The bottom sediments of Tampa Bay play an important role in both water and habitat quality. Many organisms have specific microhabitat requirements that are reflected in soil composition and chemistry. Also, various bottom sediment characteristics are an important consideration for dredge planning, storm and wave modeling, and soil-water contaminant studies. The USGS and Eckerd College collected and analyzed sediment samples taken in Tampa Bay from 2002 through 2006.

The Tampa Bay Bottom Sediment Maps were created to provide a visual representation of the distribution of these sediments for the entire bottom of Tampa Bay. The sampled data were interpolated (using an inverse distance weighted technique) to create a continuous bottom sediment map. This technique estimates the values in between collected samples by averaging the sample values in the neighborhood of the unsampled location. The known data values are labeled on the map. Although specific projects will require additional data collection, the map provides managers with a general characterization of bottom sediments.