Data Management Plan (Deprecated)

This data set contains vector lines representing coastal habitats of North Carolina, classified by their susceptibility to oiling. The Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) classification system, developed by NOAA, considers several natural and biological factors when ranking an intertidal range's sensitivity and persistence of oil impacts. As a whole, the ESI data characterize the marine and coastal environments and wildlife by their sensitivity to spilled oil, and include information for three main components: shoreline habitats, sensitive biological resources, and human-use resources. See also the ESIP (ESI Shoreline Polygons) data layer for additional information about shorelines and intertidal habitats.

This reflects the extent of all land and water features included in the overall North Carolina ESI study region. The bounding box for this particular feature class may vary depending on occurrences identified and mapped.

Process Steps:

• 2016-01-01 00:00:00 - The shoreline locations and features were derived from the integration of the following digital data: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Continually Updated Shoreline Product (CUSP) (2014); NOAA Shoreline Mapping Program NC1401A / NC0801A / NC0801D / NC0902 / NC0503 / NC0501 (20140604) datasets; the North Carolina Division of Coastal Management (DCM) Estuarine Shoreline (1:300/1:500) (2012) dataset; the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) (2014); the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) National Wetlands Inventory (NWI) dataset (2010); the NOAA, National Ocean Service (NOS), Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R), Emergency Response Division(ERD) and U.S. EPA, Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Sensitivity of Coastal Environments and Wildlife to Spilled Oil - North Carolina (201107) dataset; and manual digitization at approximately 1:1,000 scale using ortho-rectified aerial imagery resources from the North Carolina Center for Geographic Information and Analysis (2012), Environmental System Research Institute (ESRI) World Imagery (2014), and the NOAA Ortho-rectified Mosaic of Eastern Coastline - Hurricane Sandy Impact Area (20141023). See the Lineage section for additional information on the type of source data for this data layer. To create the base ESIL data layer, the vector datasets were compiled together in a file geodatabase feature class with the input data prioritized by currency and scale. The vector source data for each ESIL feature were recorded in the [SOURCE_ID] field in the attribute table. The physiographic environment recorded in the [ENVIR] field was determined using the NWI dataset. The feature topology was checked for dangles and overlap before manual clean-up, segmentation, and classification of the shoreline began. Manual digitization efforts consisted of heads-up digitization at approximately 1:1,000 scale using the ortho-rectified aerial imagery (prioritized by currency, spectral resolution, and tidal coordination where available) which were recorded in the [ESI_SOURCE] field of the ESIL layer. Specific tasks included editing the ESIL shoreline to be coincident with that in the imagery and digitizing missed or incomplete shoreline features, including islands, piers, groins, breakwaters, etc. Shoreline features of 10 meters (m) or greater in length were then segmented and classified. Where necessary, multiple ESI types were described for each shoreline segment. A field survey was conducted to ground-truth select photo-interpreted features and to capture photographs of particular ESI shoreline types. After the initial shoreline classification, the data were checked for logical consistency errors and re-checked for topology errors. The ESI, biology, and human-use data were compiled into the standard ESI digital data format. A QA/QC period for NOAA and participating resource experts was conducted and, as needed, edits to the ESIL data layer were made based on the recommendations of the experts, and final hardcopy maps and digital data were created.

Data can be accessed by downloading the zipped ArcGIS geodatabase from the Download URL (see Distribution Information). Questions can be directed to the ESI Program Manager (Point Of Contact).