November 2007 Multibeam Mapping of South West corner of Pulley Ridge

This disk or set of disks contain high-resolution multibeam and backscatter maps of the south-western corner of the Pulley Ridge Area, near the Tortugas, in the Gulf of Mexico. It includes the following products: 1) *.ASC File of the area mapped, 2) Caris files of the bathymetry, 3) Geotiff images of bathymetry, and 4) Fledermaus files of the survey locations. All products are available contacting the distributor. Another product that will not be distributed, but will be used as input to habitat classification software (QTC MultiView), are raw data files logged to disk using the Simrad EM3000 multibeam system data acquisition software. These raw files contain packets of information (depth soundings, navigation, attitude, sound velocity profiles, UTC time) that the acquisition software logged sequentially in time. The raw data format is available from Kongsberg-Simrad. The multibeam system was provided by University of South Florida, College of Marine Science and the support vessel was the Florida Institute of Oceanography R/V Suncoaster.

The primary objective of this mapping expedition is to gather data on the location of coral formations present in the Pulley Ridge Area, which lies off southwest Florida and is the deepest hermatypic coral reef in the continental US. This area also hosts productive fisheries for shrimp and reef fish. The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council is concerned about certain fishing activities ocurring in the area, such as bottom long-lines and trawling, which maybe damaging the corals. For this reason, the GMFMC has designated Pulley Ridge as a Habitat Area of Particular Concern (HAPC). Further protections are likely to be approved, but the GMFMC requires more data on the nature and extent of coral formations to make a more informed decision. Continued multibeam mapping is a very cost effective way of gathering this information and preventing damage to this valuable area.

Loaded by FGDC Metadata Uploader, batch 5773, 04-08-2015 10:54

The following FGDC sections are not currently supported in InPort, but were preserved and will be included in the FGDC export:

- Spatial Reference Information (FGDC:spref),

- Spatial Data Organization Information (FGDC:spdoinfo)

The survey was supported by University of South Florida, College of Marine Science, in St. Petersburg, FL, (www.marine.usf.edu) using a Simrad EM 3000 multi-beam system. The survey was funded by NOAA Fisheries (www.sefsc.noaa.gov).

Note on Bounding Box: Survey area was irregular in shape, the entire area within the corners was not mapped

Sample of bathymetry XYZ ASCII file

latitude longitude positive depth

24.826724 -83.832023 85.04

none

These data are not intended for navigational purposes.

NOAA makes no warranty regarding these data,expressed or implied, nor

does the fact of distribution constitute such a warranty. NOAA does

not assume liability for any damages caused by any errors or omissions

in these data, nor as a result of the failure of these data to function

on a particular system.

Although these data have been used by NOAA, these data and information

are provided with the understanding that they are not guaranteed to be

useable, timely, accurate, or complete. Users are cautioned to consider

carefully the provisional nature of these data and information before

using them for decisions that concern personal or public safety or the

conduct of business that involves substantial monetary or operational

consequences. Conclusions drawn from, or actions undertaken on the basis

of such data and information are the sole responsibility of the user.

Neither the U.S. Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their

employees, contractors, or subcontractors, make any warranty, express

or implied, nor assume any legal liability or responsibility for the

accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any data, software, information,

apparatus, product, or process disclosed, nor represent that its use

would not infringe on privately owned rights.

Trade, firm, or product names and other references to non-USGS products

and services are provided for information only and do not constitute

endorsement or warranty, express or implied, by NOAA, the US

Department of Commerce, or the U.S. Government, as to their suitability,

content, usefulness, functioning, completeness, or accuracy.

Get from website

None

Not for legal use

Colored, shaded geotifs for the survey area were created by University of Sourth Florida,

College of Marine Science using Caris HIPS and SIPS post-processing software.

The raw survey data and processed XYZ data may also be available upon request from the P.O.C.

Attribute Accuracy: None

Horizontal Positional Accuracy: 0.5 - 2 meters

Vertical Positional Accuracy: 0.5 - 2 meters

Unknown

Data are believed to be logically consistent, though no tests were performed.

Followed directions to operate hardware properly

N/A

Video data, too large to archive at this time.

The data resides on a secure government network requiring multi-factor authentication for network access.