This data set (Project Number OPR-I305-KRL-06) depicts depth values (mean 5 meter gridded) collected using LiDAR (Light Detection & Ranging) from the shoreline of southwestern Puerto Rico to the shelf edge. The Tenix LADS Corporation (TLI) acquired bathymetric LIDAR for NOAA from 4/07/2006 to 5/15/2006. Data was acquired with a LADS (Laser Airborne Depth Sounder) Mk II Airborne System from altitudes between 1,200 and 2,200ft at ground speeds between 140 and 175 knots. The 900 Hertz Nd: YAG (neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet) laser (1064 nm) acquired 4x4 meter spot spacing and 200% seabed coverage. This data set also contains LiDAR (Light Detection & Ranging) intensity values (mean 5 meter gridded) from the shoreline of southwestern Puerto Rico to about 50 meters in depth. Reflectivity was calculated for each sounding as the ratio of returned energy to transmitted energy, normalized for losses in a single wavelength (green/blue 532nm). The numerical values for the relative reflectivity are scaled logarithmically to an 8-bit integer range 0 - 255 In total, 265 square nautical miles of LiDAR were collected between -50 m (topographic) and up to 70 m (depth), requiring a total of 102 flight hours (134 hours, including flight time to and from San Juan airport). Environmental factors such as wind strength and direction, cloud cover, and water clarity influenced the area of data acquisition on a daily basis. The data was processed using the LADS Mk II Ground System and data visualization, quality control and final products were created using CARIS HIPS and SIPS 6.1 and CARIS BASE Editor 2.1 The project was conducted to meet the IHO (International Hydrographic Organization) Order 1 accuracy standards, dependent on the project area and depth. All users should individually evaluate the suitability of this data according to their own needs and standards. The data were received by the NOAA Office for Coastal Management from NCCOS. For data storage and Digital Coast provisioning purposes the data were converted: 1. From MLLW depths to NAVD88 heights using Vdatum and then from NAVD88 heights to Ellipsoid heights using Geoid12a. 2. From UTM Zone 19, meters, NAD83 to geographic coordinates. 3. From no point classification to 11 (NOAA OCM bathymetry classification). Under contract to the National Ocean Service, TLI collected airborne LiDAR bathymetry under Contract Number DG133C-03-CQ-0011, Task Order T0008 and Project Number OPR-I305-KRL-06. Original contact information: Contact Org: Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Ocean Service (NOS), Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment (CCMA), Biogeography Branch Title: Project Manager - U.S. Caribbean Phone: (301) 713-3028

XYZ ASCII format data generated from the 2001 multibeam sonar survey of the West Florida Shelf, Gulf of Mexico. The data include high-resolution bathymetry and calibrated acoustic backscatter.

XYZ ASCII format data generated from the 2001 multibeam sonar survey of the West Florida Shelf, Gulf of Mexico. The data include high-resolution bathymetry and calibrated acoustic backscatter.

A zone of deep-water reefs is thought to extend from the mid and outer shelf south of Mississippi and Alabama to at least the northwestern Florida shelf off Panama City, Florida. Reefs off Mississippi and Alabama are found in water depths of 60 to 120 m (Ludwick and Walton, 1957, Gardner et al., in press) and were the focus of a multibeam echosounder mapping survey by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in 2000 (Gardner et al., 2000, in press). It is critical to determine the accurate geomorphology and type of the reefs that occur because of their importance as benthic habitats for fisheries. These data are ArcInfo GRID and XYZ ASCII format data generated from a U.S. Geological Survey multibeam sonar survey of the West Florida Shelf, Gulf of Mexico. The data include high-resolution bathymetry and calibrated acoustic backscatter. File types include arc files .dat, .nit, and .adf. Documentation is included as metadata .txt files. Because the area is so large (i.e., the file sizes are very large), the area was subdivided into North, Central, and South regions as reflected in the data subdirectories for this accession.

XYZ ASCII format high-resolution bathymetry data generated from the 2002 multibeam sonar survey of the West Florida Shelf, Gulf of Mexico.

XYZ ASCII format high-resolution bathymetry data generated from the 2002 multibeam sonar survey of the West Florida Shelf, Gulf of Mexico.

XYZ ASCII format data generated from the 2001 multibeam sonar survey of the West Florida Shelf, Gulf of Mexico. The data include high-resolution bathymetry and calibrated acoustic backscatter.

This dataset contains an ESRI Geotiff with 1 meter cell size representing the bathymetry of the Mid Shelf Reef south of St. Thomas, 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 multibeam bathymetry data in the US Virgin Islands from 2/1/05 to 2/12/05. Data was acquired with a pole-mounted Reson 8101 ER multibeam echosounder (240 kHz) and processed by a NOAA contractor using CARIS HIPS v5.4 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 20 north, datum NAD83. The processed CARIS data was used to generate a CARIS BASE surface based on swath angle. An ASCII XYZ file was exported from the BASE surface and opened in ESRI ArcMap 9 as an XY event. Then the ArcToolbox conversion tool 'Feature to Raster' was used to generate the final ESRI Geotiff.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.

To support a long-term NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) for sustainable management and conservation of coral reef ecosystems, from 20101007 to 20101105, reef fish assessment surveys were conducted, as a part of Rapid Ecological Assessments (REA), during the Pacific Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program (RAMP) Cruise HA1008 in the Main Hawaiian Islands region by the Coral Reef Ecosystem Division (CRED) at the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC). During the cruise, 15 REA sites were surveyed at Oahu in the Main Hawaiian Islands region. At each REA site, fish biologists entered the water and conducted a fine-scale (~700 m^2) and high degree of taxonomic resolution REA survey to assess and monitor species diversity, size distribution, and abundance of fish in shallow-water hard-bottom (less than 30 m) habitats. Reef fish assessment surveys were focused on cataloging the diversity (species richness), abundance (numeric density) and biomass (fish mass per unit area) of diurnally active reef fish assemblages. The stationary point count (SPC) method was used to quantify reef fish species. Two divers lay out a 30 m transect line, and position themselves at the 7.5 and 22.5 meter marks. The SPC biologist then records estimated size and abundance of all fish within a visually estimated 15-m diameter cylinder centered on the stationary diver (7.5-m radius, total area ~ 177m^2 per cylinder). The diver first spends 5 minutes identifying all fish species in the cylindrical area, then proceeds to count and estimate size (total length) for each in a series of "instantaneous" point counts or sweeps of the cylinder. Fish were identified at the species level, wherever possible. All reef-associated fish, including those in the water column, were surveyed. The survey time for each stationary point count survey was approximately 20 min and generally four stationary point count surveys (two per diver) were conducted at each fish REA site. After completing REA surveys, divers noted the presence, at the survey site, of any unusual fish species not counted during SPC counts, in order to facilitate species lists per location.

XYZ ASCII format data generated from the 2001 multibeam sonar survey of the West Florida Shelf, Gulf of Mexico. The data include high-resolution bathymetry and calibrated acoustic backscatter.