Molokai Accuracy Assessment Point Data for Benthic Habitats of the Main Hawaiian Islands Prepared by Visual Interpretation from Remote Sensing Imagery Collected by NOAA Year 2000

This project is a cooperative effort among the National Ocean Service, National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment; the University of Hawaii; and Analytical Laboratories of Hawaii, LLC. The goal of the work was to develop coral reef mapping methods and compare benthic habitat maps generated by photointerpreting georeferenced color aerial photography, hyperspectral and IKONOS satellite imagery. The cost effectiveness of acquisition and processing of remotely sensed imagery varies significantly between types of platforms deployed and imaging systems used to acquire the data. As a result, it is important to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the map products prepared from each of the types of digital imagery. These Accuracy Assessment point data were generated to assess the accuracy of the individual maps created from the three types of source information.Testing showed that the ability to generate benthic habitat maps with an overall accuracy of 90% to 95% confidence interval is reaching a threshold using imagery with three meter pixel size allowing for spectral enhancement of the imagery with reduced resolution. Increasing the intensity of field observation can partially compensate for this decrease in accuracy of the maps generated from the largest pixels. Habitat maps prepared from IKONOS satellite imagery should be accompanied by field observation wherever possible.