Summary

Description

This dataset contains a GeoTIFF with 2x2 meter cell size representing the rugosity of site WOO216, a selected area of seafloor south of St. Thomas, USVI, derived from data collected in March and April 2011. NOAA's NOS/NCCOS/CCMA Biogeography Branch, in collaboration with NOAA vessel Nancy Foster and territory, federal, and private sector partners, acquired multibeam bathymetry data south of St. Thomas and St. John, USVI, from 3/28/2011 to 4/14/2011. Data was acquired with a moon pool flange-mounted Reson 7125 multibeam echosounder (dual frequecy, 200/400 kHz) for water depths of up to 75 meters. It was processed by a NOAA contractor using CARIS HIPS software. Data has all correctors applied (attitude, sound velocity) and has been reduced to mean lower low water (MLLW) using final approved tides and zoning from NOAA COOPS. Data is in UTM zone 20 north, datum NAD83. The processed CARIS data was used to generate a CARIS BASE surface based on CUBE. A BAG file was exported from the BASE surface, and converted to a GeoTIFF in ESRI ArcMap 10. Rugosity was derived from this surface using NOAA’s Benthic Terrain Modeler extension. The project was conducted to meet IHO Order 1 and 2 accuracy standards, dependant on the project area and depth. All users should individually evaluate the suitability of this data according to their own needs and standards.