Location and analyses of sediment samples collected on Stellwagen Bank off Boston, Massachusetts from November 5, 2013 to April 30, 2019 on U.S. Geological Survey field activities

These data are part of the effort to map geologic substrates of the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary (SBNMS) region off Boston, Massachusetts. The overall goal is to develop high-resolution (1:25,000) interpretive maps, based on multibeam sonar data and seabed sampling, showing surficial geology and seabed sediment dynamics. The data were collected in collaboration with the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary and will aid research on the ecology of fish and invertebrate species that inhabit the region. Sediment samples were collected aboard the Sanctuary's research vessel, R/V Auk at 679 locations on and near Stellwagen Bank using a customized Van Veen grab sampler integrated into the USGS SEABed Observation and Sampling System (SEABOSS). The SEABOSS, equipped with a video camera, was deployed from the Auk and allowed to drift for a shore period of time approximately 1 meter from the sea floor collecting video imagery of the sea floor. The SEABOSS drift typically culminated in the collection of a sediment sample used for grain-size analysis. Biological specimens were collected from the sediment, if present, and retained by scientists at teh SBNMS in Scituate, Massachusetts.