Lake Michigan Navigational and Marine Features for Oil Spill Sensitivity Mapping

Two geospatial datasets (points and lines) from NOAA characterize human-use resources in Lake Michigan for Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) mapping. The data includes access locations, boat ramps, ferry terminals, dams, marinas, ports, and ferry routes to assess sensitivity to oil spills. It is part of a broader ESI data collection for the Lake Michigan coastal zone.

Use Cases

• Mapping coastal access points for recreational planning based on marina and boat ramp locations.
• Modeling potential oil spill dispersion and impact based on ferry route and port data.
• Creating environmental sensitivity maps for emergency response planning based on the described human-use resource layers.

Strengths

• Data is part of a standardized Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) framework used for oil spill planning.
• Includes both point (e.g., ports, ramps) and line (e.g., ferry routes) features for comprehensive spatial analysis.
• Sourced from the authoritative National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Primary file format is PDF, which may complicate direct geospatial analysis.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Likely collected and compiled for environmental sensitivity mapping.

Time Range

null

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 22:24:14.842565; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Lake Michigan