Summary

Description

Benthic habitats of the moderate-depth marine environment in and around the Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument were mapped using a combination of semi-automated classification and visual interpretation of acoustic imagery. The objective of this effort, conducted by NOAA's Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment - Biogeography Branch in partnership with the U.S. National Park Service (NPS), was to provide spatially-explicit information on the moderate-depth habitat types, biological cover and live coral cover south of St. John. The data contained in this shapefile denote the position of the drop camera as it drifted over 117 ground validation (GV) sites explored by NOAA field scientists to further refine habitat map classification. Considering vessel drift during habitat characterization, the entire evaluation period was most accurately represented by a series of GPS points logged at five-second intervals.