Swath bathymetry 13-m-cell-size grid of quadrangle 6 on Stellwagen Bank offshore of Boston, Massachusetts collected by the U.S. Geological Survey aboard the Frederick G. Creed from 1994-1996 (custom Mercator projection, NAD 83, Esri binary grid format)

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Marine Sanctuary Program, has conducted seabed mapping and related research in the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary region since 1993. The area is approximately 3,700 square kilometers (km2) and is subdivided into 18 quadrangles. Seven maps, at a scale of 1:25,000, of quadrangle 6 (211 km2) depict seabed topography, backscatter, ruggedness, geology, substrate mobility, mud content, and areas dominated by fine-grained or coarse-grained sand. Interpretations of bathymetric and seabed backscatter imagery, photographs, video, and grain-size analyses were used to create the geology-based maps. In all, data from 420 stations were analyzed, including sediment samples from 325 locations. The seabed geology map shows the distribution of 10 substrate types ranging from boulder ridges to immobile, muddy sand to mobile, rippled sand. Substrate types are defined on the basis of sediment grain-size composition, surficial morphology, sediment layering, and the mobility or immobility of substrate surfaces. This map series is intended to portray the major geological elements (substrates, features, processes) of environments within quadrangle 6. Additionally, these maps will be the basis for the study of the ecological requirements of invertebrate and vertebrate species that utilize these substrates and guide seabed management in the region.

美国地质调查局（U.S. Geological Survey, USGS）与美国国家海洋和大气管理局（National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration）下属国家海洋保护区项目组合作，自1993年起在斯特尔瓦根班克国家海洋保护区（Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary）范围内开展海底测绘及相关研究工作。该区域总面积约3700平方千米，被划分为18个制图区块（quadrangle）。其中编号为6的制图区块面积达211平方千米，针对该区块共制作了7幅比例尺为1:25000的专题地图，内容涵盖海底地形（seabed topography）、反向散射（backscatter）数据、地形粗糙度（ruggedness）、地质特征、底质活动性（substrate mobility）、泥质含量分布，以及以细粒砂或粗粒砂为主的海底区域。研究团队通过对水深地形影像、海底反向散射影像、现场照片、视频资料以及沉积物粒度分析结果进行解译，最终编制完成了这套基于地质特征的系列地图。本次研究累计分析了420个测站的观测数据，其中包含325个采样点位的沉积物样品。海底地质图展示了10类底质类型的空间分布，覆盖类型从砾石脊、固定泥砂质底到活动波纹砂质底不等。底质类型的划分依据为沉积物粒度组成、表层沉积形态、沉积层理结构以及底质表面的活动性（固定或移动）。本系列地图旨在系统呈现制图区块6内各类海洋环境的核心地质要素，包括底质类型、地貌特征与地质过程。此外，该系列地图不仅可作为研究依托该类底质栖息的无脊椎动物与脊椎动物物种生态需求的基础数据，还能为该区域的海底管理工作提供科学指导。