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Massachusetts Bay Map Wins at USGS GIS Conference By Laurie Serrett June 2001 in this issue:  previous story | next story The fourth biennial USGS GIS Conference was held this year April 23rd-27th in Denver, CO. The conference, titled "GIS 2001: A Geospatial Odyssey," was a big hit among the several USGS disciplines. Hands-on workshops, presentations, discussions, a poster session and vendor displays were plentiful. Several workshops given by software vendors presented new and upcoming software products and upgrades. The presentations ranged from policy issues to voice-recognition software demonstrations. Laurie Serrett and Laura Hayes (WHFC) presented a new map of Massachusetts Bay, based on recent multi-beam surveys, in the poster session. The color scheme used to code the bathymetry allowed the depth to be viewed in 3-D using ChromaDepth™ glasses. The map shows a new detailed view of the sea floor based on multi-beam observations at 10-m resolution, in contrast to historical, widely spaced soundings. 3-D seafloor: GIS conference participant using 3-D glasses views the color-coded bathymetric map of Massachusetts Bay based on new multi-beam data and historical soundings. The multi-beam data were collected cooperatively with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration While socializing and observing posters, participants voted for a dozen or so posters in several categories, both serious and comical. Categories included "best analytic," "most nauseating color," "most socially relevant," "you make us proud to be geeks," "space hog," "wow, how do I get on this project!" and "on the verge of losing their cartographic license." The map of Massachusetts Bay became known as the Massachusetts Bay "3-D" map and was selected as a winner in the "best use of color" category. After several months of trying different color schemes to make the map both visually pleasing and appropriate for the 3-D glasses, it was rewarding to find that the result was well received by Denver conference attendees! Map reference: Butman, B., Valentine, P.C., Danforth, W.W., Hayes, L., and Serrett, L.A., (in review), Shaded Relief, Backscatter Intensity and Sea Floor Topography of Massachusetts Bay and the Stellwagen Bank Region, Offshore of Boston, Massachusetts: U.S. Geological Survey Geologic Investigations Series Map I-2734, scale 1:125,000. in this issue:  previous story | next story

June 2001 Mailing List: Sign up to receive monthly email updates: in this issue: cover story: Great Blue Hole of Belize Channel Islands Cruise Lake Mead Mapping New Underwater Microscope System Hurricane Display Reston Open House WHFC Outreach Monterey Open House School-to-Work Partnership Acadiana Migratory Bird Day SWICA-M³ Global Assessment of Geologically-Sourced Methane Methane Hydrates Metadata Workshop Sue Hunt—Recycling Coastal Stewardship GIS 2001: Logan GIS 2001: Massachusetts Bay WHFC Visitors Northeast Earthquake Hazards Map June Publications List

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