the browser's or gopher's saving/transfer options. All ARC/INFO coverage and lattice (grid) export files have been compressed into one "tar" file : ; the coverage file for the topo point coverage is "PHIL2PTS.E00", the lattice/grid file is "PHIL2GRD.E00", etc. following naming convention listed as the '2.5.2.5 Source Produced Citation Abbreviation" section above. 6.4.2.2.1.3 Online Computer and Operating System: SUN SPARC station 1, SunOS 4.1.X operating system. 6.4.2.2.2 Offline Option 6.4.2.2.2.1 Offline Media: For information about available offline media and how to obtain them, please contact the above distribution contact party. 6.4.3 Fees: The dataset(s) may be obtained online at no charge. A fee may be assessed for non- digital and offline digital formats of the dataset(s) covering reasonable costs entailed in the distribution of the data. 7. Metadata Reference Information 7.1 Metadata Date: 19951218 7.4 Metadata Contact 10.2 Contact Organization Primary 10.1.2 Contact Organization: Virginia Coast Reserve - Long Term Ecological Research (VCR/LTER) 10.3 Contact Position: Data Manager 10.4 Contact Address 10.4.1 Address Type: mailing and physical address 10.4.2 Address: LTER, Dept. Environmental Sciences, Clark Hall, University of Virginia 10.4.3 City: Charlottesville 10.4.4 State or Province: VA 10.4.5 Postal Code: 22903 10.4.6 Country: USA 10.5 Contact Voice Telephone: (804) 924-8999 10.8 Contact Electronic Mail Address: jporter@lternet.edu or jhp7e@virginia.edu 7.5 Metadata Standard Name: FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata 7.6 Metadata Standard Version: 19940608