Summary

Description

This image represents a 1 meter resolution backscatter mosaic of an offshore portion of the NPS's Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument, south of St. John, US Virgin Islands. 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 in the US Virgin Islands from 2/1/05 to 2/12/05. Data was acquired with a pole-mounted Reson 8101 ER multibeam echosounder (240 kHz) and processed by a NOAA contractor using CARIS HIPS v5.4 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 WGS84. The backscatter component of the bathymetry data were geometrically and radiometrically corrected using Geocoder 3.2.1 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.