Identification_Information: Citation: Citation_Information: Originator: Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Ocean Service (NOS), Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment (CCMA), Biogeography Branch Publication_Date: 2011 Title: Ground Validation Drop Camera Transect Points - St. Thomas/ St. John USVI - 2011 Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: vector digital data Publication_Information: Publication_Place: Silver Spring, MD Publisher: NOAA's Ocean Service, National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) Other_Citation_Details: Seafloor Characterization of the U.S. Caribbean Online_Linkage: http://ccma.nos.noaa.gov/products/biogeography/usvi_nps/data/ Description: Abstract: This shapefile denotes the location of underwater video that was collected by NOAA scientists using a SeaViewer drop camera system. Video were collected between 03/28/2011 and 04/16/2011 at locations within two selected areas of seafloor south of St. Thomas and St. John, USVI and east of Vieques, Puerto Rico. These 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). Purpose: The objective of this ground validation (GV) effort, conducted by NOAA's Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment Biogeography Branch, in collaboration with multiple federal, state, territory, academic and private sector partners, was to acquire spatially-explicit information about the geomorphological structure, biological cover and live coral cover of the seafloor in the U.S. Caribbean. Extensive field work is needed to create high-quality benthic habitat maps because it enhances the accuracy of habitat attribution and (to a lesser degree) habitat delineation. Consequently, ground validation locations were targeted by the cartographer to satisfy the following objectives: (1) Explore features in the imagery with unknown or confusing acoustic signatures; (2) Confirm that the habitat type correlated with a particular acoustic signature remained consistent throughout the entire study area. This information will be incorporated into a fine-scale assessment of the status, abundance, and distribution of marine habitats in the U.S. Caribbean. Time_Period_of_Content: Time_Period_Information: Range_of_Dates/Times: Beginning_Date: 20110328 Ending_Date: 20110416 Currentness_Reference: ground condition Status: Progress: Complete Maintenance_and_Update_Frequency: None Planned Spatial_Domain: Bounding_Coordinates: West_Bounding_Coordinate: -65.195981 East_Bounding_Coordinate: -64.657582 North_Bounding_Coordinate: 18.285562 South_Bounding_Coordinate: 18.169814 Keywords: Theme: Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: None Theme_Keyword: coral reef Theme_Keyword: benthic habitats Theme_Keyword: reef Theme_Keyword: submerged aquatic vegetation Theme_Keyword: unconsolidated sediments Theme_Keyword: zone Theme_Keyword: geomorphological structure Theme_Keyword: biological cover Theme_Keyword: ground validation Theme_Keyword: transect Theme: Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: ISO 19115 Topic Category Theme_Keyword: imageryBaseMapsEarthCover Theme_Keyword: 010 Theme: Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: CoRIS Discovery Thesaurus Theme_Keyword: Geographic Information > Habitats Theme: Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: CoRIS Theme Thesaurus Theme_Keyword: EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment > Mapping > Habitat Mapping Place: Place_Keyword_Thesaurus: None Place_Keyword: USVI Place_Keyword: US Virgin Islands Place_Keyword: St. John Place_Keyword: St. Thomas Place_Keyword: Culebra Island Place_Keyword: Vieques Island Place: Place_Keyword_Thesaurus: CoRIS Region Place_Keyword: USVI Place_Keyword: PR Place: Place_Keyword_Thesaurus: CoRIS Place Thesaurus Place_Keyword: COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > U. S. Virgin Islands > U. S. Virgin Islands > U. S. Virgin Islands (17N064W0000) Place_Keyword: COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > U. S. Virgin Islands > St. John > St. John (18N064W0011) Place_Keyword: OCEAN BASIN > Atlantic Ocean > Caribbean Sea > Virgin Islands > Virgin Islands > St. John (18N064W0011) Place_Keyword: COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > U. S. Virgin Islands > St. Thomas > St. Thomas (18N064W0033) Place_Keyword: COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Puerto Rico > Vieques > Vieques Island (18N065W0002) Place_Keyword: OCEAN BASIN > Atlantic Ocean > Caribbean Sea > Virgin Islands > Lesser Antilles > U. S. Virgin Islands (17N064W0000) Place_Keyword: OCEAN BASIN > Atlantic Ocean > Caribbean Sea > Virgin Islands > Leeward Islands > St. Thomas (18N064W0033) Place_Keyword: OCEAN BASIN > Atlantic Ocean > Caribbean Sea /North Atlantic Ocean > Puerto Rico > Culebra Island (18N065W0011) Place_Keyword: COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Puerto Rico > Culebra Island (18N065W0011) Place_Keyword: OCEAN BASIN > Atlantic Ocean > Caribbean Sea /North Atlantic Ocean > Puerto Rico > Vieques Island > Vieques Island (18N065W0002) Access_Constraints: Please cite any use of this data. Use_Constraints: Note: NOT TO BE USED FOR NAVIGATION. These data were prepared by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, make any warranty, expressed or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed in this report, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference therein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. Any views and opinions of authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof. Although all data have been used by NOAA, no warranty, expressed or implied, is made by NOAA as to the accuracy of the data and/or related materials. The act of distribution shall not constitute any such warranty, and no responsibility is assumed by NOAA in the use of these data or related materials. Point_of_Contact: Contact_Information: Contact_Organization_Primary: Contact_Organization: Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Ocean Service (NOS), Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment (CCMA), Biogeography Branch Contact_Position: Project Manager - Seafloor Characterization of US Caribbean Contact_Address: Address_Type: mailing and physical address Address: 1305 East West Highway, N-SCI-1, SSMC 4, 9th Floor City: Silver Spring State_or_Province: MD Postal_Code: 20910 Country: USA Contact_Voice_Telephone: (301) 713-3028 Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: (301) 713-4384 Contact_Instructions: Contact info is for CCMA general reception. Please ask for current Biogeography project manager for Seafloor Characterization of US Caribbean. Native_Data_Set_Environment: Microsoft Windows XP Version 5.1 (Build 2600) Service Pack 3; ESRI ArcCatalog 9.3.1.1850 Data_Quality_Information: Attribute_Accuracy: Attribute_Accuracy_Report: The points in this data layer were acquired by GPS data using a Trimble GeoXT receiver. All data point characteristics were recorded in the GPS data logger automatically and seamlessly transferred to ArcGIS shapefiles using Trimble Pathfinder Office software. Attributes are all expected to be correct. Logical_Consistency_Report: Data points were collected with mapping-grade GPS receivers. The data were post processed for differential correction to the Continually Operating Reference System (CORS) station at St. Thomas, USVI (VITH). All attribute information was recorded by the GPS receiver and stored directly in the raw GPS files. This automated process was assumed to be error free. This file is believed to be logically consistent. Completeness_Report: 104 field positions were occupied and habitat characterizations were conducted for ground validation during this work. Positional_Accuracy: Horizontal_Positional_Accuracy: Horizontal_Positional_Accuracy_Report: It is estimated that horizontal accuracies may be 0 - 20m from the true position of the underwater camera assessment due to line "lay-back" during drift. Lineage: Process_Step: Process_Description: As the multibeam survey was carried out, a NOAA contractor would examine the bathymetry, produced as a CARIS BASE Surface, and placed discrete points on features on the surface that had unknown acoustic signatures. Points were also placed on features with known acoustic signatures (evenly distributed throughout the geographic extent of the map) to confirm that the habitats associated with these signatures remained consistent through the area of interest. These two types of points were labeled as "ground validation" sites and were visited in the field. Process_Date: 2011 Process_Contact: Contact_Information: Contact_Organization_Primary: Contact_Organization: NOAA/NOS/NCCOS/CCMA Biogeography Branch Contact_Position: Project Manager - Seafloor Characterization of the U.S. Caribbean Contact_Address: Address_Type: mailing and physical address Address: 1305 East West Highway, N-SCI-1, SSMC 4, 9th Floor City: Silver Spring State_or_Province: MD Postal_Code: 20910 Country: USA Contact_Voice_Telephone: (301) 713-3028 Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: (301) 713-4384 Contact_Instructions: Contact info is for CCMA general reception. Please ask for current project manager of Seafloor Characterization of the U.S. Caribbean. Process_Step: Process_Description: NOAA scientists explored these ground validation locations using a manually operated drop camera. The resulting GPS and video information was processed and analyzed in preparation for use in habitat delineation and classification. At the start of every morning, the chief scientist selected a general region to begin the day's ground validation work aboard a small launch. Navigating to field locations was accomplished using a Garmin GPS 76 device with the uploaded GV site coordinates. The boat captain maneuvered the vessel to within 5 m of the target location and made every effort to maintain that location without jeopardizing crew and equipment safety. Once on site, NOAA scientists would simultaneously deploy a SeaViewer Sea-Drop 950 camera and begin logging a waypoint on a Trimble GeoXT GPS receiver. While the video camera was capturing bottom imagery, an observer viewed the video real-time on a SeaViewer DVR viewer aboard the survey vessel. They categorized each site according to the levels of the habitat classification scheme: major and detailed geomorphological structure, major biological cover, percent major biological cover and percent coral cover. Data was entered into a custom data dictionary generated in Trimble Pathfinder Office software and loaded onto the Trimble data logger. Process_Date: 2011 Process_Contact: Contact_Information: Contact_Organization_Primary: Contact_Organization: NOAA/NOS/NCCOS/CCMA Biogeography Branch Contact_Position: Project Manager - Seafloor Characterization of the U.S. Caribbean Contact_Address: Address_Type: mailing and physical address Address: 1305 East West Highway, N-SCI-1, SSMC 4, 9th Floor City: Silver Spring State_or_Province: MD Postal_Code: 20910 Country: USA Contact_Voice_Telephone: (301) 713-3028 Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: (301) 713-4384 Contact_Instructions: Contact info is for CCMA general reception. Please ask for current project manager of Seafloor Characterization of the U.S. Caribbean. Process_Step: Process_Description: Trimble Pathfinder Office software was used to post process and differentially correct the raw GPS data to the Continually Operating Reference System (CORS) station at St. Thomas, USVI (VITH). Process_Date: 2011 Process_Contact: Contact_Information: Contact_Organization_Primary: Contact_Organization: NOAA/NOS/NCCOS/CCMA Biogeography Branch Contact_Position: Project Manager - Seafloor Characterization of the U.S. Caribbean Contact_Address: Address_Type: mailing and physical address Address: 1305 East West Highway, N-SCI-1, SSMC 4, 9th Floor City: Silver Spring State_or_Province: MD Postal_Code: 20910 Country: USA Contact_Voice_Telephone: (301) 713-3028 Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: (301) 713-4384 Contact_Instructions: Contact info is for CCMA general reception. Please ask for current project manager of Seafloor Characterization of the U.S. Caribbean. Spatial_Data_Organization_Information: Direct_Spatial_Reference_Method: Vector Point_and_Vector_Object_Information: SDTS_Terms_Description: SDTS_Point_and_Vector_Object_Type: Entity Point Point_and_Vector_Object_Count: 4852 Spatial_Reference_Information: Horizontal_Coordinate_System_Definition: Planar: Grid_Coordinate_System: Grid_Coordinate_System_Name: Universal Transverse Mercator Universal_Transverse_Mercator: UTM_Zone_Number: 20 Transverse_Mercator: Scale_Factor_at_Central_Meridian: 0.999600 Longitude_of_Central_Meridian: -63.000000 Latitude_of_Projection_Origin: 0.000000 False_Easting: 500000.000000 False_Northing: 0.000000 Planar_Coordinate_Information: Planar_Coordinate_Encoding_Method: Coordinate Pair Coordinate_Representation: Abscissa_Resolution: 1.0 Ordinate_Resolution: 1.0 Planar_Distance_Units: meters Geodetic_Model: Horizontal_Datum_Name: North American Datum of 1983 Ellipsoid_Name: Geodetic Reference System 80 Semi-major_Axis: 6378137.000000 Denominator_of_Flattening_Ratio: 298.257222 Entity_and_Attribute_Information: Detailed_Description: Entity_Type: Entity_Type_Label: DropCamera_2011_Transects_Points Entity_Type_Definition: Shapefile attribute table Entity_Type_Definition_Source: None Attribute: Attribute_Label: FID Attribute_Definition: Internal feature number. Attribute_Definition_Source: ESRI Attribute_Domain_Values: Unrepresentable_Domain: Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated. Attribute: Attribute_Label: Shape Attribute_Definition: Feature geometry. Attribute_Definition_Source: Biogeography Branch Attribute_Domain_Values: Unrepresentable_Domain: Coordinates defining the features. Attribute: Attribute_Label: Assessment Attribute_Definition: Type of equipment used Attribute_Definition_Source: Biogeography Branch Attribute_Domain_Values: Unrepresentable_Domain: Description of equipment used for sampling. Attribute: Attribute_Label: Site_ID Attribute_Definition: Unique site ID Attribute_Definition_Source: Biogeography Branch Attribute_Domain_Values: Unrepresentable_Domain: Another alphanumeric value assigned to each dive. Attribute: Attribute_Label: Date_ Attribute_Definition: The date on which the underwater photos/video were collected. Attribute_Definition_Source: NOAA Attribute_Domain_Values: Range_Domain: Range_Domain_Minimum: 3/28/2011 Range_Domain_Maximum: 4/16/2011 Attribute: Attribute_Label: Time_ Attribute_Definition: The local time (EST) at which the underwater photos/video were collected. Attribute_Definition_Source: NOAA Attribute_Domain_Values: Range_Domain: Range_Domain_Minimum: 7:23:40 AM Range_Domain_Maximum: 2:29:48 PM Attribute: Attribute_Label: CamLat Attribute_Definition: The latitude of the camera. Attribute_Definition_Source: NOAA Attribute_Domain_Values: Unrepresentable_Domain: Degrees decimal minutes. Attribute: Attribute_Label: CamLong Attribute_Definition: The longitude of the camera. Attribute_Definition_Source: NOAA Attribute_Domain_Values: Unrepresentable_Domain: Degrees decimal minutes. Attribute: Attribute_Label: CamEast Attribute_Definition: The easting of the camera. Attribute_Definition_Source: NOAA Attribute_Domain_Values: Unrepresentable_Domain: Easting in meters. Attribute: Attribute_Label: CamNorth Attribute_Definition: The northing of the camera. Attribute_Definition_Source: NOAA Attribute_Domain_Values: Unrepresentable_Domain: Northing in meters. Distribution_Information: Distributor: Contact_Information: Contact_Organization_Primary: Contact_Organization: Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Ocean Service (NOS), Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment (CCMA), Biogeography Branch Contact_Position: Project Manager - Seafloor Characterization of US Caribbean Contact_Address: Address_Type: mailing and physical address Address: 1305 East West Highway, N-SCI-1, SSMC 4, 9th Floor City: Silver Spring State_or_Province: MD Postal_Code: 20910 Country: USA Contact_Voice_Telephone: (301) 713-3028 Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: (301) 713-4384 Contact_Instructions: Contact info is for CCMA general reception. Please ask for current Biogeography project manager for Seafloor Characterization of US Caribbean. Resource_Description: Downloadable Data Distribution_Liability: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) Biogeography Branch does not guarantee the accuracy of the geographic features or attributes. Please see the written report and metadata records for each data set for complete information on the source, limitations, and proper use. Standard_Order_Process: Digital_Form: Digital_Transfer_Information: Format_Name: ESRI Shapefile Transfer_Size: 4.89 Digital_Transfer_Option: Online_Option: Computer_Contact_Information: Network_Address: Network_Resource_Name: http://coastalscience.noaa.gov/datasets/ccma/biogeo/usvi_nps/2011/gv/dropcamera_2011_points.zip Fees: None Custom_Order_Process: Contact NOAA for distribution options (see Distributor). Metadata_Reference_Information: Metadata_Date: 20121228 Metadata_Review_Date: 20121220 Metadata_Contact: Contact_Information: Contact_Organization_Primary: Contact_Organization: Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Ocean Service (NOS), Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment (CCMA), Biogeography Branch Contact_Person: REQUIRED: The person responsible for the metadata information. Contact_Position: Project Manager - Seafloor Characterization of US Caribbean Contact_Address: Address_Type: mailing and physical address Address: 1305 East West Highway, N-SCI-1, SSMC 4, 9th Floor City: Silver Spring State_or_Province: MD Postal_Code: 20910 Country: USA Contact_Voice_Telephone: (301) 713-3028 Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: (301) 713-4384 Contact_Instructions: Contact info is for CCMA general reception. Please ask for current Biogeography project manager for Seafloor Characterization of US Caribbean Metadata_Standard_Name: FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata Metadata_Standard_Version: FGDC-STD-001-1998 Metadata_Time_Convention: Local Time CoRIS: CoRIS_ID: 20121220042713 CoRIS_Children: None CoRIS_Beginning_Date: 20110328 CoRIS_Ending_Date: 20110416 CoRIS_Metadata_Link: http://www.coris.noaa.gov/metadata/records/html/dropcamera_2011_transects_points.html CoRIS_Tracking_ID: 6600