This image represents a 3 meter resolution backscatter mosaic of selected portions of seafloor around Tourmaline Bank, Puerto Rico. 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 Puerto Rico from 2/25/08 to 3/8/08. Data was acquired with a hull-mounted Kongsberg Simrad EM 1002 multibeam echosounder (95 kHz) in 2008. It was processed by a NOAA contractor using CARIS HIPS software. Data has all correctors applied (attitude, sound velocity) and has been reduced to mean lower low water (MLLW) using final approved tides and zoning from NOAA COOPS. Data is in UTM zone 19 north, datum NAD83. The backscatter component of the bathymetry data was 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.
This multibeam data was collected as IOCM (Integrated Ocean and Coastal Mapping) project NF-08-04 during the fifth year of an ongoing NOAA scientific research mission in the US Caribbean to characterize nearshore to 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 2008 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 Puerto Rican 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 the US Caribbean.
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
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 ESRI Grid 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 ESRI Grid. Some positional shifts may have occurred between the original data points and the transformed grid.
See Data Acquisition and Processing Report (DAPR) for NF-08-04.
Original raw full resolution dataset.
Processed, cleaned, and corrected full resolution dataset. Sourced from raw ALL data.
unpublished backscatter
For this project, the Chief Scientist was NOAA/NOS/NCCOS/CCMA's Tim Battista and the Lead Hydrographer was independent contractor Mike Stetcher. Data were collected aboard the NOAA ship Nancy Foster from 2/25/08 to 3/08/08. Multibeam data for 2008 were acquired in .all format with a hull-mounted Kongsberg Simrad 1002 ER multibeam echosounder (95 kHz). Backscatter snippet collection was enabled. Line spacing for acquisition was three times the water depth, and data was retained out to 55 degrees from nadir for areas deeper than 55 meters and 60 degrees from nadir for areas shallower than 55 meters. 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 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).
Raw Simrad data (.all format) were converted and processed using CARIS HIPS and SIPS v6.1 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 Geocoder 3.2.1. In particular, the following corrections were applied where appropriate and when artifacts were evident: AVG Trend, TX Power and RX Gain, Area Correction, Spreading, Slant-Range and Extracted Beam Pattern. As no theoretical beam pattern for the Kongsberg Simrad 1002 system exists, it was extracted from a mapped area that was flat and had a relatively uniform (sandy) substrate. Individual lines were also truncated based on ping number and/or angle of incidence where appropriate. The final mosaics were exported as ESRI GRIDs and XYB files (i.e., X,Y locations in NAD83 UTM Zone 19N and Backscatter values as measured in decibels dBs).
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.
