Caribbean Sea Bathymetry and Backscatter Data from 2011

NOAA's Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment collected multibeam bathymetry and airborne LiDAR bathymetry data from March 29 to April 16, 2011. The mission aimed for 100 percent seafloor ensonification and characterization in high-priority conservation areas south of St. Thomas, St. John, and the northern shoals of the US Virgin Islands. Data includes acoustic backscatter and was gathered from NOAA Ship Nancy Foster and a Fugro LADS Mark II Airborne System.

Use Cases

• Characterize seafloor composition based on multibeam backscatter data.
• Create high-resolution bathymetric maps for conservation planning using the 100% ensonification dataset.
• Model underwater topography and shoal features using the airborne LiDAR bathymetry.
• Analyze coastal shelf morphology south of St. Thomas and St. John from the ship-based surveys.

Strengths

• Data collection aimed for 100 percent seafloor ensonification, suggesting thorough coverage.
• Combines two high-resolution data sources: ship-based multibeam and airborne LiDAR.
• Focuses on specific high-priority conservation areas in the US Virgin Islands.

Limitations

• Last updated 2011-04-16 00:00:00; freshness should be verified.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and file formats are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

NOAA_NCEI, Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment (CCMA)

Collection Method

Collected from NOAA Ship Nancy Foster (multibeam surveys W00216, W00217) and a Fugro LADS Mark II Airborne System.

Time Range

2011-03 29 to 2011-04-16

Freshness

Data is from a specific mission in 2011.

Geography

Caribbean Sea, US Virgin Islands, specifically areas south of St. Thomas and St. John, and northern shoals including Buck Island and Salt River, St. Croix.