Data Management Plan

Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps are an integral component in oil-spill contingency planning and assessment. They serve as a source of information in the event of an oil spill incident. ESI maps are a product of the Hazardous Materials Response Division of the Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R).ESI maps contain three types of information: shoreline habitats (classified according to their sensitivity to oiling), human-use resources, and sensitive biological resources. Most often, this information is plotted on 7.5 minute USGS quadrangles, although in Alaska, USGS topographic maps at scales of 1:63,360 and 1:250,000 are used, and in other atlases, NOAA charts have been used as the base map. Collections of these maps, grouped by state or a logical geographic area, are published as ESI atlases. Digital data have been published for most of the U.S. shoreline, including Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico.

Process Steps:

• ESI maps are comprised of three general types of information: SHORELINE CLASSIFICATION - ESI maps include a shoreline ranking, based on a scale relating sensitivity, natural persistence of oil, and ease of cleanup. The shoreline classification scheme combines an understanding of the physical and biological character of the shoreline environment, as well as the substrate type and grain size. Relationships among physical processes, substrate type, and associated biota produce specific geomorphic/ecological shoreline types, sediment transport patterns and predictable oil behaviors and biological impacts. The sensitivity ranking (Rank 1 - Rank 10) is dictated by the following factors: relative exposure to wave and tidal energy, shoreline slope, substrate type (grain size, mobility, penetration and/or burial, and trafficability), and biological productivity and sensitivity. Methods for classifying shorelines include review of existing maps, literature, and remote imagery, incorporated with observations from low-altitude aerial surveys and ground observations. Base maps, shoreline, wetland boundaries, and aerial photographs are gathered prior to a survey. Using this information, along with any previous studies of the area, the geologist completes a preliminary shoreline classification. This classification is modified during the fieldwork process. Fieldwork consists of two parts: aerial surveys and ground verifications. During the overflight phase, the geologist annotates the shoreline base map with ESI Rankings, carefully noting transitions in habitats. Shorelines with more than one ESI type in the intertidal zone are annotated on the map in order from landward to seaward ESI classification. A segment of coastline may be assigned up to three ESI shoreline types. In areas where the coastline has changed significantly from the base map (either through natural or artificial processes), the geologist modifies the base map by hand. In addition to classifying the shoreline, the observer takes representative low-altitude, oblique photographs for each ESI habitat. Ground verification consists of spot-checking to confirm aerial observations. Ideally, an example of each habitat is visited and photographed from the ground. At a minimum, ground verification concentrates on confirming grain-size classification for sedimentary substrates, since this can be difficult to recognize from the air. If a portion of the coast is identified during the overflights as problematic or difficult to classify, that segment is ground checked and maps are updated according to the ground observations. Once the field component of the project is complete, the maps are scanned and the digital shoreline arcs are updated with the ESI attributes noted in the field. The shape and position of the digital shoreline may also be modified at this time to reflect field observations. After the information from the field map has been incorporated into the digital database, the ESI shoreline is color-coded and replotted at the same scale as the original base maps. The geologist then compares the classified shoreline plots to the original field-annotated base maps and any errors in shoreline attributes, as recorded in the GIS database, are corrected.
• SENSITIVE BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES - ESI maps depict oil-sensitive animals and rare plants, as well as habitats that are used by oil-sensitive species. Some habitats, such as submersed aquatic vegetation and coral reefs, that are themselves sensitive to oil spills may also be depicted. Biological resource information is gathered from local officials who provide expert knowledge and suggest relevant source materials for biological resources in the study area. When the data have been collected and reviewed, the biologist plans how each resource will be mapped throughout the entire study area. During this process, it may be necessary to prioritize the species to be mapped in order to avoid excess clutter, which makes the final product difficult to read or interpret. Considerations may include species that are rare or listed as protected or endangered, or those species that have a particular commercial, recreational, or cultural value in the area. It may also be appropriate to limit some species-mapping to particularly critical life stages, such as nesting or spawning. Biological features are mapped as points, polygons, and lines, and are given unique numbers corresponding to associated data tables, for easy identification and editing.
• HUMAN-USE RESOURCES - ESI maps also include human-use areas that could be impacted by an oil spill or that could provide access for spill response operations. They include areas that have added sensitivity and value because of their use, such as beaches, parks and marine sanctuaries, water intakes, and archaeological sites. Human-use resources are divided into four major components: high-use recreational and shoreline access locations, management areas, resource extraction locations, and archaeological and historical cultural resource locations. Each human-use resource is assigned a feature type and feature code. Management areas are typically mapped as polygons, while the remaining socio-economic resources are depicted as points. For more information about the data resources and process for a particular resource refer to the metadata record for the desired resource in the ESI atlas of interest.

Contact NOAA for distribution options (see Distributor). 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 3.X ESI project and an ESI_Viewer product are also included on the distribution CDs for ease of use of the 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.;