Munitions and Explosives of Concern
Data Set (DS) | Office for Coastal Management (OCM)GUID: gov.noaa.nmfs.inport:69013 | Updated: February 28, 2024 | Published / External
Summary
Short Citation
Office for Coastal Management, 2024: Munitions and Explosives of Concern, https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/69013.
Full Citation Examples
Munitions and explosives of concern (MEC) have been deposited on the seabed of the United States outer continental shelf since World War I. The bulk of these munitions have originated from the U.S. Armed Forces while conducting military training exercises, war-time placement, and disposal and dumping activities. Since 1972 ocean disposal of munitions and other pollutants has been banned by the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act. Federal and state efforts to mitigate, map, monitor, and sometimes remove these munitions are ongoing. The location of these munitions is generally unknown, and their existence remains a hazard to people and the natural resources within this geography.
The term MEC defines a collection of munitions including; a) unexploded ordnance, b) discarded military munitions, and c) munitions constituents that are present in high enough concentrations to pose an explosive hazard.
Additional information on the location of MECs can be found in the data and references listed below:
1. Formerly Used Defense Sites
2. Danger Zones and Restricted Areas
3. U.S. Disposal of Chemical Weapons in the Ocean: Background and Issues for Congress, CRS Report for Congress, January 3, 2007
4. Defense Environmental Programs Annual Report to Congress for Fiscal Year 2009. Chapter 10. Sea Disposal of Military Munitions
Distribution Information
-
MarineCadastre.gov Data Registry
For coastal and ocean planning
Controlled Theme Keywords
oceans
Child Items
No Child Items for this record.
Contact Information
Point of Contact
NOAA Office for Coastal Management (NOAA/OCM)
coastal.info@noaa.gov
(843) 740-1202
Extents
-177.25° W,
177.75° E,
71.5° N,
13.25° S
2023
publication date
Item Identification
| Title: | Munitions and Explosives of Concern |
|---|---|
| Status: | Completed |
| Publication Date: | 2024-02-28 |
| Abstract: |
Munitions and explosives of concern (MEC) have been deposited on the seabed of the United States outer continental shelf since World War I. The bulk of these munitions have originated from the U.S. Armed Forces while conducting military training exercises, war-time placement, and disposal and dumping activities. Since 1972 ocean disposal of munitions and other pollutants has been banned by the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act. Federal and state efforts to mitigate, map, monitor, and sometimes remove these munitions are ongoing. The location of these munitions is generally unknown, and their existence remains a hazard to people and the natural resources within this geography. The term MEC defines a collection of munitions including; a) unexploded ordnance, b) discarded military munitions, and c) munitions constituents that are present in high enough concentrations to pose an explosive hazard. Additional information on the location of MECs can be found in the data and references listed below: 1. Formerly Used Defense Sites 2. Danger Zones and Restricted Areas 3. U.S. Disposal of Chemical Weapons in the Ocean: Background and Issues for Congress, CRS Report for Congress, January 3, 2007 4. Defense Environmental Programs Annual Report to Congress for Fiscal Year 2009. Chapter 10. Sea Disposal of Military Munitions |
| Purpose: |
To support ocean planning activities pursuant to the Executive Order Regarding the Ocean Policy to Advance the Economic, Security, and Environmental Interests of the United States, the Energy Policy Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, the Rivers and Harbors Act, and the Coastal Zone Management Act. |
| Notes: |
The shape and position of each feature originates from the highest resolution and latest available source data. Using these data with other raster or vector nautical chart products may result in the appearance of offsets and discontinuities between these data and the other sources. |
| Supplemental Information: |
Bureau Code: 006:48, Program Code: 006:055 |
Keywords
Theme Keywords
| Thesaurus | Keyword |
|---|---|
| ISO 19115 Topic Category |
oceans
|
| UNCONTROLLED | |
| None | coastal |
| None | planning |
Spatial Keywords
| Thesaurus | Keyword |
|---|---|
| UNCONTROLLED | |
| None | American Samoa |
| None | Exclusive Economic Zone |
| None | Guam |
| None | Northern Mariana Islands |
| None | Outer Continental Shelf |
| None | Puerto Rico |
| None | Territorial Sea |
| None | United States of America |
| None | US Virgin Islands |
Physical Location
| City: | Charleston |
|---|---|
| State/Province: | SC |
Data Set Information
| Data Set Scope Code: | Data Set |
|---|---|
| Maintenance Frequency: | None Planned |
| Data Presentation Form: | Map (digital) |
| Entity Attribute Overview: |
description, reportYear, chartReference, district, UTM |
| Distribution Liability: |
https://www.marinecadastre.gov/about/disclaimer.html |
| Data Set Credit: | NOAA Office for Coastal Management |
Support Roles
Point of Contact
| Date Effective From: | 2022-08 |
|---|---|
| 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: | Publication Date |
|---|
Extent Group 1
Extent Group 1 / Geographic Area 1
| W° Bound: | -177.25 | |
|---|---|---|
| E° Bound: | 177.75 | |
| N° Bound: | 71.5 | |
| S° Bound: | 13.25 |
Extent Group 1 / Time Frame 1
| Time Frame Type: | Discrete |
|---|---|
| Start: | 2023 |
| Description: |
publication date |
Spatial Information
Spatial Representation
Representations Used
| Grid: | No |
|---|---|
| Vector: | Yes |
| Text / Table: | No |
| TIN: | No |
| Stereo Model: | No |
| Video: | No |
Vector Representation 1
| Topology Level: | Geometry Only |
|---|---|
| Curve Object Present?: | Yes |
Reference Systems
Reference System 1
Coordinate Reference System |
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Access Information
| Security Class: | Unclassified |
|---|---|
| Data Use Constraints: |
For coastal and ocean planning |
Distribution Information
Distribution 1
| Download URL: | https://marinecadastre.gov/data/ |
|---|---|
| Distributor: | |
| Description: |
MarineCadastre.gov Data Registry |
Distribution 2
| Download URL: | https://marinecadastre.gov/downloads/data/mc/MunitionsExplosivesConcern.zip |
|---|---|
| Distributor: |
Technical Environment
| Description: |
Microsoft Windows, ArcGIS Pro, Azure SQL |
|---|
Data Quality
| Accuracy: |
Untested |
|---|---|
| Horizontal Positional Accuracy: |
Compiled to meet 10 meters horizontal accuracy at 95% confidence level |
| Completeness Report: |
Untested |
| Conceptual Consistency: |
These data are logically consistent |
Lineage
Sources
ENC Direct to GIS
| Contact Role Type: | Originator |
|---|---|
| Contact Type: | Organization |
| Contact Name: | NOAA Office of Coast Survey |
| Publish Date: | 2024-02-27 |
| Citation URL: | https://encdirect.noaa.gov/ |
Local Notice to Mariners 08/24
| Contact Role Type: | Originator |
|---|---|
| Contact Type: | Organization |
| Contact Name: | U.S. Coast Guard Navigation Center |
| Publish Date: | 2023-05-16 |
| Citation URL: | https://www.navcen.uscg.gov/local-notices-to-mariners-by-cg-district |
| Source Contribution: |
Location and identity of the source feature(s) |
Maritime Chart Service
| Contact Role Type: | Originator |
|---|---|
| Contact Type: | Organization |
| Contact Name: | NOAA Office of Coast Survey |
| Citation URL: | https://gis.charttools.noaa.gov/arcgis/rest/services/MCS/NOAAChartDisplay/MapServer/exts/MaritimeChartService/MapServer |
Raster Navigational Charts
| Contact Role Type: | Originator |
|---|---|
| Contact Type: | Organization |
| Contact Name: | NOAA Office of Coast Survey |
| Publish Date: | 2022-12-22 |
| Citation URL: | https://www.charts.noaa.gov/RNCs/RNCs.shtml |
U.S. Code of Federal Regulations
| Contact Role Type: | Publisher |
|---|---|
| Contact Type: | Organization |
| Contact Name: | U.S. Army Corps of Engineers |
| Publish Date: | 2022-07-01 |
| Citation URL: | https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-33/chapter-II/part-334 |
| Source Contribution: |
Provided coordinates of features and related language necessary to build feature geometry | Type of Source Media: online |
Process Steps
Process Step 1
| Description: |
1. Acquire source data by URL 2. Imported ENC area and point layers for Dumping Ground, and Caution features for bands a) coastal, b) approach, and c) harbor scale 3. Removed duplicate features 4. Removed features not clearly identified as unexploded ordnance 5. Removed features beyond the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone 6. Removed features if they matched content currently in the Danger Zones and Restricted Areas data set 7. Validated completeness by visual comparison to current NOAA Raster Navigational Charts, Marine Cadastre map services Unexploded Ordnance Areas, Unexploded Ordnance Locations, Formerly Used Defense Sites, and NOAA ENC map services 8. Added new features listed in the Local Notice to Mariners 9. Adjusted the location, size and shape of each feature to align with the highest resolution NOAA Raster Navigational Chart available for each location using the local UTM projection 10. Populated the comment field using the textual description for each feature shown on the RNC 11. Added the values for the U.S. Coast Guard district and the UTM zone for each feature 12. Removed duplicate, extraneous and relic ENC vertex values that did not contribute to defining the shape of a feature 13. Executed the ArcGIS Pro function DENSIFY with a four-meter setting on all newly positioned circular features 14. Executed the ArcGIS Pro functions PROJECT and MERGE to combine features across all UTM Zones 15. Executed and passed the ArcGIS Pro function CHECK GEOMETRY with the OGC parameter 16. Executed and passed the QGIS function VECTOR > GEOMETRY TOOLS > CHECK VALIDITY with all GEOS parameters set to on 17. Visually inspected each feature for accuracy and completeness based on the associated RNC |
|---|---|
| Process Date/Time: | 2023-01-11 00:00:00 |
Process Step 2
| Description: |
1. Acquire and query features from the Danger Zones and Restricted Areas data set that depict MEC features 2. Modify the Danger Zones and Restricted Areas record set to match the existing Munitions and Explosives of Concern data structure 3. APPEND the Danger Zones and Restricted Areas record set to the existing Munitions and Explosives of Concern data set |
|---|---|
| Process Date/Time: | 2023-03-08 00:00:00 |
Process Step 3
| Description: |
1. Add newly discovered feature east of New York city 2. Fix several omissions in the following areas, Guam, Mariana Islands, Thunder Bay Michigan, North Carolina, Key West Florida, and Lake Borgne Louisiana |
|---|---|
| Process Date/Time: | 2024-02-28 00:00:00 |
Catalog Details
| Catalog Item ID: | 69013 |
|---|---|
| GUID: | gov.noaa.nmfs.inport:69013 |
| Metadata Record Created By: | Daniel Martin |
| Metadata Record Created: | 2023-01-03 21:43+0000 |
| Metadata Record Last Modified By: | Daniel Martin |
| Metadata Record Last Modified: | 2024-02-28 21:25+0000 |
| Metadata Record Published: | 2023-01-12 |
| Owner Org: | OCM |
| Metadata Publication Status: | Published Externally |
| Do Not Publish?: | N |
| Metadata Last Review Date: | 2018-07-25 |
| Metadata Review Frequency: | 1 Year |
| Metadata Next Review Date: | 2019-07-25 |