CRED Fish Biomass Estimates at French Frigate Shoals in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, 2005

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Frequently anticipated questions:


What does this data set describe?

Title:
CRED Fish Biomass Estimates at French Frigate Shoals in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, 2005
Abstract:
Fish biomass data were collected using a Towed Optical Assessment Device (TOAD), an underwater sled equipped with an underwater digital video camera and lights. Data were collected at the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, French Frigate Shoals to support Benthic Habitat Mapping efforts.
Supplemental_Information:
French Frigate Shoals is a large open atoll located at 23.75N, 166.2W. The underlying basalt structure is estimated to be 13.8 million years old. Tern Island is the largest island at FFS and was enlarged by the U.S. Navy just prior to World War II; numerous other small islets exist. The total land mass is only 0.23 sq. km but the large reef and adjacent banks include 733 sq. km of coral habitat at depths of less than 100 m.

Mobile fauna data were collected using the Tethered Optical Assessment Device (TOAD), a sled equipped with underwater video camera and lights. These data are used to provide fish count and biomass maps where benthic habitat classication has been completed. Camera sled deployments were conducted at night, usually between 1800 and midnight. The duration of each tow varied but averaged about 40 minutes of bottom time at a given location. The camera sled was deployed from lower arm of the starboard J-frame on the NOAA Ship Hi'ialakai. At each station the ship was positioned with the wind on the starboard side and drifted downwind; occasional light turns were applied to the ship's screws if necessary to reduce the ship's motion. The TOAD was lowered slowly to the bottom by the deck crew. The operator monitored a live video feed from the camera and began recording data on two video tape recorders. When the camera reached bottom the deck crew was notified by radio to stop lowering. The operator continued to monitor the vehicle and provided commands to raise or lower it to keep the camera just above the bottom.

Equipment Description: The TOAD was deployed from the lower arm of the vessel's J-frame. The TOAD is a camera sled based on the Guildline MiniBat model 8820 tow body. The frame has been extensively modified from its original configuration and was equipped with an ROS model 54-00100-13 color underwater video camera as the primary data collection instrument. The ROS camera was mounted to point at approximately a 45 degree angle toward the seafloor. A Deep Sea Power and Light model 2050 MultiSeaCam low-light color video camera was also mounted on the sled and aimed straight ahead. The signal from this camera was fed to a second video monitor to provide warning of underwater obstructions the sled might be headed for. Illumination was provided by two 500 W DeepSea Power & Light Multi-SeaLite model 1050 underwater lights mounted on the original sled frame. The lights were located near the base and each side of the sled to provide the maximum possible horizontal distance from the ROS camera. An ORE Offshore model 4330B Multibeacon was attached to the sled to provide a response to acoustic interrogations sent by the Hi'ialakai's Model 4410D-01 Trackpoint II Plus Ultrashort Baseline acoustic tracking system. Cable between the sled and the surface consisted of a underwater electrical cable (cable 1, blue in color) with a separate load-bearing line to support the sled frame. The electrical cable was clipped to the line at regular intervals upon deployment and removed upon recovery. The load-bearing line was led to the starboard capstan on the aft deck. All TOAD surface components were located in the Dry Lab in an equipment rack on the after bulkhead.

Name & address of person collecting data: Joyce Miller NOAA IRC NMFS/PIFSC/CRED 1845 WASP Blvd., Building 176 Honolulu, HI 96818

Data Files: Video data were recorded on two video tape recorders. The position of the camera sled was recorded using Hypack Max version 02.012a survey software.

File naming convention: Each tow is given a name consisting of a 3-letter designator for the island area followed by a two-digit year and three-digit tow number. For example, during HI0503 the first tow was called FFS05000. Video tape labels and paper log forms are all annotated with the tow name. Data files recorded in Hypack software followed their CHS filename format consisting of the year, the first two letters of the platform name, the Julian date, and the hour and minute in which the file was started. For example, a file collected on July 18, 2005 (Julian date 199) aboard the Hi'ialakai starting at time 1935 would be 2005HI1991935.

Time Correlation: All times are based on UTC. Four clocks were manually synchronized prior to starting data collection; the clock in the video character generator that was used to annotate the video tape, in one of the video cassette recorders, in the Trackpoint II system, and in the computer running the Hypack Max software. These clocks were set to UTC at the beginning of each evening's operations.

Resource Description: Digital video images that are geo-referenced to navigation files.

  1. How might this data set be cited?
    Pacific Islands Benthic Habitat Mapping Center (PIBHMC), Coral Reef Ecosystem Division (CRED), Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 200906, CRED Fish Biomass Estimates at French Frigate Shoals in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, 2005.

    Online Links:

  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?
    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -166.37278
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -166.29838
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 23.78695
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 23.70212
  3. What does it look like?
    http://www.soest.hawaii.edu/pibhmc/NWHI_images/FFS_TOAD_MF_445.jpg (JPEG)
    French Frigate Shoals, NWHI: TOAD Tows and Multibeam Bathymetry
  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?
    Beginning_Date: 29-Jun-2005
    Ending_Date: 29-Jun-2005
    Currentness_Reference: ground condition
  5. What is the general form of this data set?
    Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: Video imagery, track line navigation files, and log sheets
  6. How does the data set represent geographic features?
    1. How are geographic features stored in the data set?
    2. What coordinate system is used to represent geographic features?
      Horizontal positions are specified in geographic coordinates, that is, latitude and longitude. Latitudes are given to the nearest 0.0001. Longitudes are given to the nearest 0.0001. Latitude and longitude values are specified in Decimal Degrees. The horizontal datum used is D_WGS_1984.
      The ellipsoid used is WGS_1984.
      The semi-major axis of the ellipsoid used is 6378137.000000.
      The flattening of the ellipsoid used is 1/298.257224.
      Vertical_Coordinate_System_Definition:
      Depth_System_Definition:
      Depth_Datum_Name: No correction
      Depth_Resolution: 0.1
      Depth_Distance_Units: meters
      Depth_Encoding_Method: Attribute Values
  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?

Who produced the data set?

  1. Who are the originators of the data set? (may include formal authors, digital compilers, and editors)
  2. Who also contributed to the data set?
    Benthic Habitat Mapping Group, Coral Reef Ecosystem Division (CRED), Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC), NOAA
  3. To whom should users address questions about the data?
    Pacific Islands Benthic Habitat Mapping Center (PIBHMC), Coral Reef Ecosystem Division (CRED), Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
    Attn: John Rooney
    NOAA IRC
    Honolulu, HI

    808 725-5360 (voice)
    808 725-5429 (FAX)
    nmfs.pic.credinfo@noaa.gov
    Contact_Instructions: e-mail preferred

Why was the data set created?

These data will provide optical observations that will be correlated with bathymetry and acoustic backscatter imagery to create a fish biomass map of French Frigate Shoals. Refer to supplemental information for description of instrument and survey.

How was the data set created?

  1. From what previous works were the data drawn?
  2. How were the data generated, processed, and modified?
    Date: 23-May-2005 (process 1 of 1)
    After a tow was completed the video tape data was reviewed by spot-checking the master and backup tape to verify that data were recorded. Raw data files recorded using Hypack Max software include time, horizontal position, and ship's heading information were copied from the acquisition computer to the data archive. Tow-specific metadata were recorded in the data archive in the same location as the raw data, in a spreadsheet that was then referred to in creating metadata records of each island where data were collected during the cruise. Raw data files were exported as comma-delimited text files which were then imported into ArcGIS v8.3 and saved as shapefiles. TOAD video were classified for benthic habitat type to create Optical Validation maps to interpret acoustically derived data layers. These classified points were imported into a Microsoft Access 2003 database. All fish present during 15 second intervals before and after these positions were recorded and identified. Using LW coefficients derived from fishbase.org and size estimates from video, total biomass was calculated for a given point. An area of 0.0012 hectares per point observation was assumed based on average distances traveled between points as well as average width of field of view. A table with position, island, biomass(tonnes/hectare), and number of fish was exported from MS Access into ArcGis v9.3. This file was exported as a shapefile. A column with biomass data was symbolized using layer file MF_Biomass.lyr to create Fish Biomass Estimates map.
  3. What similar or related data should the user be aware of?

How reliable are the data; what problems remain in the data set?

  1. How well have the observations been checked?
  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?
    The horizontal position accuracy for the camera sled position is estimated at plus or minus 60 meters. There are two primary sources of this error. The ship's positioning is based on GPS SPS, often called standalone or non-differential GPS positioning. SPS has a measured accuracy of under 5 meters. The position of the GPS antenna is referenced to the ship's granite block. The second and larger primary source of error is uncertainty associated with the sled's position as reported by the Trackpoint II acoustic tracking system, which is also referenced to the granite block.
  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?
  4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?
    Complete
  5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?
    Unspecified

How can someone get a copy of the data set?

Are there legal restrictions on access or use of the data?
Access_Constraints: None
Use_Constraints:
Please acknowledge the NOAA Coral Reef Ecosystem Division, Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center as the source of this information.
  1. Who distributes the data set? (Distributor 1 of 1)
    Pacific Islands Benthic Habitat Mapping Center (PIBHMC), Coral Reef Ecosystem Division (CRED), Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
    Attn: John Rooney
    NOAA IRC
    Honolulu, HI

    808 725-5360 (voice)
    808 725-5429 (FAX)
    nmfs.pic.credinfo@noaa.gov
    Contact_Instructions: e-mail preferred
  2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set? Downloadable Data
  3. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?
    These data are not to be used for navigational purposes. NOAA makes no warranty regarding these data, expressed or implied, nor does the fact of distribution constitute such a warranty. NOAA cannot assume liability for any damages caused by any errors or omissions in these data, nor as a result of the failure of these data to function on a particular system.
  4. How can I download or order the data?

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:
Last modified: 05-Jun-2019
Last Reviewed: 18-May-2009
Metadata author:
Pacific Islands Benthic Habitat Mapping Center (PIBHMC), Coral Reef Ecosystem Division (CRED), Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Attn: CRED Data Management Team
NOAA IRC
Honolulu, HI

808 725-5360 (voice)
808 725-5429 (FAX)
nmfs.pic.credinfo@noaa.gov
Contact_Instructions: e-mail preferred
Metadata standard:
FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata (FGDC-STD-001-1998)

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