This image represents a 0.5 meter resolution backscatter mosaic of the Mid Shelf Reef south of St. Thomas, US Virgin IslandsNOAA's NOS/NCCOS/CCMA Biogeography Team, in collaboration with NOAA vessel Nancy Foster and territory, federal, and private sector partners, acquired multibeam bathymetry data in the US Virgin Islands from 2/1/05 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 has all correctors applied (attitude, sound velocity) and has been reduced to mean lower low water (MLLW) using final approved tides from NOAA COOPS. Data is in UTM zone 20 north, datum WGS84. The backscatter component of the bathymetry data were processed by the Hawaii Mapping Research Group (HMRG), University of Hawaii using the HAWAII MR1 Sidescan Sonar Software Suite. The data were corrected for angle varying gain, transmit power and pulse width. Electronic and acoustic noise, such as striping due to across track variations in amplitude and speckling due to transducer motion, were removed.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.
This multibeam data was collected as IOCM (Integrated Ocean and Coastal Mapping) project NF-05-05 during the second year of an ongoing NOAA scientific research mission in the US Caribbean to characterize nearshore coral reef habitats at depths down to 300 meters. The mission purpose is to better understand the resources within the surveyed reef habitats, and ultimately develop species utilization models linking physical habitats with biological information. The multibeam backscatter, multibeam bathymetry, and ground truth video footage collected during the 2005 mission will be used internally to characterize sea floor topography 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 the USVI seafloor.
None Information about Depth Resolution: See Data Acquisition and Processing Report (DAPR) for cruise number NF-05-05.
ground condition
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.
1305 East West Highway, SSMC4
Contact info is for CCMA general reception. Please ask for current Biogeography project manager for USVI.
Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Ocean Service (NOS), Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment (CCMA), Biogeography Program; NOAA - NMAO personnel and R/V NANCY FOSTER
While the project was conducted to meet IHO Order 1 and 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 Backscatter GeoTIFF is sourced from the original full-resolution multibeam data that was used to create a down sampled uniform-resolution backscatter grid. The down sampled grid nodes from that backscatter surface were then exported and used to generate the ESRI GeoTIFF. Some minor positional shifts may have occurred between the original data points and the transformed GeoTIFF.
See Data Acquisition and Processing Report (DAPR) for NF-05-05.
Original raw full resolution dataset.
Processed, cleaned, and corrected full resolution dataset. Sourced from raw GSF data.
Processed, corrected and exported full resolution backscatter dataset.
For this project, the Chief Scientist was NOAA/NOS/NCCOS/CCMA's Tim Battista and the Lead Hydrographer was independent contractor Jay Lazar. Data was collected aboard the NOAA ship Nancy Foster from 2/1/05 to 2/12/05, as project number NF-05-05-VI. Multibeam data was 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. Data was 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).
Raw SWMB data in GSF (generic sensor format) format were converted and processed using CARIS HIPS v5.4 software, resulting in a CARIS HDCS format dataset with all correctors applied. Attitude and SWMB data was cleaned of fliers, and SWMB data was reviewed in subset mode by a NOAA contractor. Process Date Range is 200502 - 200511
The backscatter component of the bathymetry data were processed by the University of Hawaii using the HAWAII MR1 Sidescan Sonar Software Suite. The data were corrected for angle varying gain, transmit power and pulse width. Electronic and acoustic noise, such as striping due to across track variations in amplitude and speckling due to transducer motion, were removed.HMRG processing software runs on Linux, Unix and Irix platforms. The main processing modules can be run in either graphical or command-line modes. The preferred processing scheme involves using the graphical interface to interactively determine noise filters appropriate for each survey. Once characterized, these filters are then applied in batch processes that run faster than graphical methods allow. Once processing is completed, the HMRG software is used to grid the data and then to assemble individual grids into mosaics. The mosaics can be output as Sun raster files, geotiffs, or Generic Mapping Tools (GMT) grids, which allow the mosaics to be imported into other GIS and charting programs (Davis et al, 2003).Davis, R., B. Applegate and P. Johnson. 2003. A New Method for Processing Backscatter Imagery Collected by Multibeam Sonars: The HAWAII MR1 Sidescan Sonar Software Suite. University of Hawaii at Manoa. pp. 11.
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.
