| Summary: | As part of the Barrier Island Monitoring Project, scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center conducted nearshore geophysical surveys off Breton and Gosier Islands, Louisiana, in July and August of 2014. To assist the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) with restoration planning efforts, the USGS was tasked with answering fundamental questions about the physical environment of the southern Chandeleur Islands, including the geology, morphology, and oceanography. Baseline data needed to answer these questions was either insufficient or missing in the area. The USGS conducted a comprehensive geologic investigation in the summer of 2014 by collecting geophysical and sedimentological data. Breton Island, located at the southern end of the Chandeleur Island chain, Louisiana, was recognized as a natural and globally important nesting sanctuary for several bird species and was established as the Breton National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in 1904. The aerial extent of Breton Island has diminished 90% since 1920. Land loss is attributed to ongoing relative sea-level rise, diminished sediment supply, and storm impacts. The bird population on Breton Island has also declined over the years, most notably after Hurricane George in 1998 and Hurricane Katrina in 2015, which completely submerged the island. Despite the decreasing habitable acreage, migratory seabirds continue to return and utilize Breton Island. To prevent the island from being completely submerged in the future and to protect, stabilize, and provide more nesting and foraging areas for the birding population, the USFWS is proposing a restoration effort to rebuild Breton Island to its pre-Katrina footprint. This Data Series serves as an archive of processed interferometric-swath, single-beam bathymetry, and side-scan sonar data collected in the nearshore of Breton and Gosier Islands, NWR, Louisiana. The data were collected during two USGS cruises (USGS Field Activity Numbers 2014-314-FA and 2014-317-FA) in July and August 2014. Geographic Information System data products include a 100 meter-cell-size interpolated bathymetry grid surface, trackline maps, and point data files. Additional files include error analysis maps, Field Activity Collection System logs, and formal Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) metadata.
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