St. Lawrence Estuary Coastal Habitats with 130 Descriptors on 6.25 km² Grid

A geospatial database of 39,337 grid cells characterizes pelagic and benthic habitats in the 0–30 m surface layer of the St. Lawrence Estuary and Gulf. Fisheries and Oceans Canada created it using satellite imagery, a 3D circulation model, and regional data sources. The dataset was last updated on March 24, -2026.

Use Cases

• Mapping coastal epipelagic habitats based on aggregated landscape, hydrographic, and oceanographic parameters.
• Analyzing species-habitat relationships based on the spatial extent of major habitat types.
• Modeling environmental influences on marine ecosystems based on proximity to freshwater inflows and tidal zone characteristics.

Strengths

• Contains 130 descriptors for habitat characterization.
• Covers 39,337 grid cells at a 6.25 km² resolution.
• Integrates data from multiple sources including satellite imagery and a 3D circulation model.

Limitations

• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.

Provenance

Source

Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Collection Method

Data aggregated from observations, satellite imagery, a 3D circulation model, and published/unpublished material.

Time Range

null

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-24 09:05:06.112411; freshness should be verified.

Geography

St. Lawrence Estuary and Gulf, Canada