Sediment profile image data from June 1995 in the inland bays of New York/New Jersey Harbor

Sediment profile images (SPI) of the sediment-water interface were collected using a sediment profiling camera at pre-determined locations in the harbor. Physical, chemical,geological and biological conditions observed in the photos were used to create a database for all stations, and habitat classes were defined by sediment type and/or faunal community for each location. The database was then used in a Geographic Information System (GIS) to characterize benthic habitat types for New York/New Jersey Harbor.

Original contact information:

Contact Org: NOAA Office for Coastal Management

Phone: 843-740-1202

Email: coastal.info@noaa.gov

The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)had a need to develop benthic habitat maps in NY/NJ Harbor. This was critical for developing a plan for dredged material management that was both economically feasible and environmentally sound. The overall objective was to provide background information to plan cost-effective, spatially focused studies for siting dredge material disposal and habitat restoration within the Harbor.

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While every effort has been made to ensure that these data are accurate and reliable within limits of the state of the art, NOAA will not assume any liability for damages caused by any inaccuracies in these data, or failure in their use.

Sediment Profile Imagery (SPI) data from the inland bays of New York/New Jersey Harbor in June 1995.For information about obtaining these data, please visit the project home page at http://www.coast.noaa.gov/benthic/data/northeast/nynj.htm;

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It is the responsibility of the user to determine the appropriate use of the data product.

ArcView version 3.1 shapefile format

The attribute accuracy was verified by checking the compiled SPI database against the actual photos for each station. Since two photos were taken at each station,attributes from both images were noted in the database, and one image was digitized and analyzed using image analysis software. The results of this automated analysis were also used to check the accuracy of the dataset. When large disagreement occurred between images from a single station,all attributes were recorded and the image with the largest visible area was digitized. Results of grab sampling were also used, when available, to check the accuracy of the SPI dataset.

Stations were located in the field using a differential Global Positioning System (GPS), and station coordinates,date and time of day were recorded upon arrival at each station. Coordinates and time were also recorded after all sampling was completed at approximately 25% of the stations to check the amount of boat drift. Drift distances were generally less than 0.1 minutes, which was not discernible at the spatial scale used for mapping the results.

All measurements were made from the deck of the RV Onrust,State University of New York, Stony Brook, and this was not relevant to this dataset.

Any attribute omissions were the result of poor camera penetration or the inability to clearly distinguish features in SPI photos. The attributes from multiple photos from each station were summed to provide the most comprehensive report of in situ conditions. Habitat classes were assigned based on ranked order of habitat value,however, so each of the five habitat groups were not mutually exclusive. Classes were ranked for consistency in an attempt to anticipate the management decisions that would be made by the NY District of the USACE. Therefore, stations observed to have characteristics of multiple habitat types were classified by the habitat class having the highest rank.

The data are believed to be logically consistent.