Data Management Plan

This image represents a 0.5 meter resolution backscatter mosaic of Grammanik Bank, 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 from NOAA COOPS. Data is in UTM zone 20 north, datum WGS84. The backscatter component of the bathymetry data were processed by the Hawaii Mapping Research Group (HMRG), University of Hawaii using the HAWAII MR1 Sidescan Sonar Software Suite. The data were corrected for angle varying gain, transmit power and pulse width. Electronic and acoustic noise, such as striping due to across track variations in amplitude and speckling due to transducer motion, were removed.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.

Process Steps:

• 2005-02-01 00:00:00 - For this project, the Chief Scientist was NOAA/NOS/NCCOS/CCMA's Tim Battista and the Lead Hydrographer was independent contractor Jay Lazar. Data was collected aboard the NOAA ship Nancy Foster from 2/1/05 to 2/12/05, as project number NF-05-05-VI. Multibeam data was acquired in GSF format with a pole-mounted Reson 8101 ER multibeam echosounder (240 kHz), with options 033, 037, and 040. Reson backscatter snippet collection was enabled. SAIC ISS 2000 software was used to interface with the Reson system. Line spacing for acquisition was three times the water depth, and data was retained out to 60 or 70 degrees from nadir, depending on project area. Heave, roll, pitch and heading correctors were collected using an Applanix POS/MV Model 320 inertial measurement unit (IMU) and associated Trimble GPS antennas. Sound velocity profiles were acquired with a Seabird Electronics SeaCat SBE19P CTD profiler and processed using Seabird Seaterm software, then applied directly to the raw GSF data. Positioning was obtained using Northstar 941X GPS receivers with differential correctors from U.S. Coast Guard CORS beacon Isabel, Puerto Rico. Data was reduced to Mean Lower-Low Water (MLLW) using final approved tides from NOAA COOPS, based on National Water Level Observation Network (NWLON) primary tide stations at Charlotte Amalie, VI (9751639) and Lime Tree Bay, VI (9751401). | Source Produced: NF-05-05 GSF Raw Multibeam Data (Citation: NF-05-05 GSF Raw Multibeam Data)
• 2005-11-01 00:00:00 - Raw SWMB data in GSF (generic sensor format) format were converted and processed using CARIS HIPS v5.4 software, resulting in a CARIS HDCS format dataset with all correctors applied. Attitude and SWMB data was cleaned of fliers, and SWMB data was reviewed in subset mode by a NOAA contractor. Process Date Range is 200502 - 200511 | Source Produced: NF-05-05 HDCS Processed Multibeam Data (Citation: NF-05-05 GSF Raw Multibeam Data)
• 2005-01-01 00:00:00 - The backscatter component of the bathymetry data were processed by the University of Hawaii using the HAWAII MR1 Sidescan Sonar Software Suite. The data were corrected for angle varying gain, transmit power and pulse width. Electronic and acoustic noise, such as striping due to across track variations in amplitude and speckling due to transducer motion, were removed.HMRG processing software runs on Linux, Unix and Irix platforms. The main processing modules can be run in either graphical or command-line modes. The preferred processing scheme involves using the graphical interface to interactively determine noise filters appropriate for each survey. Once characterized, these filters are then applied in batch processes that run faster than graphical methods allow. Once processing is completed, the HMRG software is used to grid the data and then to assemble individual grids into mosaics. The mosaics can be output as Sun raster files, geotiffs, or Generic Mapping Tools (GMT) grids, which allow the mosaics to be imported into other GIS and charting programs (Davis et al, 2003).Davis, R., B. Applegate and P. Johnson. 2003. A New Method for Processing Backscatter Imagery Collected by Multibeam Sonars: The HAWAII MR1 Sidescan Sonar Software Suite. University of Hawaii at Manoa. pp. 11. | Source Produced: grammanik_05_backscatter2_1.tif (Citation: NF-05-05 HDCS Processed Multibeam Data)

Click on link from project page to NCEI archive and download zip file.;