gov.noaa.nmfs.inport:50381 eng UTF8 dataset National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science resourceProvider NCCOS Scientific Data Coordinator NCCOS.data@noaa.gov pointOfContact 2026-03-04T19:17:19 ISO 19115-2 Geographic Information - Metadata Part 2 Extensions for imagery and gridded data ISO 19115-2:2009(E) NCCOS Assessment: Underwater Video for Ground Validation and Accuracy Assessment of Benthic Habitat Maps of the Insular Shelf South of St. Thomas and St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands, 2010-03-20 to 2017-02-10 NCCOS Video: USVI Insular Shelf Mapping 2017-11 publication NOAA/NMFS/EDM 50381 https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/50381 WWW:LINK-1.0-http--link Full Metadata Record View the complete metadata record on InPort for more information about this dataset. information Costa, Bryan bryan.costa@noaa.gov principalInvestigator https://products.coastalscience.noaa.gov/collections/benthic/default.aspx WWW:LINK-1.0-http--link Data Webpage NCCOS Data Collections: Benthic Habitat Mapping download https://coastalscience.noaa.gov/project/habitat-map-insular-shelf-south-of-st-thomas-st-john/ WWW:LINK-1.0-http--link Project Webpage NCCOS Research Project Webpage: Developing a Benthic Habitat Map for the Insular Shelf South of St. Thomas and St. John download videoDigital Cited Publications: Costa, B., L.M. Kracker, T. Battista, W. Sautter, A. Mabrouk, K. Edwards, C. Taylor, and E. Ebert. 2017. Benthic Habitat Maps for the Insular Shelf South of St. Thomas and St. John. NOAA Technical Memorandum NOS NCCOS 241. Silver Spring, MD. 59 pp. https://doi.org/10.7289/V5/TM-NOS-NCCOS-241 Costa, B., L. Kracker, T. Battista, W. Sautter, A. Mabrouk, K. Edwards, C. Taylor, and E. Ebert. 2018. NCCOS Assessment: Benthic Habitat Map for the Insular Shelf South of St. Thomas and St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands (NCEI Accession 0170098). NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://doi.org/10.7289/V5930RFV The presence and absence of the four substrate and four biological cover types were documented at 1,353 locations on the insular shelf south of St. Thomas and St. John. At each location, an underwater camera system was used to collect high definition (HD) video at 30 frames per second at 1080x1920 resolution. This GIS dataset depicts the location of these underwater videos, as well as the name, location, time collected, and the presence and absence of the substrate and cover types. A portion of these underwater videos (n=1,005) were used to develop the habitat predictions and the composite habitat map. A separate subset of these underwater videos (n=348) were used to assess the performance of the habitat predictions and accuracy of the composite habitat map. For more details, see Costa et al. 2017 and Costa et al. 2018. Keywords: Ground Validation; Accuracy Assessment; Acropora Cervicornis; Acropora Palmata; Bathymetry; Benthic Habitat; Coastal Ocean Science; Coral Reef; Insular Shelf; Seagrass; Seaviewer; Snorkel; Trimble GeoXH; Underwater Video. The insular shelf south of St. Thomas and St. John, in the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) is an expansive geomorphologic feature with extensive mesophotic coral reefs occurring at 30 to 150 meter depths. These mesophotic reefs are part of a broader coral reef community in the U.S. Caribbean that provide a wide range of ecosystem goods and services estimated to provide $187 million per year (in 2007 US dollars) to local communities. While these reefs provide great economic value to local communities, they are increasingly under threat from multiple human-caused stressors, making it critical for the USVI and Puerto Rico jurisdictions to find ways to preserve and sustainably manage them. Ideally, the first step in any marine management process is to comprehensively map and inventory the location of coral reef resources. The geographic information system (GIS) layers and products provided in this report represent the first complete habitat map for the insular shelf south of St. Thomas and St. John. These products also represent the culmination of an extensive seafloor mapping campaign conducted by NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) in collaboration with regional partners. completed Sautter, Will will.sautter@noaa.gov pointOfContact NCCOS Scientific Data Coordinator NCCOS.data@noaa.gov custodian https://cdn.coastalscience.noaa.gov/csmedia/2017/09/NCCOS-with-tag-to-side-wht-bld.png Browse Graphic: NCCOS EARTH SCIENCE > BIOSPHERE > ECOSYSTEMS > MARINE ECOSYSTEMS > BENTHIC theme Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Science Keywords 17.0 OCEAN > ATLANTIC OCEAN > NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN > CARIBBEAN SEA > VIRGIN ISLANDS place Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Location Keywords 20.8 Geographic Information > Habitats theme CoRIS Discovery EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Aquatic Habitat > Benthic Habitat EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Aquatic Habitat > Reef Habitat EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment > Mapping > Habitat Mapping EARTH SCIENCE > Biosphere > Zoology > Corals > Reef Monitoring and Assessment > Photographic Analysis > Videography EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Bathymetry/Seafloor Topography > Hard Seafloor Substrate theme CoRIS Theme NCCOS Research Data Type > Field Observation NCCOS Research Data Type > Geospatial NCCOS Research Data Type > NCCOS Data Collection NCCOS Research Data Type > Video NCCOS Research Priority > Marine Spatial Ecology (MSE) NCCOS Research Topic > Coral Reefs NCCOS Research Topic > Habitat Mapping NCCOS Research Location > Geographic Area > Coastal Ocean NCCOS Research Location > Geographic Area > Coral Reefs NCCOS Research Location > Region > U.S. Caribbean NCCOS Research Location > U.S. States and Territories > U.S. Virgin Islands theme NCCOS NOAA Ship Nancy Foster theme NOAA Ships COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Puerto Rico > Culebra Island (18N065W0011) COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Puerto Rico > Vieques > Vieques Island (18N065W0002) COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > U. S. Virgin Islands > St. John > St. John (18N064W0011) COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > U. S. Virgin Islands > St. Thomas > St. Thomas (18N064W0033) OCEAN BASIN > Atlantic Ocean > Caribbean Sea /North Atlantic Ocean > Puerto Rico > Culebra Island (18N065W0011) OCEAN BASIN > Atlantic Ocean > Caribbean Sea /North Atlantic Ocean > Puerto Rico > Vieques Island > Vieques Island (18N065W0002) OCEAN BASIN > Atlantic Ocean > Caribbean Sea > Virgin Islands > Leeward Islands > St. Thomas (18N064W0033) OCEAN BASIN > Atlantic Ocean > Caribbean Sea > Virgin Islands > Virgin Islands > St. John (18N064W0011) place CoRIS Place Grammanik Bank Marine Conservation District Hind Bank Marine Conservation District Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument place Marine Protected Areas Caribbean Sea Culebra, PR St. John, USVI St. Thomas, USVI Vieques, PR Virgin Passage place Sea Areas DOC/NOAA/NOS/NCCOS > National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, National Ocean Service, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce dataCentre Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Data Center Keywords 2017-04-24 publication 8.5 Earth Science Data and Information System, Earth Science Projects Division, Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD%2BKeywords GCMD Keyword Forum Page Global Change Master Directory (GCMD). 2025. GCMD Keywords, Version 22. Greenbelt, MD: Earth Science Data and Information System, Earth Science Projects Division, Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). URL (GCMD Keyword Forum Page): https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD+Keywords information custodian NCCOS Habitat Mapping Team project InPort otherRestrictions Cite As: National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, [Date of Access]: NCCOS Assessment: Underwater Video for Ground Validation and Accuracy Assessment of Benthic Habitat Maps of the Insular Shelf South of St. Thomas and St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands, 2010-03-20 to 2017-02-10 [Data Date Range], https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/50381. NOAA provides no warranty, nor accepts any liability occurring from any incomplete, incorrect, or misleading data, or from any incorrect, incomplete, or misleading use of the data. It is the responsibility of the user to determine whether or not the data is suitable for the intended purpose. otherRestrictions Access Constraints: None otherRestrictions Use Constraints: None unclassified NOAA Data Management Plan (DMP) NOAA/NMFS/EDM 50381 https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inportserve/waf/noaa/nos/nccos/dmp/pdf/50381.pdf WWW:LINK-1.0-http--link NOAA Data Management Plan (DMP) NOAA Data Management Plan for this record on InPort. information crossReference eng; US oceans -65.2605 -64.6584 18.12015 18.31073 Accuracy Assessment data collection 2010-03-20 2017-02-10 Collaborators: Will Sautter, Dr. Ayman Mabrouk, Kimberly Edwards, Arliss Winship (US DOC; NOAA; NOS; National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science). Kevin McCartney (CrewZen VI Charters). Lance Horn, Glen Taylor (University of North Carolina at Wilmington Undersea Vehicles Program). Partner Entities: NOAA’s Office of Marine and Aircraft Operations (OMAO) NOAA ship Nancy Foster. University of North Carolina at Wilmington Undersea Vehicles Program. Base Funding: US DOC; NOAA; NOS; National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS), NCCOS Project #284, “Benthic Habitat Maps of the Insular Shelf South of St. Thomas and St. John.” Other Funding: US DOC; NOAA; NOS; Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP). Other Project: CRCP Project #30081, “Benthic Habitat Maps of the Insular Shelf South of St. Thomas and St. John.” ESRI REST Service CSV - Comma Separated Values (Text) MP4 NCEI Data Archive Accession ESRI REST Service National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science 1305 East West Highway, Rm 8110 Silver Spring MD 20910 https://coastalscience.noaa.gov/ WWW:LINK-1.0-http--link National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science Website Website listed for National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science information distributor NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information ncei.info@noaa.gov https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/contact WWW:LINK-1.0-http--link NCEI Contact Information Information for contacts at NCEI. information distributor https://maps.coastalscience.noaa.gov/biomapper/biomapper.html?id=insular WWW:LINK-1.0-http--link USVI Insular Shelf BIOMapper Web Application A free, fully interactive, user friendly, online platform designed to let users explore benthic habitat mapping data. Users can create fully customizable maps by clicking on a data layer in the table of contents and display aerial and acoustic imagery rasters, benthic habitat and geographic zone shapefiles, and ground validation/accuracy assessment video sites. Ground validation and accuracy assessment videos are available for viewing (streaming) and for download in standard or high resolution. download https://nccospublicstor.blob.core.windows.net/biomapper/usviinsularshelf2017/documentation/InsularShelf2017_GVAA_DataIndex.csv WWW:LINK-1.0-http--link Data Index for USVI Insular Shelf Video Data index containing file-level documentation for all video including benthic habitat characteristics: FID; PROJECT; GEOGRAPHIC REGION; SITE TYPE; ASSESSMENT TYPE; SITE ID; DATE COLLECTED; TIME COLLECTED; LATITUDE; LONGITUDE; NORTHING; EASTING; DEPTH; URL LINK; CORAL REEF; PAVEMENT; RHODOLITH; SAND; HARD CORAL; SOFT CORAL; MACROALGAE; SPONGE; SEAGRASS; ARTIFICIAL; UNKNOWN; NOTES (from the field or the data managers). download https://products.coastalscience.noaa.gov/biomapper_explorer/index.php?path=b1Awa3pNeUl0Y0JHMnlTZlk5dHlIM0FTTXFtZXh5bGdPdkhZZEdLdTh2OD0= WWW:LINK-1.0-http--link USVI Insular Shelf Videos Online directory containing video files. download https://doi.org/10.7289/V5930RFV WWW:LINK-1.0-http--link USVI Insular Shelf Benthic Habitat Map Data Costa, B., L. Kracker, T. Battista, W. Sautter, A. Mabrouk, K. Edwards, C. Taylor, and E. Ebert. 2018. NCCOS Assessment: Benthic Habitat Map for the Insular Shelf South of St. Thomas and St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands (NCEI Accession 0170098). NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://doi.org/10.7289/V5930RFV download https://gis.ngdc.noaa.gov/arcgis/rest/services/nccos/BenthicMapping_USVIInsularShelf2017/MapServer WWW:LINK-1.0-http--link USVI Insular Shelf MapServer Web Service This geodatabase contains the benthic habitat maps, along with predictors and coefficients of variation for the insular shelf south of St. Thomas and St. John. Also contained within the database are the boundaries of shorelines and marine protected areas, the locations of ground validation and accuracy assessment sites, and results from fisheries acoustics surveys from the 2004-2010 Nancy Foster Seafloor mapping missions. This database will be used for the NCCOS Biomapper web mapping service which will provide users a platform to view the benthic habitat mapping layers of the Insular Shelf project. download dataset Completeness Report For details of data quality control methods, see Costa et al. 2017. All users should independently analyze the dataset according to their own needs and standards to determine data usability. The process for collecting both the GV and AA data was identical at each site in the field. Sites were accessed via small boat using a hand-held Garmin 76 global positioning system (GPS) unit. Once the drop camera was deployed, boat location and drift was recorded every five seconds for the duration of the underwater video using a Trimble GeoXH GPS receiver. As the video camera was deployed to the bottom, the presence and absence of the five substrate and four cover types were recorded at each site in real time on the Trimble GeoXH. Once back in the office, GPS data were post-processed and differentially corrected using the closest Continually Operating Reference System (CORS) station, which were on St. Thomas (station STVI), Culebra Island, Puerto Rico (station CUPR) and St. Croix (station CR01). All underwater videos were reviewed a second time by benthic experts and the presence (1) and absence (0) of each substrate and cover type were confirmed in the office. Multiple substrate and cover types were often present at each site. For a complete description of the processing and analysis methods see Costa et al. 2017. Sautter, Will will.sautter@noaa.gov processor Costa, B., L.M. Kracker, T. Battista, W. Sautter, A. Mabrouk, K. Edwards, C. Taylor, and E. Ebert. 2017. Benthic Habitat Maps for the Insular Shelf South of St. Thomas and St. John. NOAA Technical Memorandum NOS NCCOS 241. Silver Spring, MD. 59 pp. https://doi.org/10.7289/V5/TM-NOS-NCCOS-241 http://dx.doi.org/10.7289/V5/TM-NOS-NCCOS-241 WWW:LINK-1.0-http--link Publication NCCOS Tech Memo 241 information