78464 Data Set Published / External 79420 Benthic Project Completed 2026-01-15 These data were collected under a cooperative mapping program between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), NOAA's Office for Coastal Management, and the Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve. The primary objectives of this program were to collect marine geophysical data to develop a suite of seafloor maps that would better define the extent of oyster habitats and the overall seafloor geology of the bay and provide updated information for management of this resource. In addition to their value for management of the bay's oyster resources, the maps also provide a geologic framework for scientific research and the public. The study focused on the Apalachicola Bay and western St. George Sound portions of the estuary, mostly in depths greater than 2 meters. High-resolution bathymetry, backscatter intensity, and seismic profile data were collected over 230 square kilometers of the bay. The interpretation of sidescan sonar imagery, bathymetry, available sediment sample information, and seafloor observations provided a detailed interpretation of the surficial geology of Apalachicola Bay and western portions of St. George Sound, Florida. The initial surficial geologic interpretations were translated by the Office for Coastal Management into the Florida System for Classifying Habitats in Estuarine and Marine Environments (SCHEME). No sediment classes were lost during this process. The layers available within the data download include biotic, geoform, and substrate. Partners: United States Geological Survey, Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve To support the inventory of benthic habitat classification, extent, and health pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act, the Rivers and Harbors Act, and the Coastal Zone Management Act. U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2006-1381 Geophysical Mapping of Oyster Habitats in a Shallow Estuary; Apalachicola Bay, Florida https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2006/1381/ Bureau Code: 006:48, Program Code: 006:055 Theme Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Science Keywords EARTH SCIENCE > BIOSPHERE > ECOSYSTEMS > MARINE ECOSYSTEMS > BENTHIC Theme Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Science Keywords EARTH SCIENCE > BIOSPHERE > ECOSYSTEMS > MARINE ECOSYSTEMS > COASTAL Theme ISO 19115 Topic Category biota Theme ISO 19115 Topic Category environment Theme benthic Theme biotic Theme coastal Theme geoform Theme oyster Theme seafloor Theme substrate Spatial Florida Spatial United States of America Office for Coastal Management Charleston SC Data Set None Planned Map (digital) Biotic: biotic_code, biotic_setting, biotic_class, biotic_subclass, biotic_group, biotic_community, anthropogenic_impact Geoform: geoform_code, tectonic_province, physiographic_province, geoform_origin, geoform,description Substrate: substrate_code, substrate_origin, substrate_class, substrate_subclass, substrate_group, substrate_pattern, description, anthropogenic_impact Any conclusions drawn from the analysis of this information are not the responsibility of NOAA, the Office for Coastal Management or its partners. All content is licensed under the CC0 1.0 Universal public domain dedication. NOAA Office for Coastal Management Point of Contact 2025-12 Organization NOAA Office for Coastal Management NOAA/OCM coastal.info@noaa.gov 2234 South Hobson Ave Charleston SC 29405-2413 (843) 740-1202 https://coast.noaa.gov NOAA Office for Coastal Management Home Page Online Resource Publication Date -85.096005 -84.75516 29.783119 29.601303 Range 2005 2006 No Yes No No No Geometry Only Yes Geographic 2D EPSG:4269 NAD83 North American Datum 1983 GRS 1980 6378137 298.257222101 1 Geodetic Latitude Lat degree north 1 Geodetic Latitude Lat degree north 2 Geodetic Longitude Lon degree east 2 Geodetic Longitude Lon degree east Custom Unclassified These data were created for planning and management. Users should be aware of temporal changes that may have occurred since the collection of original source data sets. https://benthic-data-noaa.hub.arcgis.com/ NOAA Benthic Data Hub Registry https://marinecadastre.gov/downloads/data/benthic/apalachicola_bay_2006.zip Untested Compiled to meet 10 meters horizontal accuracy at 95% confidence level The accuracy of this interpretive data layer is dependent on the level of detail of the source material and interpretation procedures for capturing that source. The primary limiting factor for the level of detail of the source is the scale of the remotely sensed data, and positional accuracy, distribution and total number of surficial samples available for the area. The map scale or remotely sensed image resolution determines the level of content that may be extracted from a given source during digitization. Interpreted facies were qualitatively compared to ground truth data collected for NOAA in 1999. No quantitative comparison was conducted. These data are logically consistent 1 Topology was created for data set polygons to identify, verify, and fix the following rules: 1) Polygons must not have gaps. All data gaps less than 15 meters across were automatically fixed. A total of 5 errors were identified and fixed. 2) Polygons must not overlap. No errors were found. Data were digitized from visual interpretations using ArcView 3.3, at a zoom scale of 1:5,000 or greater. Each polygon was digitized and given one of 11 attributes to describe the general composition of that unit. 2006-12-21T00:00:00 2 Resulting feature class was visually reviewed to identify and edit any polygons that did not extend to the border of the sidescan sonar. 2007-01-25T00:00:00 3 Original USGS Surficial Geology classes were cross-walked into the Florida System for Classifying Habitats in Estuarine and Marine Environments (SCHEME). All surficial geology classes translated smoothly into SCHEME. Descriptive information was captured in the Modifiers field. No information or data records were lost during this process. Geoform attributes not captured in the SCHEME hierarchy have been added as modifiers (ex. tidal inlet). 2012-02-01T00:00:00 4 In 2015, these data were converted from a single ESRI polygon shapefile classified according to the SCHEME format, to the Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard (CMECS) 2012 format. This was accomplished using the CMECS Crosswalk Tool from the Digital Coast, which produces separate biotic, geoform, and substrate feature layers from the original input benthic habitat dataset. Each of the three feature layers contain respective CMECS biotic, geoform, and substrate component attributes where an "Equal" or "Nearly Equal" SCHEME value was present in the original data. Polygons for which no biotic, geoform, or substrate 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. 2015-01-01T00:00:00 5 Standardized common design elements, cleaned up field content, repaired geometry, and projected to NAD83. 2025-08-01T00:00:00 gov.noaa.nmfs.inport:78464 Jesse Brass 2025-10-22T11:38:02 Jesse Brass 2025-12-09T13:50:48 2025-12-09 Office for Coastal Management OCM 1002 Public No No 2025-12-09 1 Year 2026-12-09