Summary

Description

This image represents a 4 meter resolution backscatter mosaic of of a sharply sloping swath of the St. John Shelf, south of St. John, US Virgin Islands. NOAA's NOS/NCCOS/CCMA Biogeography Team, in collaboration with NOAA vessel Nancy Foster and territory, federal, and private sector partners, acquired multibeam bathymetry data in the US Virgin Islands from 3/28/2011 to 4/14/2011. Data was acquired with a hull-mounted Kongsberg 1002 multibeam echosounder (95 kHz) and 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 from NOAA COOPS. Data is in UTM zone 20 north, datum NAD83. The backscatter component of the bathymetry data were geometrically and radiometrically corrected using Hypack 2011 Geocoder software. Acoustic backscatter mosaics are ostensibly an important piece of information when characterizing surficial seafloor features and delineating benthic habitats.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.