The MPA Inventory is a comprehensive GIS catalog that provides detailed information for existing marine protected areas in the United States in 2017. The inventory provides geospatial boundary information (in polygon format) and classification attributes that seek to define the conservation objectives, protection level, governance and related management criteria for all sites in the database. The comprehensive inventory of federal, state and territorial MPA sites provides governments and stakeholders with access to information to make better decisions about the current and future use of place-based conservation.

These data show the 17 national marine sanctuaries in the United States. The National Marine Sanctuaries Act (NMSA) authorizes the Secretary of Commerce to designate and protect areas of the marine environment with special national significance due to their conservation, recreational, ecological, historical, scientific, cultural, archeological, educational or esthetic qualities as national marine sanctuaries.

NOAA, National Ocean Service, Office of Coast Survey, Marine Chart Division is responsible to build and maintain a suite of more than 1000 nautical charts that are used by commercial and recreational mariners to navigate the United States and U. S. territory waters safely.A Nautical Chart is a graphic portrayal of the marine environment. They are used to lay out courses and navigate ships by the shortest and most economically safe route. They can also serve as base maps for resource management and shoreline development planning by state and local government.Charts depict the location of the shoreline, minimum water depths, aids to navigation, hazards to navigation, the nature and form of the coast, water depths, the general character and configuration of the sea bottom, the rise and fall of the tides, protected areas, and the characteristics of the Earth's magnetism.The suite of charts is compiled and maintained with data provided by federal, state, and private partners such as the National Ocean Service elements, United States Coast Guard, United States Army Corps of Engineers, United States Power Squadron Auxiliary, Port Authorities.The charts are currently available as Lithographically printed paper charts, Electronic Raster Nautical Charts (RNCs), up-to-date paper charts (printed with print on demand technology), and are now offered as Digital Vector Electronic Nautical Charts (ENC).The NOAA RNCs are electronic images of the NOAA paper charts. The NOAA RNCs were productized with a successful Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with private sector partner BSB Electronic Charts, a subsidiary of Maptech, Inc. Andover, Massachusetts. As of November 1, 2005 the NOAA RNC's are available for free download via the NOAA website.

This data set contains sensitive biological resource data for sea lions and harbor seals in Columbia River. Vector points in this data set represent locations of seal and sea lion haul-out sites. Species-specific abundance, seasonality, status, life history, and source information are stored in relational data tables (described below) designed to be used in conjunction with this spatial data layer.This data set comprises a portion of the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) data for Columbia River. ESI data characterize the marine and coastal environments and wildlife by their sensitivity to spilled oil. The ESI data include information for three main components: shoreline habitats, sensitive biological resources, and human-use resources. See also the M_MAMMAL (Marine Mammal Polygons) data layer, part of the larger Columbia River ESI database, for additional marine mammal information.

The high-frequency Newport Hydrographic Line sampling provides data on critical and emerging issues including marine heatwaves, ocean acidification, hypoxia, and harmful algal blooms to fishing communities and federal, state, tribal, and academic organizations. These data are distilled into a database of ocean ecosystem indicators used to characterize the habitat and survival of juvenile salmonids. The NH team works with collaborators from various academic institutions and government agencies to answer ecological questions and address management concerns in the northern California Current Large Marine Ecosystem.

These data provide the spatial boundaries of DeFacto Marine Protected Areas in U.S. Waters. With nearly 1200 sites (for which GIS data are available), DFMPAs cover 3% of the U.S. waters, (0-200 nautical miles offshore), which includes the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), Territorial Sea, and state waters. DFMPAs range in size from less than one acre to more than 40,000 km2, though the vast majority is at the smaller end of this spectrum. Most of the small sites were created to provide places for vessels to anchor safely. Most of the large sites provide dedicated training and operation areas for various branches of the U.S. military, or facilitate the transfer of oil and gas to moored tanker vessels.

The United States Virgin Islands Topographic LiDAR project collected topographic elevation point data derived from multiple return light detection and ranging (LiDAR) measurements on the islands of St. Thomas, St. John, St. Croix and numerous smaller islands and islets in the United States Virgin Islands. The islands of St. Thomas and St. John were acquired between November 9, 2013 and November 19, 2013. The island of St. Croix was acquired between November 27, 2013 and December 10, 2013. The entire area was comprised of 88 planned flight lines and approximately 1669 flight line kilometers. LiDAR was collected at an average of 0.7 meter point spacing for all acquired project areas. The classification classes as available from the NOAA Digital Coast are: 1 (Unclassified), 2 (Bare-earth ground), 7 (Noise), 9 (Water), 10 (Ignored Ground, points close to breakline features), 16 (Overlap Water), 17 (Overlap Unclassified), 18 (Overlap Bare-earth ground). Hydro flattened breaklines and Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) are also available for download. Please see the Supplemental Information field below for links to these data sets. Original contact information: Contact Org: NOAA Office for Coastal Management Phone: 843-740-1202 Email: coastal.info@noaa.gov

This data set is an LAZ (compressed LAS) format file containing LIDAR point cloud data. This data set is an LAZ (compressed LAS) format file containing LIDAR point cloud data. In March 2012, WSI (Watershed Sciences, Inc.) was contracted by Woolpert, Inc. (Woolpert) to collect Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data and digital imagery in the fall of 2012 for the Bridge Creek LiDAR site in Oregon. The LiDAR survey used a Leica ALS60 laser system, classified to ground and non-ground points, stored in LAS 1.2 format. WSI (Watershed Sciences, Inc.) was contracted by Woolpert, Inc. (Woolpert) to collect Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data for the Bridge Creek LiDAR site in Oregon. The project area delivered is 9163 square acres. These files contain classified topographic lidar data as unclassified valid topographic data (1), and valid topographic data classified as ground (2). Classes 1 and 2 are defined in accordance with the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS) classification standards.

The Office of Coast Survey (OCS) has been involved in the development of a NOAA Electronic Navigational Chart (NOAA ENC) suite to support the marine transportation infrastructure and coastal management for a number of years. The NOAA ENC will support all types of marine navigation by providing the official database for electronic charting systems (ECS), including the Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS). NOAA ENCs support real-time navigation as well as collision and grounding avoidance needs of the mariner, and accommodate a real-time tide and current display capability that is essential for large vessel navigation. NOAA ENCs will also provide fully integrated vector base maps for use in geographic information systems (GIS) that are used for coastal management or other purposes. The NOAA ENCs are in the International Hydrographic Office (IHO) S-57 international exchange format and comply with the ENC Product Specification.

The dataset is a reanalysis of historical data from the AVHRR (Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer) sensor onboard the NOAA polar orbiting satellite constellation, that have been improved using extensive calibration, validation and other information to yield a consistent research quality time series for global climate studies. At 0.05 degrees per pixel (approximately 4 km/pixel), this dataset provides a global spatial coverage ranging from October 1981 - 2009. Our data holdings include descending passes (nighttime). The data is available as monthly and weekly composites, as well as a monthly climatology, at a spatial resolution of 0.05 degrees. The geographic coverage extends for the entire globe.