Shapefile of interpreted sediment texture distribution for the Long Island Sound mapping project Phase II

This data set contains interpreted polygons describing different sediment texture distribution of the Long Island Sound mapping project Phase II area. This data set is the result of manual interpretation based on surface grab grain size analysis combined with detailed bathymetry and backscatter data. The outline of polygons was based on manual interpretation using grain size data from sediment grab analysis and mostly following backscatter boundaries. There were smaller areas with different backscatter signal, for which there were no grab samples for ground verification. Changes in the backscatter values do not always correspond to the observed grain size results. In these cases, grain size results from grabs were used as the main guidance. Polygon outlines are based on backscatter data that have 1 m pixel resolution, but interpretation could be several pixels (~ +/-10 m) in each direction, since the exact boundary is not always clear. Small pockets of different environments might not have been distinguished. The data is presented here as an ESRI shapefile in UTM-18 N projection. Funding was provided by the Long Island Sound Mapping Fund administered cooperatively by the EPA Long Island Sound Study and the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP).