78514 Data Set Published / External 79420 Benthic Project Completed 2026-02-17 In the winter of 1991, the Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP) at NOAA's Office for Coastal Management and the State of Florida commissioned the National Geodetic Survey to acquire conventional color metric aerial photography of Florida Bay. This effort was suitable for interpretation of photic benthic habitats and at a scale of 1:48,000. Additional photography was acquired by the National Geodetic Survey 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. The original photographic diapositives were interpreted by two ecologists familiar with the local environment, 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 portion of each frame was interpreted to minimize the effects of sun glint. An ecologist at Florida's Marine Research Institute (now called the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute) conducted thematic quality assurance and control. Following photo interpretation, NOAA's Office for Coastal Management staff scanned the aerial photos, with the interpreted acetate overlays attached, using a photogrammetric-quality scanner at a pixel resolution of approximately 2 meters. The resulting image file was rectified, and ground control points were selected from features common to digital orthophotoquads of Florida Bay. In 1999, the final edits and quality control of the habitat delineations were completed. The coverage and shoreline were edgematched 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. The layers available within the data download include biotic, geoform, and substrate. Partners: State of Florida and National Geodetic Survey 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. 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 seafloor Theme substrate 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, percent_cover Geoform: geoform_code, tectonic_province, physiographic_province, geoform_origin, geoform, geoform_type, description Substrate: substrate_code, substrate_origin, substrate_class, substrate_subclass, substrate_group, description 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 2026-02 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 -81.1428 -80.3419 25.2733 24.6853 Range 1991 1995 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/florida_bay_1995.zip 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 file 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 (GIS). As each digital data set was incorporated into the GIS, topology was constructed and corrected as needed. Also, hard copy maps were prepared and cross checked with original data. The Florida Keys side 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. 8 meters overall 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. These data are logically consistent Conventional color metric aerial photographic diapositives Organization Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Florida Marine Research Institute Originator 1999-11-19 Conventional color metric aerial photographic diapositives (1:48,000) flown by NGS 1991,1992 and 1995 of Florida Bay, Florida 1 Benthic Habitats: Contracted ecologists and Florida Marine Research Institute (FRMI) staff developed the classification scheme. The ecologists and FMRI staff participated in ground-truthing, classification, and review of the benthic classifications. The C-CAP 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 square kilometers. 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 was 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 hectares. 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 C-CAP staff for digital compilation. Digital Compilation of Aerial Photographs: The C-CAP 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) using ground control points drawn from 1 meter color digital orthophotos of Florida Bay. The southern edge of the Florida Bay data set 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. 1999-01-01T00:00:00 2 The data were converted from a single ESRI polygon data set 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. This produced 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 3 Standardized common design elements, cleaned up field content, repaired geometry, and projected to NAD83. 2025-08-01T00:00:00 gov.noaa.nmfs.inport:78514 Jesse Brass 2025-11-03T20:15:50 Jesse Brass 2026-02-04T20:10:15 2026-02-04 Office for Coastal Management OCM 1002 Public No No 2026-02-02 1 Year 2027-02-02