NOAA NCCOS Assessment: Prioritizing Areas for Future Seafloor Mapping, Research, and Exploration on the Southeast U.S. Atlantic Coast (GA, SC, and NC) and Outer Continental Shel...

Spatial information on the arrangement of geological features, habitats and living marine resources on the seabed are often the foundation for decision-making in ecosystem management and ocean planning. Collecting information on the seabed depths and geomorphology is an expensive operation requiring airborne platforms like satellites, planes or drones, or small vessels to large research ships. Coordinating these data needs and data collection efforts will better leverage collective resources and meet shared goals. To help enable this coordination, in 2020 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) developed a spatial framework, process, and online application to identify common data collection priorities for seafloor mapping, sampling, and visual surveys along shore and offshore of the Southeast United States (North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia).

Twenty-five representatives from federal and state agencies, academic institutions, and non-governmental conservation groups, designated seafloor mapping priorities using an online prioritization tool. Participants allocated virtual coins across 5 km x 5 km grid cells to denote their organization’s regions of seafloor mapping needs. Grid cells with more coins were higher priorities than cells with fewer coins. Participants also reported why these locations were important and what data types were needed. Results were analyzed and mapped using statistical techniques to identify significant relationships between priorities, reasons for those priorities and data needs. These data are the summarized results from this project and can also be viewed in an online web map (https://noaa.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=04cdd2a68c4f427f893f2042f326dc80).

Several common areas of interest were identified in the spatially explicit analysis of the responses. Nearshore surfzone along Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina were highlighted by several agencies and organizations interested in sediment and sand resources as well as potential for rocky reef habitats. Inshore estuarine areas were highlighted by state agencies and conservation groups interested in monitoring change in managed areas like National Estuarine Reserves. On the outer continental shelf, areas near Blake Plateau off South Carolina and the continental shelf break off North Carolina were identified by federal agencies and conservation organizations as areas of sensitive habitats or historically significantly shipwrecks and maritime resources.

The seafloor mapping prioritization approach described in the Buckel et al. (2021) report associated with these data provides recommendations to organizations charged with mapping the seabed for navigation and commerce as well as resource assessments and management. Already, the priority areas identified in this exercise are being used by NOAA to focus planned seafloor mapping missions. Furthermore, the outcomes from this regional exercise contribute into a National Mapping Prioritization under the lead of NOAA to coordinate mapping activities across the entire US EEZ. Together, these quantitative seafloor mapping prioritization approaches will enable improved coordination and more efficient allocation of resources needed to conduct seafloor mapping providing data to support environmental stewardship, safe navigation and commerce.

The overall goal of the project was to systematically gather and quantify seafloor mapping data needs within the Southeast US study region (estuary to Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia). The results identify locations where stakeholder interests overlap with other organizations, leading to improved coordination of data needs, and leveraging collective resources to meet these shared goals. Already, priority areas identified by this study are being used by NOAA to focus planned fiscal year 2021 seafloor mapping missions.

The southeast seafloor mapping prioritization was initiated and supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Southeast and Caribbean Regional Collaboration Team. Additional funding was provided by NOAA Fisheries Southeast Regional Office (SERO) and the National Center for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS).

Collaborators:

• John McCombs, US DOC; NOAA; Office for Coastal Management (OCM)

Partners:

These organizations participated in this project.

• Coastal Carolina University

• Duke University

• University of Georgia

• PEW Charitable Trusts

• South Atlantic Fisheries Management Council

• Southeast Reef Fish Survey

• The Nature Conservancy

• North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries

• US Department of the Interior

o Bureau of Ocean and Energy Management (BOEM); Renewable resources and minerals

o United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)

o United States Geological Survey (USGS)

o Environmental Protection Agency

• US Department of Defense; Department of the Navy;

o United States Navy

o United States Coast Guard

• US DOC; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

o U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System; Southeast Coastal Ocean Observing Regional Association

o National Geodetic Survey

o Office of Response and Restoration

o National Ocean Service;

 National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science

 National Marine Sanctuaries

 Office of Coast Survey

o National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS); Southeast Regional Office

o Ocean Exploration & Research

o Office for Coastal Management;

 National Estuarine Research Reserve - Georgia

 National Estuarine Research Reserve - North Carolina

Partners:

• US DOC; NOAA; NOS; National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS)

• US DOC; NOAA; NOS; Southeast and Caribbean Regional Collaboration Team (SECART)

• US DOC; NOAA; National Marine Fisheries Service Southeast Regional Office (SERO)

Funding:

• US DOC; NOAA; NOS; National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS)

• US DOC; NOAA; NOS; Southeast and Caribbean Regional Collaboration Team (SECART)

• US DOC; NOAA; National Marine Fisheries Service Southeast Regional Office (SERO)

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For details of data completeness, see Lineage Sources.

For details of data quality control methods, see Lineage Sources. All users should independently analyze the datasets according to their own needs and standards to determine data usability.

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