Binary point-cloud data were produced for a portion of the upper Florida Keys reef tract, Florida, from remotely sensed, geographically referenced elevation measurements collected by Leading Edge Geomatics (LEG) using a Leica Chiroptera II Bathymetric and Topographic Sensor. Dewberry reports that the nominal pulse spacing for this project was 1 point every 0.7 meters. Dewberry used proprietary procedures to classify the LAS according to project specifications: 0-Never Classified, 1-Unclassified, 2-Ground (includes model key point bit for points identified as Model Key Point), 7-Low Noise, 17-Bridges, 18-High Noise, 40-Bathymetric point or submerged topography (includes model key point bit for points identified as Model Key Point), 41-Water Surface, and 42-Derived water surface.

Binary point-cloud data were produced for a portion of the upper Florida Keys reef tract, Florida, from remotely sensed, geographically referenced elevation measurements collected by Leading Edge Geomatics (LEG) using a Leica Chiroptera II Bathymetric and Topographic Sensor. Dewberry reports that the nominal pulse spacing for this project was 1 point every 0.7 meters. Dewberry used proprietary procedures to classify the LAS according to project specifications: 0-Never Classified, 1-Unclassified, 2-Ground (includes model key point bit for points identified as Model Key Point), 7-Low Noise, 17-Bridges, 18-High Noise, 40-Bathymetric point or submerged topography (includes model key point bit for points identified as Model Key Point), 41-Water Surface, and 42-Derived water surface.

A digital elevation model (DEM) mosaic was produced for a portion of the upper Florida Keys reef tract, Florida, from remotely sensed, geographically referenced elevation measurements collected by Leading Edge Geomatics (LEG) using a Leica Chiroptera II Bathymetric and Topographic Sensor. Dewberry reports that the nominal pulse spacing for this project was 1 point every 0.7 meters. Dewberry used proprietary procedures to classify the LAS according to project specifications: 0-Never Classified, 1-Unclassified, 2-Ground (includes model key point bit for points identified as Model Key Point), 7-Low Noise, 17-Bridges, 18-High Noise, 40-Bathymetric point or submerged topography (includes model key point bit for points identified as Model Key Point), 41-Water Surface, and 42-Derived water surface.

A digital elevation model (DEM) mosaic was produced for a portion of the upper Florida Keys reef tract, Florida, from remotely sensed, geographically referenced elevation measurements collected by Leading Edge Geomatics (LEG) using a Leica Chiroptera II Bathymetric and Topographic Sensor. Dewberry reports that the nominal pulse spacing for this project was 1 point every 0.7 meters. Dewberry used proprietary procedures to classify the LAS according to project specifications: 0-Never Classified, 1-Unclassified, 2-Ground (includes model key point bit for points identified as Model Key Point), 7-Low Noise, 17-Bridges, 18-High Noise, 40-Bathymetric point or submerged topography (includes model key point bit for points identified as Model Key Point), 41-Water Surface, and 42-Derived water surface.

A digital elevation model (DEM) mosaic was produced for a portion of the upper Florida Keys reef tract, Florida, from remotely sensed, geographically referenced elevation measurements collected by Leading Edge Geomatics (LEG) using a Leica Chiroptera II Bathymetric and Topographic Sensor. Dewberry reports that the nominal pulse spacing for this project was 1 point every 0.7 meters. Dewberry used proprietary procedures to classify the LAS according to project specifications: 0-Never Classified, 1-Unclassified, 2-Ground (includes model key point bit for points identified as Model Key Point), 7-Low Noise, 17-Bridges, 18-High Noise, 40-Bathymetric point or submerged topography (includes model key point bit for points identified as Model Key Point), 41-Water Surface, and 42-Derived water surface.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center (SPCMSC) conducted research to identify areas of seafloor elevation stability and instability based on elevation changes between the 1930’s and 2002 in the Upper Florida Keys (UFK) from Triumph Reef to Pickles Reef within a 234.2 square-kilometer area. USGS SPCMSC staff used seafloor elevation-change data from Yates and others (2017a) derived from an elevation-change analysis between two elevation datasets acquired in the 1930’s and 2001/2002 using the methods of Yates and others (2017b). Most of the elevation data from the 2001/2002 time period were collected during 2002, so as an abbreviated naming convention, we refer to this time period as 2002. A seafloor stability threshold was determined for the 1930’s-2002 UFK elevation-change dataset based on the vertical uncertainty of the 1930’s historical hydrographic surveys and 2002 digital elevation models (DEMs). Five stability categories (which include, Stable: 0.0 meters (m) to ±0.24 m or 0.0 m to ±0.49 m; Moderately stable: ±0.25 m to ±0.49 m; Moderately unstable: ±0.50 m to ±0.74 m; Mostly unstable: ±0.75 m to ±0.99 m; and Unstable: ±1.00 m to Max/Min elevation change) were created and used to define levels of stability and instability for each elevation-change value (25,982 data points) based on the amount of erosion and accretion during the 1930’s to 2002 time period. Seafloor-stability point and triangulated irregular network (TIN) surface models were created at five different elevation-change data resolutions (1st order through 5th order) with each resolution becoming increasingly more detailed. The stability models were used to determine the level of seafloor stability at potential areas of interest for coral restoration and 13 habitat types found in the UFK. Stability surface (TIN) models were used for areas defined by specific XY geographic points, while stability point models were used for areas defined by bounding box coordinate locations. This data release includes ArcGIS map packages containing the binned and color-coded stability point and surface (TIN) models, potential coral restoration locations, and habitat files; maps of each stability model; and data tables containing stability and elevation-change data for the potential coral restoration locations and habitat types. Data were collected under Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary permit FKNMS-2016-068.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center (SPCMSC) conducted research to identify areas of seafloor elevation stability and instability based on elevation changes between the 1930’s and 2002 in the Upper Florida Keys (UFK) from Triumph Reef to Pickles Reef within a 234.2 square-kilometer area. USGS SPCMSC staff used seafloor elevation-change data from Yates and others (2017a) derived from an elevation-change analysis between two elevation datasets acquired in the 1930’s and 2001/2002 using the methods of Yates and others (2017b). Most of the elevation data from the 2001/2002 time period were collected during 2002, so as an abbreviated naming convention, we refer to this time period as 2002. A seafloor stability threshold was determined for the 1930’s-2002 UFK elevation-change dataset based on the vertical uncertainty of the 1930’s historical hydrographic surveys and 2002 digital elevation models (DEMs). Five stability categories (which include, Stable: 0.0 meters (m) to ±0.24 m or 0.0 m to ±0.49 m; Moderately stable: ±0.25 m to ±0.49 m; Moderately unstable: ±0.50 m to ±0.74 m; Mostly unstable: ±0.75 m to ±0.99 m; and Unstable: ±1.00 m to Max/Min elevation change) were created and used to define levels of stability and instability for each elevation-change value (25,982 data points) based on the amount of erosion and accretion during the 1930’s to 2002 time period. Seafloor-stability point and triangulated irregular network (TIN) surface models were created at five different elevation-change data resolutions (1st order through 5th order) with each resolution becoming increasingly more detailed. The stability models were used to determine the level of seafloor stability at potential areas of interest for coral restoration and 13 habitat types found in the UFK. Stability surface (TIN) models were used for areas defined by specific XY geographic points, while stability point models were used for areas defined by bounding box coordinate locations. This data release includes ArcGIS map packages containing the binned and color-coded stability point and surface (TIN) models, potential coral restoration locations, and habitat files; maps of each stability model; and data tables containing stability and elevation-change data for the potential coral restoration locations and habitat types. Data were collected under Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary permit FKNMS-2016-068.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center (SPCMSC) conducted research to identify areas of seafloor elevation stability and instability based on elevation changes between the years of 2002 and 2016 in the Upper Florida Keys (UFK) from Triumph Reef to Pickles Reef within a 242.4 square-kilometer area. USGS SPCMSC staff used seafloor elevation-change data from Murphy and others (2021) derived from an elevation-change analysis between two elevation datasets acquired in 2001/2002 and 2016/2017 using the methods of Yates and others (2017). Most of the elevation data from these two time periods were collected during 2002 and 2016, so as an abbreviated naming convention, we refer to this study time period as 2002-2016. A seafloor stability threshold was determined for the 2002-2016 UFK elevation-change dataset based on the vertical uncertainty of the 2002 and 2016 digital elevation models (DEMs). Five stability categories (which include, Stable: 0.0 meters (m) to ±0.24 m or 0.0 m to ±0.49 m; Moderately stable: ±0.25 m to ±0.49 m; Moderately unstable: ±0.50 m to ±0.74 m; Mostly unstable: ±0.75 m to ±0.99 m; and Unstable: ±1.00 m to Max/Min elevation change) were created and used to define levels of stability and instability for each elevation-change value (60,585,610 data points at 2-m horizontal resolution) based on the amount of erosion and accretion during the 2002 to 2016 time period. Seafloor-stability point and triangulated irregular network (TIN) surface models were created at five different elevation-change data resolutions (1st order through 5th order) with each resolution becoming increasingly more detailed. The stability models were used to determine the level of seafloor stability at potential areas of interest for coral restoration and 13 habitat types found in the UFK. Stability surface (TIN) models were used for areas defined by specific XY geographic points, while stability point models were used for areas defined by bounding box coordinate locations. This data release includes ArcGIS Pro map packages containing the binned and color-coded stability point and surface (TIN) models, potential coral restoration locations, and habitat files; maps of each stability model; and data tables containing stability and elevation-change data for the potential coral restoration locations and habitat types. Data were collected under Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary permit FKNMS-2016-068.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center (SPCMSC) conducted research to identify areas of seafloor elevation stability and instability based on elevation changes between the years of 2002 and 2016 in the Upper Florida Keys (UFK) from Triumph Reef to Pickles Reef within a 242.4 square-kilometer area. USGS SPCMSC staff used seafloor elevation-change data from Murphy and others (2021) derived from an elevation-change analysis between two elevation datasets acquired in 2001/2002 and 2016/2017 using the methods of Yates and others (2017). Most of the elevation data from these two time periods were collected during 2002 and 2016, so as an abbreviated naming convention, we refer to this study time period as 2002-2016. A seafloor stability threshold was determined for the 2002-2016 UFK elevation-change dataset based on the vertical uncertainty of the 2002 and 2016 digital elevation models (DEMs). Five stability categories (which include, Stable: 0.0 meters (m) to ±0.24 m or 0.0 m to ±0.49 m; Moderately stable: ±0.25 m to ±0.49 m; Moderately unstable: ±0.50 m to ±0.74 m; Mostly unstable: ±0.75 m to ±0.99 m; and Unstable: ±1.00 m to Max/Min elevation change) were created and used to define levels of stability and instability for each elevation-change value (60,585,610 data points at 2-m horizontal resolution) based on the amount of erosion and accretion during the 2002 to 2016 time period. Seafloor-stability point and triangulated irregular network (TIN) surface models were created at five different elevation-change data resolutions (1st order through 5th order) with each resolution becoming increasingly more detailed. The stability models were used to determine the level of seafloor stability at potential areas of interest for coral restoration and 13 habitat types found in the UFK. Stability surface (TIN) models were used for areas defined by specific XY geographic points, while stability point models were used for areas defined by bounding box coordinate locations. This data release includes ArcGIS Pro map packages containing the binned and color-coded stability point and surface (TIN) models, potential coral restoration locations, and habitat files; maps of each stability model; and data tables containing stability and elevation-change data for the potential coral restoration locations and habitat types. Data were collected under Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary permit FKNMS-2016-068.

Coral reefs serve as natural barriers that protect adjacent shorelines from coastal hazards such as storms, waves and erosion but projections indicate global degradation of coral reefs due to anthropogenic impacts and climate change will cause a transition to net erosion by mid-century. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center conducted research to quantify the combined effect of all constructive and destructive processes on modern coral reef ecosystems by measuring regional-scale changes in seafloor elevation. USGS staff assessed five coral reef ecosystems in the Atlantic Ocean (Upper and Lower Florida Keys), Caribbean Sea (U.S. Virgin Islands: St. Thomas and Buck Island, St. Croix), and Pacific Ocean (Maui, Hawaii), including both coral-dominated and adjacent, non-coral dominated habitats. Scientists used historical bathymetric data from the 1930s to 1980s and contemporary light detection and ranging (lidar) digital elevation models (DEMs) from the late 1990s to 2000s to calculate changes in seafloor elevation for each study site over time periods reflecting low to high anthropogenic impacts. LFK_ElevationChange.zip contains the location, elevation, and elevation change data for the Lower Florida Keys. Using these changes in elevation, further analysis was done to calculate corresponding changes in seafloor volume for all study areas and habitat types within each site.