This project is a cooperative effort among the National Ocean Service, National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment; the University of Hawaii; and Analytical Laboratories of Hawaii, LLC. The goal of the work was to incorporate previously developed mapping methods to produce benthic habitat maps generated by photo interpreting georeferenced IKONOS satellite imagery. These point data were generated to conduct ground validation during map preparation.

This project is a cooperative effort between the National Ocean Service, National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment, the University of Hawaii, IMSG and Analytical Laboratories of Hawaii, LLC. The goal of the work was to incorporate previously developed mapping methods to produce coral reef habitat maps for The Republic of Palau. GPS field observations were used to establish the thematic accuracy of this thematic product. 623 benthic habitat characterizations were completed in UTM Zone 53N for this work.

This project is a cooperative effort among the National Ocean Service, National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment; the University of Hawaii; and Analytical Laboratories of Hawaii, LLC. The goal of the work was to map the coral reef habitats of Palau by visual interpretation and manual delineation of IKONOS satellite imagery. A two tiered habitat classification system was used in this work. The scheme integrates geomorphologic reef structure and biological cover into a single scheme and subsets each into detail. It also includes thirteen zones.

This project is a cooperative effort among the National Ocean Service, National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment; the University of Hawaii; BAE Systems Spectral Solutions; and Analytical Laboratories of Hawaii, LLC. The goal of the work was to incorporate previously developed mapping methods to produce coral reef habitat maps for American Samoa, Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. GPS field observations were used to establish the thematic accuracy of this thematic product. 1113 benthic habitat characterizations were completed for this work.

These data are a collection of regional GIS (Arcview shapefiles and associated Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) metadata) benthic habitat files from studies conducted in specific locations within Florida. Data were collected in partnership with the NOAA Office for Coastal Management (formerly the Coastal Services Center) following the guidelines detailed by the NOAA Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP). Each regions's data is held in a separate subdirectory within this dataset. These GIS benthic data vary in type and attributes depending on the purpose of the study for each region as follows - Apalachicola Bay, sediment profiling data and benthic community information gathered from grab sampling, Dry Tortugas, RoxAnn single-beam acoustic surveys which were part of a larger biogeographic characterization effort intended to characterize benthic habitats and ocean circulation patterns in the newly established Tortugas Ecological Reserve, Florida Bay, habitat polygons developed from National Geodetic Survey aerial photography according to NOAA Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) protocol, and Indian River Lagoon, mapping SAV beds and benthic habitat according to C-CAP protocol. Each set of benthic data was developed according to protocols described in the associated FGDC metadata for each regional study. A generalized browse graphic was generated at the NODC for each region and included with these data.

This project is a cooperative effort among the National Ocean Service, National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment; the University of Hawaii; BAE Systems Spectral Solutions; and Analytical Laboratories of Hawaii, LLC. The goal of the work was to incorporate previously developed mapping methods to produce benthic habitat maps generated by photo interpreting georeferenced IKONOS satellite imagery. These point data were generated to conduct ground validation during map preparation.

This project is a cooperative effort among the National Ocean Service, National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment; the University of Hawaii; BAE Systems Spectral Solutions; and Analytical Laboratories of Hawaii, LLC. The goal of the work was to incorporate previously developed mapping methods to produce coral reef habitat maps for American Samoa, Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. GPS field observations were used to establish the thematic accuracy of this thematic product. 651 benthic habitat characterizations were completed for this work.

These data were collected under a cooperative mapping program between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), NOAA's Office for Coastal Management, and the Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve. The primary objectives of this program were to collect marine geophysical data to develop a suite of seafloor maps that would better define the extent of oyster habitats and the overall seafloor geology of the bay and provide updated information for management of this resource. In addition to their value for management of the bay's oyster resources, the maps also provide a geologic framework for scientific research and the public. The study focused on the Apalachicola Bay and western St. George Sound portions of the estuary, mostly in depths greater than 2 meters. High-resolution bathymetry, backscatter intensity, and seismic profile data were collected over 230 square kilometers of the bay. The interpretation of sidescan sonar imagery, bathymetry, available sediment sample information, and seafloor observations provided a detailed interpretation of the surficial geology of Apalachicola Bay and western portions of St. George Sound, Florida. The initial surficial geologic interpretations were translated by the Office for Coastal Management into the Florida System for Classifying Habitats in Estuarine and Marine Environments (SCHEME). No sediment classes were lost during this process. The layers available within the data download include biotic, geoform, and substrate. Partners: United States Geological Survey, Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve

The National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) National Ocean Service (NOS) is tasked with the coral mapping element of the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force (CRTF) under the authority of Executive Order 13089. NOS is responsible for coral reef mapping in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Northwest Hawaiian Islands, the Main Eight Hawaiian Islands, and the U.S. Territories and Freely Associated States of the Pacific. Space Imaging, Inc (SI) and Analytical Laboratories of Hawaii, LLC (ALH) has produced GIS-compatible benthic habitat digital maps of the Republic of Palau using the classification scheme defined by NOAA. The map products produced through this project include baseline data of U.S. coral reefs, location of coral reef boundaries and overall coral reef cover, and the geomorphologic structure in and around coral reef systems. Maps include the 9 major and 23 detailed biological cover types, 4 major and 14 detailed geomorphological structure types, and 15 mutually exclusive zones specified in NOAA's hierarchical classification manual for coastal waters of the Republic of Palau. Benthic habitats are delineated from the coastline to water depths of 30 meters in GIS using manual interpretation techniques. NOAA utilizes IKONOS Multispectral (MSI) Satellite Imagery from Space Imaging, Inc., consisting of both newly acquired and archived imagery. The imagery consists of 1m panchromatic and 4m MSI with a horizontal accuracy of at least 5m CE95 at 1:4,800 National Map Accuracy Standard (NMAS). Once the imagery is processed, NOAA will use ALH's hand-digitize GIS approach to produce the benthic habitat maps at a minimum mapping unit of one acre, as well as NOAA's preferred random stratified accuracy assessment method.

This project is a cooperative effort among the National Ocean Service, National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment; the University of Hawaii; BAE Systems Spectral Solutions; and Analytical Laboratories of Hawaii, LLC. The goal of the work was to incorporate previously developed mapping methods to produce benthic habitat maps generated by photo interpreting georeferenced IKONOS satellite imagery. These point data were generated to conduct ground validation during map preparation.