This image represents a 4 meter resolution backscatter mosaic of a seamount/bank East of Fajardo, Puerto Rico. NOAA'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 and around the Northeast Reserve from 3/05/2013 to 3/29/2013. Data was acquired with a hull mounted Kongsberg EM1002 multibeam echosounder (95 kHz) and processed by a NOAA contractor using CARIS HIPS software, applying all relevant correctors (attitude, sound velocity, absorption coefficient). Data is in UTM zone 20 north, datum NAD83. The backscatter component of the bathymetry data were geometrically and radiometrically corrected in CARIS HIPS Mosaic Editor. 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, dependent 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-13-2 USVI during the ninth and tenth year of an ongoing NOAA scientific research mission in the US Caribbean to characterize midshelf and deep water coral reef habitats at depths down to 1,000 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 2013 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 US Caribbean seafloor.
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 Seafloor Characterization of US Caribbean.
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
While the project was conducted to meet IHO Order 1 and 2 accuracy standards, dependent 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 a CARIS gridded dataset. The original full-resolution multibeam data 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-13-2 USVI (to be posted at http://ccma.nos.noaa.gov/products/biogeography/usvi_nps/documentation.aspx).
See Data Acquisition and Processing Report (DAPR) for NF-13-2 USVI.
Raw .all files
Processed, cleaned, and corrected full resolution dataset. Sourced from raw .all.
Created from beam time series sourced from processed .all data.
Exported GeoTIFF
For this project, the Chief Scientist was NOAA/NOS/NCCOS/CCMA's Tim Battista and the Lead Hydrographer was independent contractor Mike Stecher. Data was collected aboard the NOAA ship Nancy Foster from 03/05/2013 to 3/29/2013 as project number NF-13-2 USVI. Multibeam data was acquired from Simrad EM1002 (95 khz) in .all format and from Reson Seabat 7125 (400 khz) in .hsx and .7k format. Backscatter collection was enabled for both systems. Line spacing for acquisition was three times the water depth, and data was retained out to 60 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. 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).
Raw .hsx and .all data were converted and processed using CARIS HIPS v7.1 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.
Acoustic backscatter mosaics are an important piece of information when characterizing surficial seafloor features and delineating benthic habitats. The multibeam backscatter data were corrected for geometric and radiometric distortions using CARIS HIPS and SIPS Mosaic Editor Geocoder Engine. In particular, the following corrections were applied: Auto TVG, Auto Gain, AVG Flat, Area Correction, Spreading and Slant-Range. Individual lines were also truncated based on ping number and/or angle of incidence where appropriate. The backscatter data were exported as corrected decibel values in ASCII format, then gridded in Global Mapper 14 and exported as 32 bit GeoTIFFs in coordinate system NAD 1983 UTM Zone 20N.
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.
