LiDAR Seafloor Reflectivity for Buck Island Reef National Monument

A 3x3 meter resolution relative seafloor reflectivity surface covering 32.2 square kilometers around Buck Island Reef National Monument in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. Data was collected by Fugro LADS in collaboration with NOAA, the University of New Hampshire, and the National Park Service using a LADS Mark II Airborne System from February 21-22, 2011. The dataset includes depths from 0 to 49 meters and is projected in the NAD83 UTM 20N coordinate system.

Use Cases

• Classifying benthic habitats by analyzing relative seafloor reflectivity values at 3x3 meter resolution.
• Modeling bathymetry and seafloor structure by correlating reflectivity data with depth information from 0 to 49 meters.
• Assessing coral reef health and coverage within the Buck Island Reef National Monument boundary using the hyperspectral imagery context.
• Creating baseline maps for coastal change detection by utilizing the georeferenced UTM 20N NAD83 coordinate system.

Strengths

• 32.2 square kilometers of coverage provides a substantial area for analysis.
• High-resolution 3x3 meter spot spacing with 200% seabed coverage offers detailed data density.
• Data collection involved multiple authoritative organizations including NOAA and the National Park Service.

Limitations

• Data is from a single two-day collection period in February 2011, limiting temporal analysis.
• Environmental factors like water clarity and cloud cover influenced daily data acquisition, potentially causing inconsistencies.
• The dataset's utility is geographically restricted to the specific area surrounding Buck Island, St. Croix.

Provenance

Source

Fugro LADS, NOAA's NOS/NCCOS/CCMA Biogeography Branch, University of New Hampshire, National Park Service.

Collection Method

Airborne LiDAR data acquired using a LADS Mark II system with a 900 Hz Nd:YAG laser, processed using CARIS HIPS and SIPS software.

Time Range

2011-02-21 to 2011-02-22

Freshness

null

Geography

Buck Island Reef National Monument and surrounding waters, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands.