This dataset contains a point shapefile with benthic habitat classifications of vertical relief, geomorphological structure, substrate, and biological cover for selected points along various Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) underwater video transects in the US Virgin Islands.NOAA's NOS/NCCOS/CCMA Biogeography Team, in collaboration with NOAA vessel Nancy Foster and territory, federal, and private sector partners, acquired Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) underwater video data in the US Virgin Islands from 2/18/04 to 3/5/04. Data was acquired with a towed Minibat and georeferenced and visually interpreted by CCMA employees. Data is in UTM zone 20, datum WGS84.

This dataset contains a line shapefile showing the trackline of various Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) underwater video transects in the US Virgin Islands.NOAA's NOS/NCCOS/CCMA Biogeography Team, in collaboration with NOAA vessel Nancy Foster and territory, federal, and private sector partners, acquired Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) underwater video data in the US Virgin Islands from 2/1/05 to 2/12/05. Data was acquired with a Phantom S2 ROV operated by NOAA's National Undersea Research Program (NURP) and georeferenced and visually interpreted by CCMA employees. Data is in UTM zone 20N, datum WGS84.

This dataset contains a line shapefile showing the trackline of various Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) underwater video transects in the US Virgin Islands.NOAA's NOS/NCCOS/CCMA Biogeography Team, in collaboration with NOAA vessel Nancy Foster and territory, federal, and private sector partners, acquired Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) underwater video data in the US Virgin Islands from 2/1/05 to 2/12/05. Data was acquired with a Phantom S2 ROV operated by NOAA's National Undersea Research Program (NURP) and georeferenced and visually interpreted by CCMA employees. Data is in UTM zone 20N, datum WGS84.

This shapefile denotes the location of underwater photos and/or video that were collected by NOAA scientists using a drop camera system. Photos and/or video were collected between 04/14/2007 and 04/24/2007 at 84 locations around Isla de Mona in Puerto Rico and west of Mayaguez, Puerto Rico in the U.S. Caribbean. These photos and videos will be manually classified into different habitat classes, and integrated with the abiotic data collected by the acoustic sonar (sound navigation and ranging) systems to develop a benthic habitat map for the U.S. Caribbean. Habitat maps describe the location of habitat features (in relation to the shoreline), their physical composition and the types of organisms that colonize them. Fundamentally, habitat maps provide critical information about the extent, health and composition of marine resources, which is vital for communicating information about the distribution and abundance of species to resource managers, scientists and the public. Habitat maps also support an increasing number of landscape ecology studies, as well as the process of marine spatial planning, including the design and evaluation of marine protected areas (MPAs).

This shapefile denotes the location of underwater photos and/or video that were collected by NOAA scientists using a Spectrum Phantom S2 ROV (remotely operated vehicle). Photos and/or video were collected between 03/26/2009 and 04/02/2009 along 18 transects south and east of Isla de Vieques, Puerto Rico in the U.S. Caribbean. These photos and videos will be manually classified into different habitat classes, and integrated with the abiotic data collected by the acoustic sonar (sound navigation and ranging) systems to develop a benthic habitat map for the U.S. Caribbean. Habitat maps describe the location of habitat features (in relation to the shoreline), their physical composition and the types of organisms that colonize them. Fundamentally, habitat maps provide critical information about the extent, health and composition of marine resources, which is vital for communicating information about the distribution and abundance of species to resource managers, scientists and the public. Habitat maps also support an increasing number of landscape ecology studies, as well as the process of marine spatial planning, including the design and evaluation of marine protected areas (MPAs).

This shapefile denotes the location of underwater photos and/or video that were collected by NOAA scientists using a Spectrum Phantom S2 ROV (remotely operated vehicle). Photos and/or video were collected between 02/25/2008 and 03/08/2008 along 28 transects around Isla de Mona in Puerto Rico and west of Mayaguez, Puerto Rico in the U.S. Caribbean. These photos and videos will be manually classified into different habitat classes, and integrated with the abiotic data collected by the acoustic sonar (sound navigation and ranging) systems to develop a benthic habitat map for the U.S. Caribbean. Habitat maps describe the location of habitat features (in relation to the shoreline), their physical composition and the types of organisms that colonize them. Fundamentally, habitat maps provide critical information about the extent, health and composition of marine resources, which is vital for communicating information about the distribution and abundance of species to resource managers, scientists and the public. Habitat maps also support an increasing number of landscape ecology studies, as well as the process of marine spatial planning, including the design and evaluation of marine protected areas (MPAs).

This shapefile denotes the location of underwater photos and/or video that were collected by NOAA scientists using a MiniBat towed underwater system. Photos and/or video were collected between 02/22/2004 and 03/01/2004 along 1 transect north of St. Croix and along 6 transects south of St. Thomas and St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands. These photos and videos will be manually classified into different habitat classes, and integrated with the abiotic data collected by the acoustic sonar (sound navigation and ranging) systems to develop a benthic habitat map for the U.S. Caribbean. Habitat maps describe the location of habitat features (in relation to the shoreline), their physical composition and the types of organisms that colonize them. Fundamentally, habitat maps provide critical information about the extent, health and composition of marine resources, which is vital for communicating information about the distribution and abundance of species to resource managers, sc ientists and the public. Habitat maps also support an increasing number of landscape ecology studies, as well as the process of marine spatial planning, including the design and evaluation of marine protected areas (MPAs).

This shapefile denotes the location of underwater photos and/or video that were collected by NOAA scientists using a Spectrum Phantom S2 ROV (remotely operated vehicle). Photos and/or video were collected between 02/25/2008 and 03/08/2008 along 28 transects around Isla de Mona in Puerto Rico and west of Mayaguez, Puerto Rico in the U.S. Caribbean. These photos and videos will be manually classified into different habitat classes, and integrated with the abiotic data collected by the acoustic sonar (sound navigation and ranging) systems to develop a benthic habitat map for the U.S. Caribbean. Habitat maps describe the location of habitat features (in relation to the shoreline), their physical composition and the types of organisms that colonize them. Fundamentally, habitat maps provide critical information about the extent, health and composition of marine resources, which is vital for communicating information about the distribution and abundance of species to resource managers, scientists and the public. Habitat maps also support an increasing number of landscape ecology studies, as well as the process of marine spatial planning, including the design and evaluation of marine protected areas (MPAs).

This shapefile denotes the location of underwater photos and/or video that were collected by NOAA scientists using a drop camera system. Photos and/or video were collected between 04/14/2007 and 04/24/2007 at 84 locations around Isla de Mona in Puerto Rico and west of Mayaguez, Puerto Rico in the U.S. Caribbean. These photos and videos will be manually classified into different habitat classes, and integrated with the abiotic data collected by the acoustic sonar (sound navigation and ranging) systems to develop a benthic habitat map for the U.S. Caribbean. Habitat maps describe the location of habitat features (in relation to the shoreline), their physical composition and the types of organisms that colonize them. Fundamentally, habitat maps provide critical information about the extent, health and composition of marine resources, which is vital for communicating information about the distribution and abundance of species to resource managers, scientists and the public. Habitat maps also support an increasing number of landscape ecology studies, as well as the process of marine spatial planning, including the design and evaluation of marine protected areas (MPAs).

This shapefile denotes the location of underwater video that was collected by NOAA scientists using a SeaViewer drop camera system. For more information about this drop camera system, see: http://coastalscience.noaa.gov/projects/detail?key=263. Photos and/or video were collected between 03/18/2010 and 04/05/2010 at 104 locations within two selected areas of seafloor south of St. Thomas and St. John, USVI. These videos will be manually classified into different habitat classes, and integrated with the abiotic data collected by the acoustic SoNAR (sound navigation and ranging) systems to develop a benthic habitat map for the U.S. Caribbean. Habitat maps describe the location of habitat features (in relation to the shoreline), their physical composition and the types of organisms that colonize them. Fundamentally, habitat maps provide critical information about the extent, health and composition of marine resources, which is vital for communicating information about the distribution and abundance of species to resource managers, scientists and the public. Habitat maps also support an increasing number of landscape ecology studies, as well as the process of marine spatial planning, including the design and evaluation of marine protected areas (MPAs).