NOAA Office for Coastal Management Benthic Habitat Data, Bogue Sound, North Carolina, 1992 (NCEI Accession 0089465)

These data are benthic study GIS shapefiles (.shp, .shx, .prj) with associated .dbf attribute tables and specific Federal Geographic Data Committee metadata. A generalized browse graphic was generated at the NODC and included with these data.

During 1992, 1:20,000 scale aerial photography for Bogue Sound, North Carolina was collected as part of an effort to map submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) in Coastal North Carolina. The imagery was collected following a strict set of guidelines as detailed in NOAA Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP): Guidance for Regional Implementation (NOAA Technical Report NMFS 123 1995; see Chapter 4 online at www.csc.noaa.gov/crs/lca/methods.html).

Photographs were taken at low tide and during times that the growth stage of the SAV allowed for clear identification. Care was taken to minimize the effects of turbidity, sun glint, wind, and haze on the photos. The imagery was scanned using a photogrammetric quality scanner (AGFA Horizon Plus) at a resolution of 600 dots per inch (dpi) resulting in a pixel resolution of 0.85 meters. Signature development took place during the summer of 2001. The images were orthorectified using ground control points selected from the state digital orthoquads and the National Imagery and Mapping Agency (NIMA) Digital Terrain Elevation Data (DTED(r)). The benthic data is classified according to the System for Classification of Habitats in Estuarine and Marine Environments (SCHEME). This system is fully described in Development of a System for Classification of Habitats in Estuarine and Marine Environments (SCHEME) for Florida, Report to U.S. EPA - Gulf of Mexico Program, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Florida Marine Research Institute. Review Draft 12/04/02.

The images were interpreted and digitized on screen using ArcGIS 8.2 and labeled using ArcView 3.2 and the Benthic Habitat Digitizer extension (developed by the NOS Biogeography Program). The data have not been assessed for thematic accuracy due to the large disparity between dates of image acquisition in 1992 and interpretation in 2002. The data was assessed for horizontal spatial accuracy and thematic agreement during the fall of 2002.