NOAA Polyline Shapefile - MiniBat transects, US Virgin Islands - St. John, St. Thomas and St. Croix - Project NF-04-06-VI - (2004), UTM 20N NAD83 (NCEI Accession 0131850)

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Frequently anticipated questions:


What does this data set describe?

Title:
NOAA Polyline Shapefile - MiniBat transects, US Virgin Islands - St. John, St. Thomas and St. Croix - Project NF-04-06-VI - (2004), UTM 20N NAD83 (NCEI Accession 0131850)
Abstract:
This shapefile denotes the location of underwater photos and/or video that were collected by NOAA scientists using a MiniBat towed underwater system. Photos and/or video were collected between 02/22/2004 and 03/01/2004 along 1 transect north of St. Croix and along 6 transects south of St. Thomas and St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands. These photos and videos will be manually classified into different habitat classes, and integrated with the abiotic data collected by the acoustic sonar (sound navigation and ranging) systems to develop a benthic habitat map for the U.S. Caribbean. Habitat maps describe the location of habitat features (in relation to the shoreline), their physical composition and the types of organisms that colonize them. Fundamentally, habitat maps provide critical information about the extent, health and composition of marine resources, which is vital for communicating information about the distribution and abundance of species to resource managers, sci entists and the public. Habitat maps also support an increasing number of landscape ecology studies, as well as the process of marine spatial planning, including the design and evaluation of marine protected areas (MPAs).
  1. How might this data set be cited?
    Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Ocean Service (NOS), Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment (CCMA), Biogeography Branch, 2004, NOAA Polyline Shapefile - MiniBat transects, US Virgin Islands - St. John, St. Thomas and St. Croix - Project NF-04-06-VI - (2004), UTM 20N NAD83 (NCEI Accession 0131850): NOAA's Ocean Service, National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS), Silver Spring, MD.

    Online Links:

    Other_Citation_Details:
    Please cite NOAA/NOS/NCCOS/CCMA/Biogeography Branch when using this dataset.
    This is part of the following larger work.

    Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Ocean Service (NOS), National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS), Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment (CCMA), Biogeography Branch, 2004, Seafloor Characterization of the U.S. Caribbean.: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Ocean Service (NOS), Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment (CCMA), Biogeography Branch, Silver Spring, MD.

  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?
    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -64.832
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -64.562
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 18.292
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 17.796
  3. What does it look like?
  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?
    Beginning_Date: 22-Feb-2004
    Ending_Date: 01-Mar-2004
    Currentness_Reference: ground condition
  5. What is the general form of this data set?
    Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: vector digital data
  6. How does the data set represent geographic features?
    1. How are geographic features stored in the data set?
      This is a Vector data set. It contains the following vector data types (SDTS terminology):
      • String (7)
    2. What coordinate system is used to represent geographic features?
      Grid_Coordinate_System_Name: Universal Transverse Mercator
      Universal_Transverse_Mercator:
      UTM_Zone_Number: 20
      Transverse_Mercator:
      Scale_Factor_at_Central_Meridian: 0.999600
      Longitude_of_Central_Meridian: -63.000000
      Latitude_of_Projection_Origin: 0.000000
      False_Easting: 500000.000000
      False_Northing: 0.000000
      Planar coordinates are encoded using Coordinate Pair
      Abscissae (x-coordinates) are specified to the nearest 0.000100
      Ordinates (y-coordinates) are specified to the nearest 0.000100
      Planar coordinates are specified in meters
      The horizontal datum used is North American Datum of 1983.
      The ellipsoid used is Geodetic Reference System 80.
      The semi-major axis of the ellipsoid used is 6378137.000000.
      The flattening of the ellipsoid used is 1/298.257222.
  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?
    MiniBat_2004_Transects_Lines
    Shapefile attribute table (Source: None)
    FID
    Internal feature number. (Source: ESRI) Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated.
    Shape
    Feature geometry. (Source: ESRI) Coordinates defining the features.
    Dive
    Sequential order of the GV dives. (Source: NOAA) Alphanumeric value assigned to each dive.
    Year
    Year in which the underwater photos and video were collected (Source: NOAA)
    Range of values
    Minimum:2004
    Maximum:2004

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?
  3. To whom should users address questions about the data?
    Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Ocean Service (NOS), Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment (CCMA), Biogeography Branch
    Project Manager - Seafloor Characterization of the U.S. Caribbean
    1305 East West Highway, N-SCI-1, SSMC 4, 9th Floor
    Silver Spring, MD
    USA

    (301) 713-3028 (voice)
    (301) 713-4384 (FAX)
    Contact_Instructions:
    Contact info is for CCMA general reception. Please ask for current project manager of Seafloor Characterization of the U.S. Caribbean project

Why was the data set created?

The objective of this ground validation (GV) effort, conducted by NOAA's Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment Biogeography Branch, in collaboration with multiple federal, state, territory, academic and private sector partners, was to acquire spatially-explicit information about the geomorphological structure, biological cover and live coral cover of the seafloor in the U.S. Caribbean. Extensive field work is needed to create high-quality benthic habitat maps because it enhances the accuracy of habitat attribution and (to a lesser degree) habitat delineation. Consequently, ground validation locations were targeted by the cartographer to satisfy the following objectives: (1) Explore features in the imagery with unknown or confusing acoustic signatures; (2) Confirm that the habitat type correlated with a particular acoustic signature remained consistent throughout the entire study area. This information will be incorporated into a fine-scale assessment of the statu s, abundance, and distribution of marine habitats in the U.S. Caribbean.

How was the data set created?

  1. From what previous works were the data drawn?
    None. (source 1 of 1)
    Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Ocean Service (NOS), Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment (CCMA), Biogeography Branch, Unpublished material, Raw GPS Files.

    Type_of_Source_Media: GPS and USBL (Ultrashort baseline) data
    Source_Contribution: GPS and USBL (Ultrashort baseline) data
  2. How were the data generated, processed, and modified?
    Date: 2004 (process 1 of 2)
    A first draft benthic habitat map was generated by delineating features on the seafloor with discrete acoustic signatures. During the creation of this first draft map, the cartographer placed discrete points on or lines intersecting features in the map that had unknown acoustic signatures. Points were also placed on features with known acoustic signatures (evenly distributed throughout the geographic extent of the map) to confirm that the habitats associated with these signatures remained consistent through the area of interest. These two types of points were labeled as "ground validation" sites and were visited in the field. Person who carried out this activity:
    NOAA/NOS/NCCOS/CCMA Biogeography Branch
    Project Manager - Seafloor Characterization of the U.S. Caribbean
    1305 East West Highway, N-SCI-1, SSMC 4, 9th Floor
    Silver Spring, MD
    USA

    (301) 713-3028 (voice)
    (301) 713-4384 (FAX)
    Contact_Instructions:
    Contact info is for CCMA general reception. Please ask for current project manager of Seafloor Characterization of the U.S. Caribbean.
    Date: 2004 (process 2 of 2)
    NOAA scientists explored these ground validation locations in situ using a MiniBat towed underwater system. The resulting positional, video and photographic information was processed and will be used to classify each distinct habitat polygon to create a map of the seafloor in the U.S. Caribbean. Person who carried out this activity:
    NOAA/NOS/NCCOS/CCMA Biogeography Branch
    Project Manager - Seafloor Characterization of the U.S. Caribbean
    1305 East West Highway, N-SCI-1, SSMC 4, 9th Floor
    Silver Spring, MD
    USA

    (301) 713-3028 (voice)
    (301) 713-4384 (FAX)
    Contact_Instructions:
    Contact info is for CCMA general reception. Please ask for current project manager of Seafloor Characterization of the U.S. Caribbean.
  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?
    The records in this data layer were automatically acquired by the GPS units and are expected to be correct.
  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?
    None.
  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?
  4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?
    This shapefile includes all the locations visited during this mission.
  5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?
    None.

How can someone get a copy of the data set?

Are there legal restrictions on access or use of the data?
Access_Constraints: Please cite any use of this data.
Use_Constraints:
Note: NOT TO BE USED FOR NAVIGATION.

These data were prepared by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, make any warranty, expressed or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed in this report, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference therein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. Any views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof. Although all data have been used by NOAA, no warranty, expressed or implied, is made by NOAA as to the accuracy of the data and /or related materials. The act of distribution shall not constitute any such warranty, and no responsibility is assumed by NOAA in the use of these data or related materials.

  1. Who distributes the data set? (Distributor 1 of 1)
    Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Ocean Service (NOS), Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment (CCMA), Biogeography Branch
    Project Manager - Seafloor Characterization of the U.S. Caribbean
    1305 East West Highway, N-SCI-1, SSMC 4, 9th Floor
    Silver Spring, MD
    USA

    (301) 713-3028 (voice)
    (301) 713-4384 (FAX)
    Contact_Instructions:
    Contact info is for CCMA general reception. Please ask for current project manager of Seafloor Characterization of the U.S. Caribbean.
  2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set? Downloadable Data
  3. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?
    The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) Biogeography Branch does not guarantee the accuracy of the geographic features or attributes.
  4. How can I download or order the data?
  5. Is there some other way to get the data?
    Contact NOAA for distribution options (see Distributor).

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:
Last modified: 29-Mar-2020
Last Reviewed: 08-Dec-2010
Metadata author:
Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Ocean Service (NOS), Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment (CCMA), Biogeography Branch
Attn: Project Manager - Seafloor Characterization of the U.S. Caribbean
Project Manager - Seafloor Characterization of the U.S. Caribbean
1305 East West Highway, N-SCI-1, SSMC 4, 9th Floor
Silver Spring, MD
USA

(301) 713-3028 (voice)
(301) 713-4384 (FAX)
Contact_Instructions:
Contact info is for CCMA general reception. Please ask for current project manager of Seafloor Characterization of the U.S. Caribbean.
Metadata standard:
FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata (FGDC-STD-001-1998)

Generated by mp version 2.9.48 on Thu Mar 28 11:03:34 2024