NOAA TIFF Image - 1 m Backscatter Mosaic of the Virgin Passage and the St. John Shelf, U.S. Virgin Islands, Project NF-10-03, 2010, UTM 20 WGS84

This image represents a 1 meter resolution backscatter mosaic of the Virgin Passage in the 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 March 18 2010 to April 06 2010. Data was acquired with a hull-mounted Reson 7125 Kongsberg Simrad EM 1002 multibeam echosounder (400 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 WGS84. The backscatter component of the bathymetry data was geometrically and radiometrically corrected using Hypack 2010 Geocoder software. Acoustic backscatter mosaics are ostensibly an important piece of information when characterizing surficial seafloor features and delineating benthic habitat.The project was conducted to meet IHO Order 1 and 2 accuracy standards, dependent on the project area and depth. All users should individually evaluate the suitability of this data according to their own needs and standards.