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Short Citation:
Office of Response and Restoration, 2024: U.S. Virgin Islands and British Virgin Islands ESI: INDEX, https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/40583.

Item Identification

Title: U.S. Virgin Islands and British Virgin Islands ESI: INDEX
Short Name: VirginIs_index
Status: Completed
Publication Date: 2001-08
Abstract:

This data set comprises the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) data for the Virgin Islands. ESI data characterize estuarine environments and wildlife by their sensitivity to spilled oil. The ESI data include information for three main components: shoreline habitats, sensitive biological resources, and human-use resources. This data set contains data for the study area Index.

Purpose:

The ESI data were collected, mapped, and digitized to provide environmental data for oil spill planning and response. The Clean Water Act with amendments by the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 requires response plans for immediate and effective protection of sensitive resources.

Notes:

2181

Other Citation Details:

Prepared by Research Planning, Inc., Columbia, South Carolina for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Ocean Service, Office of Response and Restoration, Hazardous Materials Response Division, Seattle, Washington; United States Environmental Protection Agency; United States Coast Guard; U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources; British Virgin Islands Conservation and Fisheries Department; and United States Department of the Interior.

Supplemental Information:

Resource Description - ESI Atlas for Virgin Islands

Keywords

Theme Keywords

Thesaurus Keyword
ISO 19115 Topic Category
environment
ISO 19115 Topic Category
oceans
UNCONTROLLED
NOS Topic Category Environmental Monitoring
None Coastal resources
None Coastal Zone Management
None ESI
None Index
None Oil spill planning
None Sensitivity maps

Spatial Keywords

Thesaurus Keyword
UNCONTROLLED
None British Virgin Islands
None US Virgin Islands

Physical Location

Organization: Office of Response and Restoration
City: Silver Spring
State/Province: MD

Data Set Information

Data Set Scope Code: Data Set
Maintenance Frequency: None Planned
Data Presentation Form: atlas
Distribution Liability:

Although these data have been processed successfully on a computer system at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, no warranty, expressed or implied, is made by NOAA regarding the utility of the data on any other system, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty. NOAA warrants the delivery of this product in computer-readable format, and will offer a replacement copy of the product when the product is determined unreadable by computer input peripherals, or when the physical medium is delivered in damaged condition.

Data Set Credit: This project was supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Ocean Service, Office of Response and Restoration, Hazardous Materials Response Division, Seattle, Washington; United States Environmental Protection Agency; United States Coast Guard; U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources; British Virgin Islands Conservation and Fisheries Department; and United States Department of the Interior.

Support Roles

Data Steward

CC ID: 515931
Date Effective From: 2001-08
Date Effective To:
Contact (Position): ESI Program Manager
Address: 7600 Sand Point Way NE
Seattle, WA 98115
Email Address: orr.esi@noaa.gov

Distributor

CC ID: 515933
Date Effective From: 2001-08
Date Effective To:
Contact (Position): ESI Program Manager
Address: 7600 Sand Point Way NE
Seattle, WA 98115
Email Address: orr.esi@noaa.gov

Metadata Contact

CC ID: 515934
Date Effective From: 2001-08
Date Effective To:
Contact (Position): ESI Program Manager
Address: 7600 Sand Point Way NE
Seattle, WA 98115
Email Address: orr.esi@noaa.gov

Point of Contact

CC ID: 515932
Date Effective From: 2001-08
Date Effective To:
Contact (Position): ESI Program Manager
Address: 7600 Sand Point Way NE
Seattle, WA 98115
Email Address: orr.esi@noaa.gov

Extents

Currentness Reference: Project time span

Extent Group 1

Extent Group 1 / Geographic Area 1

CC ID: 515937
W° Bound: -65.167
E° Bound: -64.065
N° Bound: 18.943
S° Bound: 17.467

Extent Group 1 / Time Frame 1

CC ID: 515936
Time Frame Type: Range
Start: 1998-07
End: 2001-07

Spatial Information

Spatial Representation

Representations Used

Vector: Yes

Vector Representation 1

CC ID: 589242
Complex Object Present?: Yes
Complex Object Count: 15
Curve Object Present?: Yes
Curve Object Count: 467
Point Object Present?: Yes
Point Object Count: 15
Surface Object Present?: Yes
Surface Object Count: 46

Access Information

Security Class: Unclassified
Data Access Procedure:

Contact NOAA for distribution options (see Distribution_Information).;

Data Access Constraints:

None

Data Use Constraints:

DO NOT USE MAPS FOR NAVIGATIONAL PURPOSES. Besides the above warning, there are no use constraints on these data. Acknowledgment of the publishers and contributing sources listed in Data_Set_Credit (below) would be appreciated in products derived from these data.

URLs

URL 1

CC ID: 515929
URL: http://response.restoration.noaa.gov/esi
URL Type:
Online Resource

Activity Log

Activity Log 1

CC ID: 515950
Activity Date/Time: 2001-08
Description:

Date that the source FGDC record was last modified.

Activity Log 2

CC ID: 515949
Activity Date/Time: 2017-04-05
Description:

Converted from Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata (version FGDC-STD-001-1998) using 'fgdc_to_inport_xml.pl' script. Contact Tyler Christensen (NOS) for details.

Activity Log 3

CC ID: 589240
Activity Date/Time: 2017-09-13
Description:

Partial upload of Spatial Info section only.

Activity Log 4

CC ID: 605409
Activity Date/Time: 2017-11-01
Description:

Replaced entire Lineage section to populate new Source Contribution field.

Activity Log 5

CC ID: 719404
Activity Date/Time: 2018-02-08
Description:

Partial upload of Positional Accuracy fields only.

Technical Environment

Description:

The software packages used to develop the atlas are Environmental Systems Research Institute's ARC/INFO(r) (version 8.0.2) and ORACLE(r) RDBMS (version 8.0.5.0.0). The hardware configuration is Hewlett Packard workstations (models 715/50 and 712/80i with 4 X-terminals) with UNIX operating system (HP-UX Release A.10.20). The following files are included in the data set: benthic.e00, birds.e00, bio_lut.e00, biofile.e00, biores.e00, breed.e00, breed_dt.e00, esi.e00, fish.e00, fishl.e00, habitats.e00, hydro.e00, index.e00, invert.e00, invertl.e00, mgt.e00, m_mammal.e00, reptiles.e00, seasonal.e00, shelfbnd.e00, soc_dat.e00, soc_lut.e00, socecon.e00, sources.e00, species.e00, status.e00, t_mammal.e00, wetlands.e00.

Data Quality

Accuracy:

The attribute accuracy is estimated to be "good" given the years of ESI experience, the data input methodology, the quality control review sessions, and the digital logical consistency checks.

Horizontal Positional Accuracy:

The ESI data use USGS 1:24,000 topographic quadrangles as the basemap. It is estimated that the ESI shoreline classification has a minimum mapping unit of 50 feet.

Completeness Report:

The intertidal shoreline habitats of the U.S. Virgin Islands were previously mapped during overflights and ground surveys conducted for the Virgin Islands Resource Management Cooperative and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), published in 1986. For the current project, the original ESI maps were re-examined and fully updated using the sources and methods described below. As a first step, vertical aerial photographs were examined at the offices of the USVI Department of Planning and Natural Resources (DPNR) in St. Thomas and the offices of the BVI Conservation and Fisheries Department (CFD) on Tortola. The initial aerial photograph classification was followed by overflight surveys of the entire study area, flying at elevations of 400-600 feet and slow air speed. Overflights were conducted using U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) helicopters, pilots, and support crew. During this work, an experienced coastal geologist delineated the intertidal shoreline habitats directly onto 1:24,000-scale USGS or 1:25,000-scale UKDOS topographic maps. Where appropriate, multiple habitats were described for each shoreline segment. Data from the National Wetlands Inventory (NWI) for the USVI, published in draft form in 1989 (based on 1:40,000 1983 CIR and 1985 B-W photography), was also used as a supplementary data source, particularly for mangrove areas and tidal flats. In many cases, the depiction of mangroves was modified substantially from the original NWI data, based on the more recent aerial photography and overflights, as well as information provided by expert reviewers. Mangrove polygons for the BVIs were based primarily on digital data from the 1993 Coastal Resource Atlas of the British Virgin Islands produced by the Natural Resources Institute (NRI), Overseas Development Administration (source scale 1:10,000). Mangrove polygons from the NRI data set were generally not altered, although in some cases mangrove areas identified during the overflights and by expert reviewers may have been added or changed slightly.

Conceptual Consistency:

The digitization of shoreline types, biological resources, and human-use resources is a complex and highly quality-controlled process. Existing digital shoreline data are integrated into a study-wide basemap. In order to facilitate digitizing, the entire study area is split into individual quadrangles using the INDEX data layer. The first layer of information digitized is the ESI shoreline classification. The ESI habitat ranking is compiled onto 1:24,000 USGS topographic quadrangles by a geomorphologist. The hardcopy maps are then digitized and checked using both on-screen and hardcopy reviews. The edited maps are updated and checked once again for completeness and topological and logical consistency. Any errors in the shoreline classification are updated prior to digitization of the biological and human-use layers. All layers use the shoreline as the geographic reference so that there are no slivers in the geographic coordinates. The hardcopy biological information is compiled onto 1:24,000 USGS topographic quadrangles by a biological expert using data from regional specialists in the form of maps, tables, charts, written descriptions of wildlife distributions, and personal interviews. Concurrently, digital data sources are imported, projected, checked for quality control, and integrated into the data structure. The hardcopy data are digitized, checked using both digital and on-screen procedures, integrated with existing data, plotted, and sent out for review by the regional specialists. The edited maps are updated, checked once again, and the final product plotted (at approximately 1:55,000 scale). A team of specialists reviews the entire series of maps, checks all data, and makes final edits. The data are then merged to form the study-wide layers. The data merging includes a final quality control check where labels, chains, and polygons are checked for attribute accuracy. To finalize the data checking process, each data layer is checked using a standardized form by two GIS personnel (a technician and the GIS manager), and each attribute database is checked using several programs that test the files for missing or duplicate data, rules for proper coding, GIS topological consistencies (such as dangles, unnecessary nodes, etc.), and ORACLE(r) to ARC/INFO(r) consistencies. A final review is made by the GIS manager, where the data are written to CD-ROM and the metadata are written. ESI data are processed into multiple formats to make them useful to a wider community of GIS/mapping users. Distribution formats include ARC export, MOSS and Shape files, and MARPLOT map folders. An ArcView ESI project and ESI_Viewer product are also included on the CDs for ease of use of the ESI data. The database files are distributed both in the NOAA standard relational database format (see NOAA Technical Memorandum NOS ORCA 115) and in a simplified desktop flat file format. This metadata document includes information on both of these database formats. The section Spatial_Data_Organization_Information refers to the source files in ARC export format only.

Lineage

Sources

RPI Generated Index

CC ID: 605410
Contact Name: Research Planning, Inc.
Extent Type: Discrete
Extent Start Date/Time: 2000
Source Contribution:

Index data | Source Geospatial Form: vector digital data | Type of Source Media: CD-ROM

Process Steps

Process Step 1

CC ID: 605411
Description:

All the digital data were checked using both digital and on-screen procedures, plotted, checked by the biological expert, edited to remove any errors, and plotted for review by the regional specialists. The reviewed maps were updated on the computer, checked once again, and plotted at final map scale. A team of specialists reviewed the entire series of maps, checked all data, and made final edits. The data were merged to form the study-wide layers that are described in the document. The data merging included a final quality control check where topological consistency, rules for geography, and database to geography were checked and validated for all relationships.

Process Date/Time: 2001-08-01 00:00:00

Child Items

Rubric scores updated every 15m

Rubric Score Type Title
Entity GT-Polygon

Catalog Details

Catalog Item ID: 40583
GUID: gov.noaa.nmfs.inport:40583
Metadata Record Created By: Tyler Christensen
Metadata Record Created: 2017-04-05 14:52+0000
Metadata Record Last Modified By: SysAdmin InPortAdmin
Metadata Record Last Modified: 2023-05-30 18:09+0000
Metadata Record Published: 2018-02-08
Owner Org: ORR
Metadata Publication Status: Published Externally
Do Not Publish?: N
Metadata Last Review Date: 2018-02-08
Metadata Review Frequency: 1 Year
Metadata Next Review Date: 2019-02-08