CRED Fish Biomass Estimates at Pearl and Hermes Atoll, 2003 to Support Benthic Habitat Mapping

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Frequently anticipated questions:


What does this data set describe?

Title:
CRED Fish Biomass Estimates at Pearl and Hermes Atoll, 2003 to Support Benthic Habitat Mapping
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, Pearl and Hermes Atoll to support Benthic Habitat Mapping efforts during NOAA Ship Oscar Elton Sette cruise OES0306.
Supplemental_Information:
Pearl and Hermes Atoll, located at 27.8N, 175.8W, is an extensive atoll area containing numerous small islets. The coral reef environment includes 1,166 sq. km of banks shallower than 100 m in depth.

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 classification 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 the port J-frame mounted amidships on the NOAA Ship Oscar Elton Sette. At each station the ship was positioned with the wind on the port 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 using a capstan. The operator monitored a live video feed from the camera and began recording data on a video tape recorder. 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 port side 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. Cable between the sled and the surface consisted of an underwater electrical cable (cable 2, black in color) with an internal Kevlar strength member to support the sled frame. The cable was led from the camera sled over a 22-inch diameter sheave hung from the J-frame, and from there around a gypsy head mounted on the alternate CTD winch, amidships on the vessel's port side. All TOAD surface components were located in the Dry Lab in an equipment rack on the after bulkhead.

Name & address of person collecting data: John Rooney 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 Guildline MiniBat In-Tow data acquisition software.

File naming convention: Each tow is given a name consisting of a 3-letter designator for the island area, "PHR" in this case followed by a five-digit tow number. The first two digits indicate the last two digits of the calendar year, i.e., "03" is used for this cruise, which took place in 2003. The last three numbers indicate the consecutive number of the tow for that island and year, and start on the next hundred for subsequent cruises in that year to the same island. During OES0306 the consecutive numbers started at 004. Video tape labels, the navigation files (*.glo) and paper log forms are all annotated with the tow name. Metadata were extracted from the navigation data and recorded to a file with the same name as the navigation file except that a file type of ".met" was appended; for example, "PHR03002.glo.met"

Time Correlation: All times are based on UTC. Two clocks were set manually synchronized prior to starting data collection; the clock in the video character generator that was used to annotate the video tape and the TOAD data acquisition computer clock was used to annotate the navigation (*.glo) files. These clocks were set to UTC at the beginning of each evening's operations and then compared to one another prior to (and during) each tow.

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), 200606, CRED Fish Biomass Estimates at Pearl and Hermes Atoll, 2003 to Support Benthic Habitat Mapping.

    Online Links:

  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?
    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -176.01243
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -175.99147
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 27.98013
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 27.75137
  3. What does it look like?
    https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/data/oceans/coris/data/NOAA/nmfs/pifsc/cred/TOADbrowse/TOAD_PHA_92dpi.jpg (JPEG)
    Pearl and Hermes Atoll, NWHI: TOAD Tows and Multibeam Bathymetry
  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?
    Beginning_Date: 30-Jul-2003
    Ending_Date: 02-Aug-2003
    Currentness_Reference: ground condition
  5. What is the general form of this data set?
    Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form:
    Video and photo 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), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (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 Pearl and Hermes Atoll. 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: 18-Mar-2006 (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. Navigation data were copied from the acquisition computer to the data archive. A metadata extractor (gloFilter.py, version 3/06) was run to summarize the navigation data and test for errors. If errors were detected they were corrected or flagged as appropriate and a new data file was made. This file's header was updated to document what type of processing occurred. A metadata file was recorded in the data archive in the same location as the navigation data. Processed navigation data were then read into ArcView 3.2 shapefiles using an ArcView Avenue script named "TOAD.Import.Playback", version 9/25/01, written by Ronald Hoeke.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 (tones/hectare), and number of fish was exported from MS Access into ArcGIS v9.2. This file was exported as a shapefile. 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 100 meters. There are three 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 used; no attempt is made to translocate this position to that of the tow block from which the camera is deployed. The difference between the tow block and the antenna is about 14 meters. The camera sled position is based a layback calculation that use ship's course, the amount of cable out and the camera sled depth to develop an estimate of the camera sled position. The amount of cable deployed is manually entered by the operator during a given camera tow.
  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: 29-Mar-2020
Last Reviewed: 22-Dec-2008
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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