Metadata:
Identification_Information:
Citation:
Citation_Information:
Originator: Thompson, Robert S.
Originator: Schweitzer, Peter N.
Publication_Date: 1996
Title: Global gridded Pliocene and Quaternary sea-level
Series_Information:
Series_Name: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report
Issue_Identification: 96-000
Publication_Information:
Publication_Place: Reston, VA
Publisher: U.S. Geological Survey
Online_Linkage:
Description:
Abstract:
Global gridded elevation and bathymetry were combined with
published estimates of changes in sea-level and with the
results of geophysical models designed to estimate the
topographic effects of the Holocene deglaciation. The
combined data present, at three different scales, estimates
of the distribution of land and oceans during two periods
of Earth history in which climate changed significantly, the
Holocene deglaciation and the middle Pliocene warm interval.
The Holocene deglaciation, which began approximately 21,000
years ago, was modeled by Peltier (1994) using records of
relative sea-level change. His calculations produced the
data set ICE4G, consisting of 1-degree global grids of ice
distribution and topography. We obtained ICE4G from the
National Geophysical Data Center in Boulder, Colorado.
We have rearranged ICE4G as images in which the topography
is shown by colors ranging from dark blue through green
to red, corresponding to bathymetry, sea-level, and higher
elevations respectively. Grid-cells covered by ice are
shown as gray pixels, grading to white as the elevation of
the cell increases. The effect is to depict in a convenient
manner the changes in ice distribution and topography shown
by ICE4G.
In addition to these straightforward images, we have provided
1-degree grids in which the cells values indicate the
proportion of the cell above sea-level. These were calculated
by first creating high-resolution estimates of Late Quaternary
topography. For each 1-degree grid of topography,
we created a 1-degree grid containing the differences between
ancient and modern topography. This grid was expanded to
5-minute resolution through bilinear interpolation, and the
resulting difference cells were added to ETOPO5 and TerrainBase.
Using this 5-minute gridded estimate of paleotopography,
a 1-degree grid was created in which the cell values contain
the percent of 5-minute cells that are land.
The middle Pliocene warm interval occurred approximately 3
million years ago. Diverse lines of evidence indicate that
this was a period in which Earth's climate was significantly
warmer than at present, with much smaller polar ice caps.
Consequently global sea level was higher than present. There
is some discussion among paleoclimate researchers as to how
much higher than modern sea-level Pliocene eustatic sea-level
was. We have chosen to depict a range of possible values (10,
20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, and 60 meters above present sea
level).
Because global topography was affected strongly by the
Pleistocene glaciation, especially in North America and
Europe, we have no better estimates of Pliocene topography
than the modern world. Consequently our estimates of Pliocene
land distribution are based on the modern topography shown in
ETOPO5 and TerrainBase, modified by subtracting the constant
corresponding to each estimate of eustatic sea-level. For each
of the nine estimates of Pliocene sea level, we have created a
1-degree grid in which the cell values are the percent of land
cells in the 5-minute grid. We have also created images at
5-minute and 20-minute resolution showing graphically the major
changes in sea-level that have been proposed, including -120
meters representing coastlines in the Last Glacial Maximum,
0 representing modern coastlines, and +35 and +60 meters
representing moderate and extreme estimates of Pliocene sea-level.
Purpose:
These data are intended to provide paleoclimate researchers with
models for global sea-level during the late Neogene in convenient
formats with comparable information about the modern world ocean.
Time_Period_of_Content:
Time_Period_Information:
Range_of_Dates/Times:
Beginning_Date: cc3000000
Ending_Date: 1996
Currentness_Reference:
The data set contains models of mid-Pliocene topography based
on ETOPO5 and TerrainBase and several different estimates of
eustatic sea-level fall from that time to the present. ETOPO5 and
TerrainBase are essentially current, although their resolution
(5 arc-minute grid-cell spacing) suggests that the modern data
do not represent a clearly-defined Ending_Date.
Status:
Progress: in work
Maintenance_and_Update_Frequency: irregular
Spatial_Domain:
Bounding_Coordinates:
West_Bounding_Coordinate: -180.0
East_Bounding_Coordinate: 180.0
North_Bounding_Coordinate: 90.0
South_Bounding_Coordinate: -90.0
Keywords:
Theme:
Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: None
Theme_Keyword: Topography
Theme_Keyword: Bathymetry
Place:
Place_Keyword_Thesaurus: None
Place_Keyword: Global
Temporal:
Temporal_Keyword_Thesaurus: None
Temporal_Keyword: Pliocene
Temporal_Keyword: Quaternary
Temporal_Keyword: Recent
Access_Constraints: none
Use_Constraints: none
Point_of_Contact:
Contact_Information:
Contact_Person_Primary:
Contact_Person: Peter N. Schweitzer
Contact_Organization: Global Change and Climate History Program
Contact_Address:
Address_Type: mailing address
Address:
Mail Stop 906 National Center
U.S. Geological Survey
12201 Sunrise Valley Drive
City: Reston
State_or_Province: VA
Postal_Code: 20192
Country: USA
Contact_Voice_Telephone: (703) 648-6533
Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: (703) 648-6647
Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: pschweitzer@usgs.gov
Browse_Graphic:
Browse_Graphic_File_Name:
Browse_Graphic_File_Description:
Global elevation and bathymetry depicted with cell (pixel) size 20
arc-minutes, based on TerrainBase (patched). The image is
1080x540 pixels. Depths are coded and colored in broad categories
to emphasize the coastlines that would exist were sea-level at -
120 meters (as during the last glacial maximum, about 20,000 years
ago), +25 meters (a conservative estimate of sea-level during the
mid-Pliocene, about 3 million years ago), and +60 meters (the
highest credible estimate of mid-Pliocene sea-level). The colors
of each range of elevation (or bathymetry) are shown in
Browse_Graphic_File_Type: GIF
Native_Data_Set_Environment:
The data set was produced using a Data General AViiON 6220 computer
running the DG/UX 5.4R3.10 version of the UNIX operating system.
Data_Quality_Information:
Completeness_Report:
Logical_Consistency_Report:
Lineage:
Source_Information:
Source_Citation:
Citation_Information:
Originator: Peltier, William R.
Publication_Date: 1994
Title: Ice age paleotopography
Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: remote-sensing image
Series_Information:
Series_Name: Science
Issue_Identification: volume 265, 8 July 1994, pp 195-201
Online_Linkage:
Online_Linkage:
Type_of_Source_Media: online
Source_Time_Period_of_Content:
Time_Period_Information:
Range_of_Dates/Times:
Beginning_Date: cc19000
Ending_Date: 0000
Source_Currentness_Reference:
Data are given on a 1-degree grid in the form of binary images,
one per thousand years, from 21000 years before present to the
present.
Source_Citation_Abbreviation: ICE4G
Source_Contribution:
These data form the basis for our representation of sea-level
changes during the Quaternary.
Source_Information:
Source_Citation:
Citation_Information:
Originator: Edwards, Margaret H.
Publication_Date: 1989
Title:
Global gridded elevation and bathymetry (ETOPO5):
Digital raster data on a 5-minute geographic
(lat/long) 2160x4320 (centroid-registered) grid
Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: remote-sensing image
Publication_Information:
Publication_Place: Boulder, Colorado
Publisher:
U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, National Geophysical Data
Center
Online_Linkage:
Larger_Work_Citation:
Citation_Information:
Originator: NOAA-EPA Global Ecosystems Database Project
Publication_Date: 1992
Title: Global Ecosystems Database
Edition: 1.0
Publication_Information:
Publication_Place: Boulder, CO
Publisher: National Geophysical Data Center
Other_Citation_Details:
EPA/600/R92/194b
NGDC Key to Geophysical Records Documentation No. 27
Incorporated in Global Change Database, Volume 1
Documentation compiled by John J. Kineman and Mark A. Ohrenschall
with additional contributions noted in the volume.
Source_Citation_Abbreviation: ETOPO5
Type_of_Source_Media: CD-ROM
Source_Time_Period_of_Content:
Time_Period_Information:
Range_of_Dates/Times:
Beginning_Date: 1950
Ending_Date: 1989
Source_Currentness_Reference:
The data set was published in 1989. Documentation
provided by NGDC indicates the data were derived from
sources produced during the period 1950 through 1980.
Source_Contribution:
Elevation and bathymetry used to represent images in this data set
with 5- and 20-minute grid-cell spacing were derived from ETOPO5.
Source_Information:
Source_Citation:
Citation_Information:
Originator: Row, Lee W. III
Originator: Hastings, David
Publication_Date: 1994
Title: TerrainBase Global DTM
Edition: 1.0
Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: remote-sensing image
Publication_Information:
Publication_Place: Boulder, Colorado
Publisher:
U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, National Geophysical Data Center
Online_Linkage:
Larger_Work_Citation:
Citation_Information:
Originator: Row, Lee W. III
Originator: Hastings, David
Originator: Dunbar, Paula
Publication_Date: 1995
Title: TerrainBase Worldwide Digital Terrain Data
Edition: 1.0
Publication_Information:
Publication_Place: Boulder, CO
Publisher: National Geophysical Data Center
Other_Citation_Details:
NGDC Key to Geophysical Records Documentation No. 30
Incorporated in Global Change Database, Volume 1
Source_Citation_Abbreviation: TBASE
Type_of_Source_Media: CD-ROM
Source_Time_Period_of_Content:
Time_Period_Information:
Single_Date/Time:
Calendar_Date: 1994
Source_Currentness_Reference:
The CD-ROM was produced in 1994. The documentation was
published in 1995. The data come from a variety of sources
described in the documentation.
Source_Contribution:
Elevation and bathymetry used to represent images in this data set
with 5- and 20-minute grid-cell spacing were derived from TBASE.
NOTE: TerrainBase was patched before any calculations were made
using it. See the process steps for details.
Process_Step:
Process_Description:
Patching of data in TerrainBase to fix problem with bathymetry
southeast of Halifax, Nova Scotia. The problem is shown in
.
Bathymetric data shown in TerrainBase version 1.0 is clearly
incorrect in the region just southeast of Halifax, Nova Scotia.
These data were corrected somewhat by patching in that region
data from ETOPO5. The pixels changed are listed in
. The programs used to patch the data
were and . The process
used was to manually identify pixels that appeared to be incorrect
using an image-display program (xv), then use peek_topo to find
out what those values were in ETOPO5. The values from ETOPO5
were planted in TerrainBase using the program poke_topo.
All uses of TerrainBase in this data set were based on the
patched version, not the original.
Source_Used_Citation_Abbreviation: TBASE
Process_Date: 19960927
Process_Step:
Process_Description:
Depiction of modern elevation and bathymetry.
Executed color_topo using default mapping of depths to colors,
with both ETOPO5 and TerrainBase (patched) as input.
This produced portable pixmaps (PPM) of the data. The programs
ppmtogif and ppmtopict were used to produce, respectively, GIF and
PICT versions of this image. The PPM was scaled down by a factor
of four using ppmscale; the resulting image has grid-cell size
of 20 arc-minutes. GIF and PICT versions of this version were
produced using ppmtogif and ppmtopict. The key, showing the
relationship between depth ranges and colors, was generated using
the program key, which displays the key in an X window. The
window was captured using xwd, the output of which was converted
to a portable pixmap and from there to GIF and PICT formats.
Source_Code_Used: color_topo.c
Source_Code_Used: key.c
Data_File_Produced: mod05e.gif
Data_File_Produced: mod05t.gif
Data_File_Produced: mod05e.pict
Data_File_Produced: mod05t.pict
Data_File_Produced: mod20e.gif
Data_File_Produced: mod20t.gif
Data_File_Produced: mod20e.pict
Data_File_Produced: mod20t.pict
Data_File_Produced: modkey.gif
Data_File_Produced: modkey.pict
Source_Used_Citation_Abbreviation: ETOPO5
Source_Used_Citation_Abbreviation: TBASE
Process_Date: 19961006
Process_Step:
Process_Description:
Global distribution of land surface on a 1-degree grid,
every 1000 years from 21 ka to the present.
The global topography data from W.R. Peltier show estimated
elevation and bathymetry at 1,000-year intervals from 21,000
years ago to the present. In order to estimate the proportion
of each 1-degree grid-cell that was covered by land, these
data were combined with modern global topography as depicted
in ETOPO5 and TerrainBase (patched).
This procedure was applied to each 1,000-year interval:
1. The estimate of topography from Dr. Peltier (a 1-degree grid)
was subtracted from the modern topography given in the same
source data, yielding a 1-degree grid of differences between
modern and ancient topography. This was accomplished using
the program subtract.c.
2. The grid of differences was extended, using bilinear
interpolation, to a grid mapping precisely onto ETOPO5 and
TerrainBase. This was carried out by the program bilinear.c.
3. The resulting 5-minute grid of differences from modern
topography was added to ETOPO5 or TerrainBase itself, producing
an estimate of ancient topography on a 5-minute grid that
accounted for ice loading. This was carried out by the
program add_topo.c.
4. The program q1x1 was run using this estimate of ancient
topography, yielding a 1-degree grid in which each cell estimates
the percentage of the corresponding area of the earth's surface
that was covered by land.
Source_Code_Used: subtract.c
Source_Code_Used: bilinear.c
Source_Code_Used: add_topo.c
Source_Code_Used: q1x1.c
Data_File_Produced: grid00ke.txt
Data_File_Produced: grid01ke.txt
Data_File_Produced: grid02ke.txt
Data_File_Produced: grid03ke.txt
Data_File_Produced: grid04ke.txt
Data_File_Produced: grid05ke.txt
Data_File_Produced: grid06ke.txt
Data_File_Produced: grid07ke.txt
Data_File_Produced: grid08ke.txt
Data_File_Produced: grid09ke.txt
Data_File_Produced: grid10ke.txt
Data_File_Produced: grid11ke.txt
Data_File_Produced: grid12ke.txt
Data_File_Produced: grid13ke.txt
Data_File_Produced: grid14ke.txt
Data_File_Produced: grid15ke.txt
Data_File_Produced: grid16ke.txt
Data_File_Produced: grid17ke.txt
Data_File_Produced: grid18ke.txt
Data_File_Produced: grid19ke.txt
Data_File_Produced: grid20ke.txt
Data_File_Produced: grid21ke.txt
Data_File_Produced: grid00kt.txt
Data_File_Produced: grid01kt.txt
Data_File_Produced: grid02kt.txt
Data_File_Produced: grid03kt.txt
Data_File_Produced: grid04kt.txt
Data_File_Produced: grid05kt.txt
Data_File_Produced: grid06kt.txt
Data_File_Produced: grid07kt.txt
Data_File_Produced: grid08kt.txt
Data_File_Produced: grid09kt.txt
Data_File_Produced: grid10kt.txt
Data_File_Produced: grid11kt.txt
Data_File_Produced: grid12kt.txt
Data_File_Produced: grid13kt.txt
Data_File_Produced: grid14kt.txt
Data_File_Produced: grid15kt.txt
Data_File_Produced: grid16kt.txt
Data_File_Produced: grid17kt.txt
Data_File_Produced: grid18kt.txt
Data_File_Produced: grid19kt.txt
Data_File_Produced: grid20kt.txt
Data_File_Produced: grid21kt.txt
Source_Used_Citation_Abbreviation: ICE4G
Source_Used_Citation_Abbreviation: ETOPO5
Source_Used_Citation_Abbreviation: TBASE
Process_Date: 19961007
Process_Step:
Process_Description:
Global distribution of land surface on a 1-degree grid,
for estimated Pliocene eustatic sea levels of 10, 20,
25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, and 60 meters higher than modern.
For each estimate of the difference between Pliocene and modern
eustatic sea-level, the program subset_etopo5 was used to
subtract the estimate from the cell values of ETOPO5 and
TerrainBase (lowering the land surface is equivalent to raising
the sea level). The file resulting from this operation had the
same dimensions and units as ETOPO5 or TerrainBase, but purported
to show the global topography assuming that estimate of Pliocene
eustatic sea-level, and not accounting for changes in landforms
occurring during the past three million years.
The program q1x1 was run using this estimate of Pliocene
topography, yielding a 1-degree grid in which each cell estimates
the percentage of the corresponding area of the earth's surface
that was covered by land.
Source_Code_Used: subset_topo.c
Source_Code_Used: q1x1.c
Data_File_Produced: grid10me.txt
Data_File_Produced: grid20me.txt
Data_File_Produced: grid25me.txt
Data_File_Produced: grid30me.txt
Data_File_Produced: grid35me.txt
Data_File_Produced: grid40me.txt
Data_File_Produced: grid45me.txt
Data_File_Produced: grid50me.txt
Data_File_Produced: grid60me.txt
Data_File_Produced: grid10mt.txt
Data_File_Produced: grid20mt.txt
Data_File_Produced: grid25mt.txt
Data_File_Produced: grid30mt.txt
Data_File_Produced: grid35mt.txt
Data_File_Produced: grid40mt.txt
Data_File_Produced: grid45mt.txt
Data_File_Produced: grid50mt.txt
Data_File_Produced: grid60mt.txt
Source_Used_Citation_Abbreviation: ETOPO5
Source_Used_Citation_Abbreviation: TerrainBase
Process_Date: 19961007
Process_Step:
Process_Description:
Depiction of global coastlines with Pliocene sea-level estimates.
The resulting images show the coastlines if eustatic sea-level
were 120 meters lower, 35 meters higher, and 60 meters higher
than at present. These estimates are based on modern topography;
no attempt was made to represent the Pliocene configurations of
landforms that may have been modified during the three million
years since.
Executed color_topo on ETOPO5 and TerrainBase (patched) using
mapping of depths to colors found in file chg.bins. This produced
a portable pixmap (PPM) of the image. The programs ppmtogif and
ppmtopict were used to produce, respectively, GIF and PICT
versions of this image. The PPM was scaled down by a factor of
four using ppmscale; the resulting image has grid-cell size of 20
arc-minutes. GIF and PICT versions of this version were produced
using ppmtogif and ppmtopict. The key, showing the relationship
between depth ranges and colors, was generated using a modified
version of the program key, which displays the key in an X
window. The window was captured using xwd, the output of which
was converted to a portable pixmap and from there to GIF and PICT
formats.
Source_Code_Used: color_topo.c
Source_Code_Used: chg.bins
Data_File_Produced: chg05e.gif
Data_File_Produced: chg05t.gif
Data_File_Produced: chg05e.pict
Data_File_Produced: chg05t.pict
Data_File_Produced: chg20e.gif
Data_File_Produced: chg20t.gif
Data_File_Produced: chg20e.pict
Data_File_Produced: chg20t.pict
Data_File_Produced: chgkey.gif
Data_File_Produced: chgkey.pict
Source_Used_Citation_Abbreviation: ETOPO5
Source_Used_Citation_Abbreviation: TBASE
Process_Date: 19961007
Process_Step:
Process_Description:
Execute program q1x1 with ETOPO5 and TerrainBase as input data.
Source_Code_Used: q1x1.c
Data_File_Produced: grid00e.txt
Data_File_Produced: grid00t.txt
Source_Used_Citation_Abbreviation: ETOPO5
Source_Used_Citation_Abbreviation: TBASE
Process_Date: 19961007
Entity_and_Attribute_Information:
Overview_Description:
Entity_and_Attribute_Overview:
Elevation, bathymetry, ice distribution, and coastline location are
given using pixel values in images and, for the coastlines, vectors.
Data files and images are named so as to indicate the source data
used to produce them; files whose names (not including the extension
that indicates the format such as ".gif" or ".pict") end with 'e'
are based on ETOPO5, while those whose names end with 't' are
based on TerrainBase.
Entity_and_Attribute_Detail_Citation:
Further information is available in the detailed metadata for each of
the data products.
Distribution_Information:
Distributor:
Contact_Information:
Contact_Person_Primary:
Contact_Person: Peter N. Schweitzer
Contact_Organization: Global Change and Climate History Program
Contact_Address:
Address_Type: mailing address
Address:
Mail Stop 906 National Center
U.S. Geological Survey
12201 Sunrise Valley Drive
City: Reston
State_or_Province: VA
Postal_Code: 20192
Country: USA
Contact_Voice_Telephone: (703) 648-6533
Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: (703) 648-6647
Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: pschweitzer@usgs.gov
Resource_Description: USGS Open-File Report 96-000
Distribution_Liability:
This report is preliminary and has not been reviewed for conformity
with U.S. Geological Survey editorial standards (or with the North
American Stratigraphic Code). Any use of trade, product, or firm
names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply
endorsement by the U.S. Government.
Metadata_Reference_Information:
Metadata_Date: 19961025
Metadata_Contact:
Contact_Information:
Contact_Person_Primary:
Contact_Person: Peter N. Schweitzer
Contact_Organization: Global Change and Climate History Program
Contact_Address:
Address_Type: mailing address
Address:
Mail Stop 906 National Center
U.S. Geological Survey
12201 Sunrise Valley Drive
City: Reston
State_or_Province: VA
Postal_Code: 20192
Country: USA
Contact_Voice_Telephone: (703) 648-6533
Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: (703) 648-6647
Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: pschweitzer@usgs.gov
Metadata_Standard_Name: FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata
Metadata_Standard_Version: 19940608
Metadata_Lineage:
Record_Identifier_Type: URL
Record_Combine_Method: Replace
Child_Record:
Child_Record:
Child_Record:
Child_Record:
Child_Record:
Child_Record: