The information gathered included location of the vessel, identification of the vessel and owner if determinable, and a priority based on its hazard potential. If hazardous materials were found on board, they were sampled for analysis. The sampling procedure called for two samples (a surface and a bottom sludge sample) to be taken from every compartment of every vessel.
The inventory located 802 vessels. The barge inventory was made available to interested parties and as a result some of these vessels have since been moved by the owners, or by a salvage company with (or possibly without) the owner's permission.
The study area (coastal waters) was divided into three study areas, each of which was inventoried by different contractors as follows - Zone 1: CMS International, Inc; Zone 2: Coastal Engineering & Environmental Consultants; Zone 3: Pyburn & Odom.
A 'vessel' included almost anything that could hold a substantial amount of oil: sunken boats, barges run aground, even a railroad tank car washed up on shore. 'Abandoned' meant something that looked like it hadn't been touched for ten years.
The metadata for this data set are encapsulated into several documents and graphics files. The metadata are not complete if you did not receive the following files along with the data set:
barge.mtd - this document in mp (metadata parser) compatible ASCII text form barge.html - this document in HTML form barge_faq.html - this metadata presented as Questions and Answers barge.sgml - this document in SGML form barge1.gif - thumbnail graphic of data setThe following files are the components of the complete dataset:
barge.shp - barge points barge.shx - " barge.dbf - " barge.prj - projection file for shape vablabsmpap96.dbf - lab sample .dbf table vabfldsmpap96.dbf - field sample .dbf table
If these data are altered or incorporated into another dataset, they are not to be redistributed without also: altering the name of the dataset, including a Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata (FGDC-STD-001-1998) compliant metadata file that describes the dataset and reflects the alteration steps that makes the new dataset different from this one, and citing this dataset in the metadata as a source for the altered dataset using the source citation specified below.
If these digital data are used in the production of a report or in the compilation of a standalone printed map, then this dataset is to be cited in the report or on the map using the source citation specified below.
The following source citation is to be used when citing this dataset: LOSCO Environmental Baseline Inventory Dataset 'Abandoned Barge and Vessel Inventory, Geographic NAD83, LOSCO (1999) [barge]'
Users hereby agree to abide by the use and reproduction conditions specified above. By using the data described in these metadata, the user acknowledges that the terms and conditions of use have been read and that the user is bound by these criteria.
For the 788 vessels identified in this data set, there are only 594 unique locations. This means that in some locations, barge points are coincident. One location is assigned 32 barge points.
Because the original database did not enforce strict control over the allowed values for fields, in many cases several different values that could mean the same thing or that are ambiguous or uninterpretable appear in the attribute fields. In other cases, use of potential numeric fields is limited because of the presence of character data in data cells.
The survey was complete and comprehensive within the time period of the inventory, however since that time some vessels have been moved, and additional vessels may have appeared.
At the present time, this data set does not have links to the vessel plans and site plans which were obtained as part of the vessel inventory.
Although apparently 802 vessels were found in the study, there were only 788 reported in the source database used to construct this dataset.
There is the possibility that the barge positions are not even as good as 100 feet. Although the original sampling plan called for the barge positions to be determined by GPS, there was no specification for differentially corrected GPS. In this case the barge positions may have errors due to Selective Availability dithering, which leads to an RMS error of position of about 100 meters. The precision of the coordinate fields derived from the source DMS coordinates reflect the precision of the source.
As part of a statewide photointerpretation project for oil related themes, these barge data are being re-examined to determine if barges located in this study are still present. When these data are superimposed over 1998 one-meter orthophotography, a barge can rarely be found in the position these data indicate. Even when reasonable match distances are allowed, determination if a specific barge is present is often ambiguous because there may be several barges present within the match distance on the orthophotography. When a single location is occupied by several barge points, it is nearly impossible to say if a particular barge noted in the 'Abandoned Barge and Vessel Inventory' dataset is still present or not. While many of these barges may have been moved since this inventory was carried out, it is also quite probable that the horizontal positional accuracy of these data preclude their verification by photointerpretation.
The barge coordinates and observables were joined to the vessel point data set but the long field names present in the BS-ACCESS data were replaced with shorter (10 chars or less) field names. Instances of clear multiple representations of the same value were homogenized to a single representation. Inconsistencies in waterway names were resolved whenever possible with USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) data.
The field sample data and lab sample data were converted to stand-alone database tables [vabfldsmpap96] and [vablabsmpap96] that can be linked to the vessel dataset through the 'ID' field.
These data have been developed from the best available sources. Although efforts have been made to ensure that the data are accurate and reliable, errors and variable conditions originating from physical sources used to develop the data may be reflected in the data supplied. Users must be aware of these conditions and bear responsibility for the appropriate use of the information with respect to possible errors, scale, resolution, rectification, positional accuracy, development methodology, time period, environmental and climatic conditions and other circumstances specific to these data. The user is responsible for understanding the accuracy limitations of the data provided herein. The burden for determining fitness for use lies entirely with the user. The user should refer to the accompanying metadata notes for a description of the data and data development procedures.
Although these data have been processed successfully on computers at the LOSCO, no guarantee, expressed or implied, is made by LOSCO regarding the use of these data on any other system, nor does the act of distribution constitute or imply any such warranty. Distribution of these data is intended for information purposes and should not be considered authoritative for navigational, engineering, legal and other site-specific uses.