Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Ocean Service (NOS), Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment (CCMA), Biogeography Branch
2009
Backscatter Mosaic used to identify, delineate and classify moderate-depth benthic habitats around St. John, USVI
1st
remote-sensing image
Silver Spring, MD
NOAA's National Ocean Service (NOS), National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS)
https://coastalscience.noaa.gov/projects/detail?key=205
This image represents a 2x2 meter resolution backscatter mosaic of the moderate-depth portion of the NPS's Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument, south of St. John, US Virgin Islands. The backscatter values are in relative 8-bit (0 - 255) values, since neither intensity surface was calibrated. Soft bottom and rhodolith habitat types were delineated and classified from this backscatter image.
NOAA's NOS/NCCOS/CCMA Biogeography Branch, in collaboration with NOAA vessel Nancy Foster and territory, federal, and private sector partners, acquired multibeam bathymetry data in the US Virgin Islands from 2/18/04 to 3/5/04 and 2/1/05 to 2/12/05. Data was acquired with a pole-mounted Reson 8101 ER multibeam echosounder (240 kHz) and processed by a NOAA contractor using CARIS HIPS v5.4 software. Data is in UTM zone 20 north, datum WGS84. The backscatter component of the bathymetry data were geometrically and radiometrically corrected using Geocoder 3.2.1 software. Acoustic backscatter mosaics are an important piece of information when characterizing surficial seafloor features and delineating benthic habitats.
The project was conducted to meet IHO Order 1 and 2 accuracy standards, dependant on the project area and depth. All users should individually evaluate the suitability of this data according to their own needs and standards. For a complete description of the data acquisition and processing parameters, please see the data acquisition and processing reports (DAPRs) for projects: NF-04-06-VI and NF-05-05-VI (Monaco & Rooney, 2004; Battista & Lazar, 2005).
This multibeam data were collected to support IOCM (Integrated Ocean and Coastal Mapping) initiatives as part of an ongoing NOAA scientific research mission to characterize coral reef habitats at depths down to 300 meters in the US Caribbean. The multibeam backscatter, multibeam bathymetry, and ground truth video footage collected during these missions was used to characterize sea floor features and to create benthic habitat maps, helping NOAA meet its mapping commitment to the US Coral Reef Task Force. The resulting publicly-distributed data is also a contribution to the greater scientific community interested in seafloor mapping in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Vertical_Coordinate_System_Definition:
Depth_System_Definition:
Depth_Datum_Name: Mean lower low water
Depth_Resolution: See Data Acquisition and Processing Report (DAPR) for project NF-04-06-VI and NF-05-05.
Depth_Distance_Units: meters
Depth_Encoding_Method: Explicit depth coordinate included with horizontal coordinates
20040218
20050212
ground condition
As needed
-64.987110
-64.652198
18.313215
18.158064
NCEI Geoportal FilterCoRIS_Metadata
CoRIS Theme Thesaurus
EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Aquatic Habitat > Benthic Habitat
CoRIS Discovery Thesaurus
Geographic Information > Habitats
None
USVI
US Virgin Islands
St. John
Backscatter
Intensity
Multibeam
SWMB
Raster
NOAA
Biogeography
Nancy Foster
Reson 8101 ER
Seafloor
GIS
Habitat
MBES
Benthic
NF-04-06
NF-05-05
Sonar
NPS
Reef
IOCM
Integrated Ocean and Coastal Mapping
Coral
ISO 19115 Topic Category
elevation
006
environment
007
geoscientificInformation
008
imageryBaseMapsEarthCover
010
oceans
014
None
USVI
US Virgin Islands
St. John
Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument
VICRNM
VIIS
VICR
CoRIS Place Thesaurus
COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > U. S. Virgin Islands > St. John > St. John (18N064W0011)
OCEAN BASIN > Atlantic Ocean > Caribbean Sea > Virgin Islands > Virgin Islands > St. John (18N064W0011)
CoRIS Region
USVI
None
Seafloor
None
2004
2005
Please cite any use of this data.
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.
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
mailing and physical address
1305 East West Highway, N-SCI-1, SSMC 4, 9th Floor
Silver Spring
MD
20910
USA
(301) 713-3028
(301) 713-4384
Contact info is for CCMA general reception. Please ask for current Biogeography project manager for the Seafloor Characterization of the U.S. Caribbean Project
Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Ocean Service (NOS), Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment (CCMA), Biogeography Branch
NOAA - NMAO personnel and R/V NANCY FOSTER
Microsoft Windows XP Version 5.1 (Build 2600) Service Pack 3; ESRI ArcCatalog 9.3.1.1850
While the project was conducted to meet IHO Order 1 or 2 accuracy standards (dependant on project area and depth) all users should independently analyze the dataset according to their own needs and standards to determine data usability.
This GeoTIFF is sourced from a gridded dataset. The original full-resolution multibeam data was used to create a downsampled uniform-resolution CARIS BASE (Bathymetry Associated with Statistical Error) surface grid with a best depth component. The downsampled grid nodes from that depth surface were then exported and used to generate the GeoTIFF. Some positional shifts may have occurred between the original data points and the transformed grid.
See Data Acquisition and Processing Report (DAPR) for NF-04-06 and NF-05-05.
See Data Acquisition and Processing Report (DAPR) for NF-04-06 and NF-05-05.
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
NF-04-06 XTF Raw Multibeam Data
vector digital data
external hard drive
200402
200403
ground condition
NF-04-06 XTF Raw Multibeam Data
Original raw full resolution dataset.
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
NF-05-05 GSF Raw Multibeam Data
vector digital data
external hard drive
200502
200502
ground condition
NF-05-05 GSF Raw Multibeam Data
Original raw full resolution dataset.
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
NF-04-06 HDCS Processed Multibeam Data
vector digital data
external hard drive
20040218
20040305
ground condition
NF-04-06 HDCS Processed Multibeam Data
Processed, cleaned, and corrected full resolution dataset. Sourced from raw XTF data.
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
NF-05-05 HDCS Processed Multibeam Data
vector digital data
external hard drive
20050201
20050212
ground condition
NF-05-05 HDCS Processed Multibeam Data
Processed, cleaned, and corrected full resolution dataset. Sourced from raw GSF data.
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
NF-04-06 CARIS BASE Surface
raster digital data
external hard drive
20040218
20040305
ground condition
NF-04-06 BASE Surface
Downsampled CARIS BASE (Bathymetry Associated with Statistical Error) grid with best depth layer. Sourced from processed HDCS data.
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
NF-05-05 CARIS BASE Surface
raster digital data
external hard drive
20050201
20050212
ground condition
NF-05-05 BASE Surface
Downsampled CARIS BASE (Bathymetry Associated with Statistical Error) grid with best depth layer. Sourced from processed HDCS data.
Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Ocean Service (NOS), Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment (CCMA), Biogeography Branch
200412
NOAA XYZ Text File of 1x1 m Multibeam Bathymetry of St. John, US Virgin Islands, Project NF-04-06, 2004, UTM 20N WGS84
tabular digital data
https://coastalscience.noaa.gov/projects/detail?key=263
external hard drive
20040218
20040305
ground condition
NF-04-06 ASCII XYZ Multibeam Data
Downsampled ASCII text file containing XYZ values. XYZ =northing, easting, and depth in meters. Sourced from CARIS BASE surface.
Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Ocean Service (NOS), Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment (CCMA), Biogeography Branch
200603
NOAA XYZ Text File of 2x2 m Multibeam Bathymetry of St. John, US Virgin Islands, Project NF-05-05, 2005, UTM 20N NAD83
tabular digital data
https://coastalscience.noaa.gov/projects/detail?key=263
external hard drive
20050201
20050212
ground condition
NF-05-05 ASCII XYZ Multibeam Data
Downsampled ASCII text file containing XYZ values. XYZ = northing, easting, and depth in meters. Sourced from CARIS BASE surface.
For these two mapping projects, the Chief Scientists were NOAA/NOS/NCCOS/CCMA's Mark Monaco (2004) and Tim Battista (2005) and the Lead Hydrographers were NOAA/NOS/OCS/HSD/PHB's Sean Rooney (2004) and independent contractor Jay Lazar (2005). Data were collected aboard the NOAA ship Nancy Foster from 2/18/04 to 3/5/04 (project NF-04-06) and from 2/1/05 to 2/12/05 (project NF-05-05). For project number NF-04-06, multibeam data were acquired in XTF format with a pole-mounted Reson 8101 ER multibeam echosounder (240 kHz), with options 033 and 040. Triton-Elics ISIS 6.20 software was used to interface with the Reson system. Line spacing for acquisition was typically three times the water depth, giving 100% bottom coverage, and data was retained out to 70 degrees from nadir. Heave, roll, pitch and heading correctors were collected using an Ixsea Octans gyrocompass and integrated motion sensor. Sound velocity profiles were acquired with a Seabird Electronics SeaCat SBE19 CTD profiler and processed using Velociwin 8.40 (NOS HSTP product), then concatenated. Positioning was obtained using a Trimble DSM212L GPS receiver with differential correctors from U.S. Coast Guard CORS beacon Isabel, Puerto Rico. For project NF-05-05, multibeam data were acquired in GSF format with a pole-mounted Reson 8101 ER multibeam echosounder (240 kHz), with options 033, 037, and 040. Reson backscatter snippet collection was enabled. SAIC ISS 2000 software was used to interface with the Reson system. Line spacing for acquisition was three times the water depth, and data was retained out to 60 or 70 degrees from nadir, depending on project area. Heave, roll, pitch and heading correctors were collected using an Applanix POS/MV Model 320 inertial measurement unit (IMU) and associated Trimble GPS antennas. Sound velocity profiles were acquired with a Seabird Electronics SeaCat SBE19P CTD profiler and processed using Seabird Seaterm software, then applied directly to the raw GSF data. Positioning was obtained using Northstar 941X GPS receivers with differential correctors from U.S. Coast Guard CORS beacon Isabel, Puerto Rico. For both NF-04-06-VI and NF-05-05-VI, data were reduced to Mean Lower-Low Water (MLLW) using final approved tides from NOAA COOPS, based on National Water Level Observation Network (NWLON) primary tide stations at Charlotte Amalie, VI (9751639) and Lime Tree Bay, VI (9751401).
Process_Date: 200403, 200502
NF-04-06 XTF Multibeam Data
NF-05-05 GSF Multibeam Data
200502
SWMB data in XTF and GSF formats were converted and processed using CARIS HIPS v5.3 and v5.4 software, resulting in a CARIS HDCS format dataset with all correctors applied. Attitude and SWMB data were cleaned of fliers, and SWMB data were reviewed in subset mode by a NOAA contractor.
Process_Date: 200403 - 200408, 200502 - 200511
NF-04-06 HDCS Multibeam Data
NF-05-05 HDCS Multibeam Data
200511
After being submitted to CCMA by the contractor, CARIS HIPS v5.4 was used to generate a CARIS BASE surface (similar to a DTM), based on weighted swath angle, from the processed HDCS data. Then CARIS export tool "BASE Surface to ASCII" was used to export a comma delimited ASCII XYZ file, with Easting, Northing, and Depth values, using ground position units (WGS84 UTM zone 20 for NF-04-06-VI and NAD83 UTM zone 20N for NF-05-05-VI).
Process_Date: 200411, 200512
NF-04-06 BASE Surface
NF-05-05 BASE Surface
200512
For project NF-04-06-VI, the ASCII XYZ file was opened in ArcMap 9 and the 'Display XY Data' option was used to add the XY data as an event with spatial reference WGS84 UTM zone 20. Next, the ArcToolbox 9 conversion tool "Feature to Raster" was used to convert the XY event into an ESRI Grid based on the depth field Z. For project NF-05-05, the ASCII XYZ file was opened in ArcMap 9 and the 'Display XY Data' option was used to add the XY data as an event with spatial reference WGS84 UTM zone 20N. Next, the ArcToolbox 9 conversion tool "Feature to Raster" was used to convert the XY event into an ESRI Grid based on the depth field Z. For NF-05-05-VI, the process was accomplished using an in-house Arc script which combined these functions and allowed bulk processing.
Process_Date: 200411, 200512
NF-04-06 ASCII XYZ Multibeam Data
NF-05-05 ASCII XYZ Multibeam Data
200512
The datum for the 2004 bathymetric surface was transformed from the WGS84 to NAD83 using the "Project Raster" function in ArcGIS 9.1, so that the bathymetric surfaces would have the same horizontal coordinate systems for both years. The 2004 bathymetric surface was then down sampled from 1 x 1 to 2 x 2 m using the "Resample" function in ArcGIS 9.1, so that the bathymetric surfaces would have the same spatial resolutions for both years. The final 2004 and 2005 bathymetry rasters were then merged using the Raster Calculator function "Merge" in ArcGIS's Spatial Analyst Extension to create a seamless bathymetry GeoTIFF for the entire VICRNM area.
Merged NF-04-06 and NF-05-05 GeoTIFF Bathymetric Surface
200908
The 2004 and 2005 MBES intensity data were received as raw.xtf and .gsf files (respectively), which recorded the uncorrected intensity value from each snippet (i.e., from each beam of sound for each ping of sound). The .xtf and .gsf files were geometrically and radiometrically corrected using Geocoder 3.0 (Fonseca & Calder, 2005). In particular, the intensity surface was geometrically corrected for navigation attitude, transducer attitude and slant range distortion using the MBES bathymetric surface. It was radiometrically corrected for changes in acquisition gains, power levels, pulse widths, incidence angles and ensonification areas. All snippets were preserved during these corrections, allowing the full resolution data to be used to create the final mosaic. Systematic noise in 2004 intensity mosaic was then filtered in frequency space using the "fast Fourier transformation" (Mather, 2004; Lillesand and Kiefer, 2000) function in ENVI 4.5. The final 2004 and 2005 intensity rasters were converted to relative 8-bit (0 - 255) values, since neither intensity surface was calibrated. These 8-bit images were then color balanced and merged using ENVI's "Mosaicing (Georeferenced)" function to create a seamless intensity surface of the entire VICRNM area south of St. John.
NF-04-06 and NF-05-05 GeoTIFF Backscatter Surface
2009
Raster
Pixel
8412
17629
1
Universal Transverse Mercator
20
0.999600
-63.000000
0.000000
500000.000000
0.000000
Row and Column
2.000000
2.000000
meters
North American Datum of 1983
Geodetic Reference System 80
6378137.000000
298.257222
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
mailing and physical address
1305 East West Highway, N-SCI-1, SSMC 4, 9th Floor
Silver Spring
MD
20910
USA
(301) 713-3028
(301) 713-4384
Contact info is for CCMA general reception. Please ask for current Biogeography project manager for the Seafloor Characterization of U.S. Caribbean.
Downloadable Data
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.
20200329
20100226
NOAA/NOS/NCCOS/CCMA Biogeography Branch
Project Manager - Seafloor Characterization of the U.S. Caribbean
mailing and physical address
1305 East West Highway, N-SCI-1, SSMC 4, 9th Floor
Silver Spring
MD
20910
USA
(301) 713-3028
FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata
FGDC-STD-001-1998
Local Time
20100226050802
None
20040218
20050212
https://www.coris.noaa.gov/metadata/records/html/metadata_backscatter_2x2m.html
4492