Lake Erie 2022 Benthic Polygons: Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Distribution

Vector polygons representing the distribution of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) in the U.S. portion of Lake Erie. This data characterizes coastal environments by their sensitivity to oil spills and is part of the 2022 Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) for Lake Erie. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) produced the dataset, which includes associated tables for species-specific abundance and life history.

Use Cases

• Modeling oil spill impact sensitivity based on benthic habitat data.
• Mapping the distribution of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) for conservation planning.
• Integrating species-specific life history and seasonality data with spatial polygons for ecological analysis.

Strengths

• Data is part of a standardized Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) framework for characterizing coastal sensitivity.
• Study area is clearly defined as the U.S. portion of Lake Erie, covering coastal Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York.
• Includes associated data tables for species-specific attributes like abundance and seasonality.

Limitations

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

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Likely contains vector polygons derived from survey or remote sensing data, as part of the ESI Geodatabase.

Time Range

2022

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03 13 22:28:42.496329; freshness should be verified.

Geography

United States portion of Lake Erie, covering coastal Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York.