Slide Menu
Search Help Show/Hide Menu
Short Citation:
Office for Coastal Management, 2024: Benthic Habitats of Florida Bay, FL 1991-1995 Biotic, https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/47890.

Item Identification

Title: Benthic Habitats of Florida Bay, FL 1991-1995 Biotic
Short Name: fl_fb95-biotic_Metadata
Status: Completed
Publication Date: 2015
Abstract:

In the winter of 1991/92 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Office for Coastal Management's Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) and the State of Florida commissioned the National Ocean Service's Photogrammetry Unit, the National Geodetic Survey (NGS), to acquire conventional color metric aerial photography of Florida Bay suitable for interpretation of photic benthic habitats (scale of 1:48,000). Additional photography was acquired by NGS in 1995 to cover areas of the bay that were not interpretable due to turbidity and glare during the original mission. The imagery was collected according to stringent parameters detailed in the C-CAP protocol (https://coast.noaa.gov/crs/lca/ccap.html). The original photographic diapositives were interpreted by two ecologists, familiar with the local environment. The benthic signatures were interpreted from the photography using Bausch and Lomb Zoom Stereoscopes and Richards Light Tables. The boundaries of each unique signature were delineated on acetate overlays and assigned one of 20 habitat classes. Only the central 'sweet spot' of each frame was interpreted to minimize the effects of sun glint. An ecologist at the Florida Marine Research Institute (FMRI) conducted thematic quality assurance and control. Following interpretation, Office for Coastal Management staff scanned the aerial photos, with the interpreted acetate overlays attached, using a photogrammetric quality scanner (AGFA Horizon Plus) at a resolution of 600 dpi resulting in a pixel resolution of 2.03 meters. The resulting image file was rectified (second order bilinear interpolation) using ERDAS Imagine software. Ground control points were selected from features common to digital orthophotoquads of Florida Bay. The interpreted polygon habitats were digitized into an ARC coverage from the rectified files using ERDAS Imagine software's vector module. In 1999, the final edits and quality control of the habitat polygons were completed. The coverage and shoreline were edge matched to the Benthic Habitats of the Florida Keys Atlas to complete the coverage, as the dates of photography, methodology and classification system used were the same.

Original contact information:

Contact Org: NOAA Office for Coastal Management

Phone: 843-740-1202

Email: coastal.info@noaa.gov

Purpose:

Loss of seagrass beds, persistent phytoplankton blooms, and elevated turbidity are symptoms of major ecological changes in Florida Bay. These changes threaten important fisheries associated with Florida Bay and the adjacent Florida Keys. Marine and estuarine seagrass beds are vital linkages in the ecosystem of Florida Bay and are essential for the maintenance of healthy fish populations. These beds cycle nutrients and stabilize the sediments as well as provide direct benefits to fisheries in the form of food and shelter. In addition, seagrass beds are connected to other ecologically and economically valuable systems, such as mangrove, coral reef and continental shelf communities. Quantification of the status and recent change in the spatial distribution of seagrass is central to understanding the distribution and extent of these declines and to guide research and management efforts.

Notes:

10047

Keywords

Theme Keywords

Thesaurus Keyword
Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Science Keywords
EARTH SCIENCE > BIOSPHERE > ECOSYSTEMS > MARINE ECOSYSTEMS > BENTHIC
Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Science Keywords
EARTH SCIENCE > BIOSPHERE > ECOSYSTEMS > MARINE ECOSYSTEMS > COASTAL
Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Science Keywords
EARTH SCIENCE > BIOSPHERE > ECOSYSTEMS > MARINE ECOSYSTEMS > ESTUARY
ISO 19115 Topic Category
environment
UNCONTROLLED
None benthic habitats
None Biotic Component
None CMECS
None Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard
None corals
None Environmental Monitoring
None field verification
None Florida Bay
None image rectification
None OCM Benthic Habitat Mapping
None photo-interpretation
None seagrass
None submerged aquatic vegetation

Spatial Keywords

Thesaurus Keyword
Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Location Keywords
CONTINENT > NORTH AMERICA > UNITED STATES OF AMERICA > FLORIDA
UNCONTROLLED
None Florida

Physical Location

Organization: Office for Coastal Management
City: Charleston
State/Province: SC

Data Set Information

Data Set Scope Code: Data Set
Maintenance Frequency: As Needed
Data Presentation Form: Map (digital)
Distribution Liability:

NOAA provides no warranty, nor accepts any liability occurring from any incomplete, incorrect, or misleading data, or from any incorrect, incomplete, or misleading use of the data. It is the responsibility of the user to determine whether or not the data is suitable for the intended purpose.

Support Roles

Data Steward

CC ID: 611371
Date Effective From: 2015
Date Effective To:
Contact (Organization): NOAA Office for Coastal Management (NOAA/OCM)
Address: 2234 South Hobson Ave
Charleston, SC 29405-2413
Email Address: coastal.info@noaa.gov
Phone: (843) 740-1202
URL: https://coast.noaa.gov

Distributor

CC ID: 611373
Date Effective From: 2015
Date Effective To:
Contact (Organization): NOAA Office for Coastal Management (NOAA/OCM)
Address: 2234 South Hobson Ave
Charleston, SC 29405-2413
Email Address: coastal.info@noaa.gov
Phone: (843) 740-1202
URL: https://coast.noaa.gov

Metadata Contact

CC ID: 611374
Date Effective From: 2015
Date Effective To:
Contact (Organization): NOAA Office for Coastal Management (NOAA/OCM)
Address: 2234 South Hobson Ave
Charleston, SC 29405-2413
Email Address: coastal.info@noaa.gov
Phone: (843) 740-1202
URL: https://coast.noaa.gov

Point of Contact

CC ID: 611372
Date Effective From: 2015
Date Effective To:
Contact (Organization): NOAA Office for Coastal Management (NOAA/OCM)
Address: 2234 South Hobson Ave
Charleston, SC 29405-2413
Email Address: coastal.info@noaa.gov
Phone: (843) 740-1202
URL: https://coast.noaa.gov

Extents

Currentness Reference: Ground Condition

Extent Group 1

Extent Group 1 / Geographic Area 1

CC ID: 611377
W° Bound: -81.1428
E° Bound: -80.3419
N° Bound: 25.2733
S° Bound: 24.6853

Extent Group 1 / Time Frame 1

CC ID: 611376
Time Frame Type: Range
Start: 1991
End: 1995

Spatial Information

Spatial Representation

Representations Used

Vector: Yes

Vector Representation 1

CC ID: 611363
Complex Object Present?: Yes
Complex Object Count: 1366

Access Information

Security Class: Unclassified
Data Access Procedure:

Contact NOAA Office for Coastal Management's Clearinghouse Manager and request a copy of "Benthic Habitats of Florida Bay, Florida, 1991-1995, CD-ROM". Alternatively, fill out a OCM Product Request Form at https://coast.noaa.gov/clearinghouse/prodreq_form.html;

Data Access Constraints:

none

Data Use Constraints:

None

Distribution Information

Distribution 1

CC ID: 750393
Download URL: ftp://ftp.coast.noaa.gov/pub/benthic/Benthic_Cover_Data/FL_FloridaBay.zip
Distributor:
File Name: Bulk Download
Description:

FTP download of data files.

URLs

URL 1

CC ID: 750395
URL: https://iocm.noaa.gov/cmecs
Name: CMECS Home Page
URL Type:
Online Resource
Description:

Information and resources on the CMECS standard and how to apply it

URL 2

CC ID: 750396
URL: http://www.cmecscatalog.org/
Name: CMECS Catalog
URL Type:
Online Resource
Description:

Searchable online catalog of CMECS units, descriptions, and source references

URL 3

CC ID: 750397
URL: https://coast.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/
Name: NOAA's Office for Coastal Management (OCM) Digital Coast Data section
URL Type:
Online Resource
Description:

The website provides not only coastal data, but also the tools, training, and information needed to make these data truly useful. Content comes from many sources, all of which are vetted by NOAA.

URL 4

CC ID: 750398
URL: https://coast.noaa.gov/
Name: NOAA's Office for Coastal Management (OCM) website
URL Type:
Online Resource
Description:

Information on the NOAA Office for Coastal Management (OCM)

URL 5

CC ID: 750399
URL: https://coast.noaa.gov/data/Images/Collections/BenthicCover_thumbnail.jpg
Name: Browse Graphic
URL Type:
Browse Graphic
Browse Graphic
File Resource Format: JPEG
Description:

Sample of benthic cover data

Activity Log

Activity Log 1

CC ID: 611399
Activity Date/Time: 2017-03-30
Description:

Date that the source FGDC record was last modified.

Activity Log 2

CC ID: 611398
Activity Date/Time: 2017-11-14
Description:

Converted from FGDC Content Standard 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: 717850
Activity Date/Time: 2018-02-08
Description:

Partial upload of Positional Accuracy fields only.

Activity Log 4

CC ID: 750394
Activity Date/Time: 2018-04-11
Description:

Partial upload to move data access FTP links to Distribution Info and remove broken URLs.

Data Quality

Accuracy:

Florida Bay Accuracy: The digitized benthic habitats of Florida Bay data have undergone two accuracy evaluations. Cartographers performed the first accuracy evaluation after the data were compiled. As each digital data files was compiled, a hard copy was generated and visually compared to the original source classified photography. Geographers performed the second evaluation while the data were transformed into geographic information systems. As each digital data were incorporated into the GIS, topology was constructed and corrected as needed. Also, hard copy maps were prepared and cross checked with original data. The keys edge of the bay was edge matched with the Benthic Habitats of Florida Keys Atlas to complete the coverage and incorporate a shoreline. The dates of photography, methodology and classification system used for both projects were equivalent.

Horizontal Positional Accuracy:

8 meters overall

Vertical Positional Accuracy:

N/A

Completeness Report:

Images on the western-most edge were not rectifiable due to lack of features. Thus the boundaries along the western edge are not spatially registered.

Conceptual Consistency:

Unknown

Lineage

Sources

Conventional color metric aerial photographic diapositives (1:48,000) flown by NGS 1991,1992 and 1995 of Florida Bay, Florida

CC ID: 611359
Contact Name: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Florida Marine Research InstituteDepartment of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Ocean Service (NOS), Office for Coastal Management (OCM)
Publish Date: 1999-11-19
Extent Type: Range
Extent Start Date/Time: 1991
Extent End Date/Time: 1995
Scale Denominator: 48000
Source Contribution:

Unknown | Source Geospatial Form: map | Type of Source Media: Conventional color metric aerial photographic diapositives

Process Steps

Process Step 1

CC ID: 611360
Description:

Benthic Habitats: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Geodetic Survey (NGS) staff conducted the aerial photographic mission. Contracted ecologists and Florida Marine Research Institute staff developed the classification scheme. The ecologists and FMRI staff participated in ground-truthing, classification, and review of the benthic classifications. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Office for Coastal Management Coastal Change Analysis Program staff made digital compilations of the photographic information and created digital map layers in a Geographic Information System (GIS).Aerial Photography: True color aerial photographs of Florida Bay were acquired by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Remote Sensing Division during overflights occurring from December 1991 through March 1992. Due to glare and turbidity in certain areas, additional photography was acquired during 1995. A Wild RC-30 camera mounted in a Cessna Citation II Fanjet aircraft was used to acquire the 1:48,000 (1 cm =480 m) source photography. Each photograph covered approximately 160 km2. An 80 percent endlap and 60 percent sidelap between adjacent photographs ensured both complete coverage and the presence of adequate reference locations necessary for determining positional accuracy. Approximately 80 photos provided monoscopic coverage and were used to delineate benthic habitats.Establishing a Habitat Classification Scheme: Two recognized ecologists, both with local knowledge of Florida Bay and extensive expertise in marine habitats, were responsible for interpreting and delineating the benthic communities seen on the aerial photographs. These two ecologists, along with the FMRI staff, developed the hierarchical classification scheme used for this coverage. The habitat classification scheme is composed of 24 benthic communities in four major habitat categories: corals, seagrasses, hardbottom, and bare substrate. Special modifiers were attached to the classes to denote dredge zones, banks, and restoration areas.Photointerpretation: The ecologists and FMRI staff interpreted and then delineated benthic habitats on the aerial photos. The minimum habitat area delineated was 0.5 ha. Ground truthing was conducted to verify that benthic habitats seen in the water were properly identified on aerial photographs. Researchers were able to conduct most ground truthing of benthic communities while snorkeling. Field information about the benthic habitat and site GPS locations were recorded. The completed photos were reviewed for content and accuracy by the ecologists and FMRI staff and then sent to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for digital compilation.Digital Compilation of Aerial Photographs: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Office for Coastal Management Coastal Change Analysis Program staff inspected each photograph for completeness of delineations, photograph discrepancies, and areas of turbidity. The aerial photographs, with the interpreted acetates attached, were scanned using a photogrammetric quality scanner (AGFA Horizon Plus) at a resolution of 600 dpi resulting in a pixel resolution of 2.03 meters. The resulting image field was rectified interpolation bilinear (second order) by Coastal Change Analysis Program using ground control points drawn from 1 meter color digital orthophotos of Florida Bay. The southern edge of Florida Bay dataset was edge matched to the Benthic Habitats of the Florida Keys Atlas. The rectification and digitization was completed utilizing the ERDAS Imagine software package.Quality Control: A review of the data was conducted in two phases: 1) an on-line review to ensure line and attribute completeness, comparison to the ecologists' delineations, and positional accuracy; and 2) a review of 1:48,000 scale maps of the compiled data against the original source photos.

Process Step 2

CC ID: 611361
Description:

The data were converted from a single ESRI polygon shapefile classified according to the System for Classifying Habitats in Estuarine and Marine Environments (SCHEME) to the Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard (CMECS) 2012 format (which can be found at https://coast.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/tools/cmecs-crosswalk) which produces separate geoform, biotic, and biotic feature layers from the original input benthic habitat dataset. This biotic feature layer contains CMECS biotic component attributes where an "Equal" or "Nearly Equal" SCHEME value was present in the original data. Polygons for which no biotic information was present have been removed. No other changes to the original polygon boundaries or any other alterations of the original SCHEME data were made during this process.

Process Date/Time: 2015-01-01 00:00:00

Child Items

Rubric scores updated every 15m

Rubric Score Type Title
Entity Biotic

Catalog Details

Catalog Item ID: 47890
GUID: gov.noaa.nmfs.inport:47890
Metadata Record Created By: Anne Ball
Metadata Record Created: 2017-11-14 12:57+0000
Metadata Record Last Modified By: SysAdmin InPortAdmin
Metadata Record Last Modified: 2023-05-30 18:09+0000
Metadata Record Published: 2018-04-11
Owner Org: OCM
Metadata Publication Status: Published Externally
Do Not Publish?: N
Metadata Last Review Date: 2018-04-11
Metadata Review Frequency: 1 Year
Metadata Next Review Date: 2019-04-11