Sediment Data for Samples Collected in 2015, 2016, and 2017 from Coastal Louisiana

Data release doi:10.5066/F71G0KKD associated with this metadata record serves as an archive of sediment data for samples collected in 2015, 2016, and 2017 from coastal Louisiana. In 2015 and 2016, sediment grab samples (N=874) were collected coast-wide along shore-perpendicular transects that included back-barrier, emergent (beach and barrier island), shoreface, and nearshore environments. Sample locations were selected to re-occupy locations previously sampled in 2008 (U.S. Geological Survey [USGS] Open-File Report 2013-1083). The 2008 and 2015-2016 datasets were collected under the Barrier Island Coastal Monitoring (BICM) program (CPRA project LA-0226; https://cims.coastal.louisiana.gov/outreach/ProjectView.aspx?projID=LA-0226), an ongoing collaboration between the State of Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA), the University of New Orleans (UNO) Pontchartrain Institute for Environmental Sciences (PIES), and the USGS. In 2017, additional grab samples (N=77) were collected along shore-perpendicular transects from West Belle Pass to Caminada Pass as part of the CPRA (CPRA project BA-0045; https://cims.coastal.louisiana.gov/outreach/ProjectView.aspx?projID=BA-0045). The 2015, 2016, and 2017 sediment samples were collected by personnel from UNO–PIES and provided to the USGS St. Petersburg and Coastal Marine Science Center (SPCMSC) sediment laboratory. Textural characteristics were analyzed using a Coulter LS 200 particle-size analyzer. Following SPCMSC data management and archiving protocols, the samples were assigned a USGS field activity number (FAN) (https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/fan_info.php?fan=2015-301-CNT). Data products, including sample location tables, results of sediment grain-size analyses, and geographic information system (GIS) data files with accompanying formal Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) metadata can be downloaded from https://doi.org/10.5066/F71G0KKD.