This geographic zone map was created by interpreting satellite and aerial imagery, seafloor topography (bathymetry model), and the new NEPR Benthic Habitat Map (2015). The area of interest includes the nearshore shallow waters (0-35m) of Fajardo and Luqillo to the Former Roosevelt Roads Navy Base, the Vieques Sound, La Cordillera Reserve, the Luis Pena Reserve, and the waters around Culebra Island. A zone refers to each benthic community's geographic location and geomorphological structure. The geographic zone map was manually digitized the shoreline and the zone features for the entire area of interest in ArcGIS at the 1:6000 scale. The map was classified into 12 geographic zones based on the schema that has been developed by the Biogeography Branch, and which also match the Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard (CMECS).

This GeoTiff is a mosaic of World View 2 panchromatic satellite imagery of Northeast Puerto Rico that contains the shallow water area (0-35m deep) surrounding Northeast Puerto Rico and Culebra Island. The WV2 imagery was processed using ArcGIS tools to cloudmask, deglint and water-column correct the image (Lyzenga method) then using PCI imagery analysis to create a continues, color balanced mosaic. The DigitalGlobe WV2 is a commercial high resolution (0.5m - 1.5m) multi-spectral satellite that surveyed the NEPR area in 2011-2013. The enhanced Red, Green, Blue and Near Infrared 1 bands allowed the Biogeography branch to delineate habitats using feature extraction tools in Envi 5.1 software. The multispectral bands were analyzed to detect coral reefs and seagrass beds under the surface of the water, as well as features above the surface, such as mangroves, salt ponds, and the shoreline edges. The WV2 mosaic, the bathymetry model, principle component analysis, and aerial imagery were all used integrally to create the NEPR Benthic Habitat Map.

This benthic habitat map was created from a semi-automated habitat mapping process, using a combination of bathymetry, satellite imagery, aerial imagery and underwater videos to classify the 0-35m deep benthic habitats of the region around Northeast Puerto Rico (NEPR) and Culebra Island, including the shallow part of the Northeast Ecological Reserves, Puerto Rico. The area of interest includes the nearshore waters of Fajardo and Luqillo to the Former Roosevelt Roads Navy Base, the Vieques Sound, La Cordillera Reserve, the Luis Pena Reserve, and the waters around Culebra Island. The benthic habitat map is classified based: on 1) geomorphological structure, 2) hard bottom cover, 3) topographic complexity, 4) dominant biological cover, 5) live coral cover and 6) dominant type of coral cover. Underwater photo and video data was collected to provide ground validation for remote sensing imagery, and to assess the accuracy t of the final map. Habitat features are described by varying levels of detail (i.e., major and minor categories nested within them), so users can depict the habitat information that best suits their research or management needs.

This image represents a 3 meter resolution backscatter mosaic of selected portions of seafloor around Isla de Vieques, Puerto Rico. NOAA's NOS/NCCOS/CCFHR, in collaboration with NOAA vessel Nancy Foster and territory, federal, and private sector partners, acquired multibeam bathymetry data in Puerto Rico from 3/27/08 to 4/5/08. Data was acquired with a hull-mounted Kongsberg Simrad EM 1002 multibeam echosounder (95 kHz). It was processed by a NOAA contractor using CARIS HIPS 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 backscatter component of the bathymetry data was geometrically and radiometrically corrected using Geocoder 3.2.1 software. Acoustic backscatter mosaics are an important piece of information when characterizing surficial seafloor features and delineating benthic habitats. The project was conducted to meet IHO Order 1 and 2 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.

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 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).

Benthic habitat maps of the nearshore marine environment of Vieques, Puerto Rico were created by visual interpretation of remotely sensed imagery. The objective of this effort, conducted by NOAA's Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment - Biogeography Branch in partnership with NOAA's Offic of Response and Restoration, was to provide spatially-explicit information on the habitat types, biological cover and live coral cover of Vieques' coral reef ecosystem. One-meter panchromatic and four-meter multi-spectral data from the IKONOS satellite sensor were purchased for the mapping area. Photo-interpreters accurately and reliably delineated boundaries of features from this IKONOS imagery as they appeared on the computer monitor using a software interface.

This dataset contains an ESRI Geotiff with 9 meter cell size representing the bathymetry of selected portions of seafloor around Tourmaline Bank in Puerto Rico, derived from data collected in 2008. NOAA's NOS/NCCOS/CCMA Biogeography Branch, in collaboration with NOAA vessel Nancy Foster and territory, federal, and private sector partners, acquired multibeam bathymetry data in Puerto Rico from 2/25/08 to 3/8/08. Data was acquired with a hull-mounted Kongsberg Simrad EM 1002 multibeam echosounder (95 kHz) in 2008. It was processed by a NOAA contractor using CARIS HIPS 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 19 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 imported to ESRI ArcMap 9.2 using the 'Convert XYZ to Raster' tool developed by CCMA for this purpose. This was used to produce the final bathymetry geotiff. The project was conducted to meet IHO Order 1 and 2 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.

This image represents a 3 meter resolution backscatter mosaic of selected portions of seafloor around Isla de Vieques, Puerto Rico. NOAA's NOS/NCCOS/CCFHR, in collaboration with NOAA vessel Nancy Foster and territory, federal, and private sector partners, acquired multibeam bathymetry data in Puerto Rico from 3/27/08 to 4/5/08. Data was acquired with a hull-mounted Kongsberg Simrad EM 1002 multibeam echosounder (95 kHz). It was processed by a NOAA contractor using CARIS HIPS 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 backscatter component of the bathymetry data was geometrically and radiometrically corrected using Geocoder 3.2.1 software. Acoustic backscatter mosaics are an important piece of information when characterizing surficial seafloor features and delineating benthic habitats. The project was conducted to meet IHO Order 1 and 2 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.