NOAA TIFF Image - 50m Backscatter, Charleston Bump - Deep Coral Priority Areas - NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson - (2007), UTM 17N NAD83

This dataset contains a unified GeoTiff with 30x30 meter cell size representing the backscatter intensity of the Charleston Bump off of the South Atlantic Bight, derived from data collected in 2007. NOAA's NOS/NCCOS/CCMA Biogeography Branch, in collaboration with the College of Charleston, as well as the NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson , and private sector partners, acquired multibeam bathymetry data off the Charleston Bump to identify habitats for deep water coral ecosystems from 05/23/2007 to 05/28/2007. Data was acquired with a hull-mounted Kongsberg Simrad EM 1002 multibeam echosounder (95 kHz). It was processed by the College of Charleston Department of Geology 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 and zoning from NOAA COOPS. Data is in UTM Zone 17 north, datum NAD83. The processed CARIS data was used to generate a CARIS BASE surface based on swath angle. The CARIS Export option "BASE Surface to Image" was then used to create a GeoTiff of the priority areas. The backscatter component of the bathymetry data were geometrically and radiometrically corrected using Fledermaus FMGT software. Acoustic backscatter mosaics are ostensibly an important piece of information when characterizing surficial seafloor features and delineating benthic habitats.