1999 Photomosaics of Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands Utilized to Map Shallow Water Benthic Habitats of the Region
Habitat maps of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands were created by visual interpretation of aerial photographs using the Habitat Digitizer Extension. Aerial photographs are valuable tools for natural resource managers and researchers since they provide an excellent record of the location and extent of habitats. However, spatial distortions in aerial photographs due to such factors as camera angle, lens characteristics, and relief displacement must be accounted for during analysis to prevent incorrect measurements of area, distance, and other spatial parameters. These distortions of scale within an image can be removed through orthorectification. During orthorectification, digital scans of aerial photos are subjected to algorithms that eliminate each source of spatial distortion. The result is a georeferenced digital mosaic of several photographs with uniform scale throughout the mosaic. Features near land are generally georeferenced with greater accuracy while the accuracy of features away from land is generally not as good. Where no land is in the original photographic frame only kinematic GPS locations and image tie points were used to georeference the images. After the orthorectified mosaics were created, photointerpreters were able to accurately and reliably delineate boundaries of features in the imagery as they appear on the computer monitor.
Complete Metadata
| @type | dcat:Dataset |
|---|---|
| accessLevel | non-public |
| contactPoint |
{
"fn": "Not provided - Contact data.gov",
"hasEmail": "mailto:datagovsupport@gsa.gov"
}
|
| describedByType | application/octet-steam |
| description | Habitat maps of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands were created by visual interpretation of aerial photographs using the Habitat Digitizer Extension. Aerial photographs are valuable tools for natural resource managers and researchers since they provide an excellent record of the location and extent of habitats. However, spatial distortions in aerial photographs due to such factors as camera angle, lens characteristics, and relief displacement must be accounted for during analysis to prevent incorrect measurements of area, distance, and other spatial parameters. These distortions of scale within an image can be removed through orthorectification. During orthorectification, digital scans of aerial photos are subjected to algorithms that eliminate each source of spatial distortion. The result is a georeferenced digital mosaic of several photographs with uniform scale throughout the mosaic. Features near land are generally georeferenced with greater accuracy while the accuracy of features away from land is generally not as good. Where no land is in the original photographic frame only kinematic GPS locations and image tie points were used to georeference the images. After the orthorectified mosaics were created, photointerpreters were able to accurately and reliably delineate boundaries of features in the imagery as they appear on the computer monitor. |
| distribution |
[
{
"@type": "dcat:Distribution",
"title": "https://ccma.nos.noaa.gov/products/biogeography/benthic/htm/mosaic.aspx",
"mediaType": "placeholder/value",
"description": "Downloadable Data",
"downloadURL": "https://ccma.nos.noaa.gov/products/biogeography/benthic/htm/mosaic.aspx",
"describedByType": "application/octet-steam"
},
{
"@type": "dcat:Distribution",
"title": "NOAA Data Management Plan (DMP)",
"mediaType": "placeholder/value",
"description": "NOAA Data Management Plan for this record on InPort.",
"downloadURL": "https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inportserve/waf/noaa/nos/nccos/dmp/pdf/39462.pdf",
"describedByType": "application/octet-steam"
},
{
"@type": "dcat:Distribution",
"title": "GCMD Keyword Forum Page",
"mediaType": "placeholder/value",
"description": "Global Change Master Directory (GCMD). 2025. GCMD Keywords, Version 22. Greenbelt, MD: Earth Science Data and Information System, Earth Science Projects Division, Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). URL (GCMD Keyword Forum Page): https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD+Keywords",
"downloadURL": "https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD%2BKeywords",
"describedByType": "application/octet-steam"
},
{
"@type": "dcat:Distribution",
"title": "Full Metadata Record",
"mediaType": "placeholder/value",
"description": "View the complete metadata record on InPort for more information about this dataset.",
"downloadURL": "https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/39462",
"describedByType": "application/octet-steam"
}
]
|
| identifier | gov.noaa.nmfs.inport:39462 |
| issued | 2001-05-01T00:00:00.000+00:00 |
| keyword |
[
"Remotely Sensed Imagery/Photos",
"SAV",
"aerial photography",
"benthic",
"coral",
"habitat",
"mangrove",
"reef",
"seagrass",
"Buck Island",
"Culebra",
"Desecheo",
"La Parguera",
"Mona",
"Puerto Rico",
"Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands",
"St Croix",
"St John",
"St Thomas",
"U.S. Virgin Islands",
"Vieques",
"DOC/NOAA/NOS/NCCOS > National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, National Ocean Service, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce",
"VI_PR_benthic"
]
|
| landingPage | https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/39462 |
| language |
[]
|
| license | https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/ |
| modified | 2001-05-01T00:00:00.000+00:00 |
| publisher |
{
"name": "National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science",
"@type": "org:Organization"
}
|
| references |
[
"https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inportserve/waf/noaa/nos/nccos/dmp/pdf/39462.pdf"
]
|
| rights | otherRestrictions, unclassified |
| spatial | -64.25,17.36,-67.57,18.51 |
| title | 1999 Photomosaics of Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands Utilized to Map Shallow Water Benthic Habitats of the Region |