Projected flood extent polygons and flood depth points based on 10-, 50-, 100-, and 500-year wave-energy return periods, with and without coral reefs, for the Territory of the U.S. Virgin Islands (the islands of Saint Croix, Saint John, and Saint Thomas)

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Frequently anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?

Title:
Projected flood extent polygons and flood depth points based on 10-, 50-, 100-, and 500-year wave-energy return periods, with and without coral reefs, for the Territory of the U.S. Virgin Islands (the islands of Saint Croix, Saint John, and Saint Thomas)
Abstract:
This part of the data release presents projected flooding extent polygon (flood masks) and flooding depth points (flood points) shapefiles based on wave-driven total water levels for the Territory of the U.S. Virgin Islands (the islands of Saint Croix, Saint John, and Saint Thomas). For each island there are 8 associated flood mask and flood depth shapefiles: one for each four nearshore wave energy return periods (rp; 10-, 50-, 100-, and 500-years) and both with (wrf) and without (worf) the presence of coral reefs. Flooding depth point data are also presented as a comma-separated value (.csv) text file.
Supplemental_Information:
Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Although this Federal Geographic Data Committee-compliant metadata file is intended to document the data set in nonproprietary form, as well as in Esri format, this metadata file may include some Esri-specific terminology.
  1. How might this data set be cited?
    Gibbs, Ann E., Cole, Aaron D., Lowe, Erik, Reguero, Borja G., and Storlazzi, Curt D., 2019, Projected flood extent polygons and flood depth points based on 10-, 50-, 100-, and 500-year wave-energy return periods, with and without coral reefs, for the Territory of the U.S. Virgin Islands (the islands of Saint Croix, Saint John, and Saint Thomas): data release 10.5066/P9KMH2VX, U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Santa Cruz, CA.

    Online Links:

    This is part of the following larger work.

    Gibbs, Ann E., Cole, Aaron D., Lowe, Erik, Reguero, Borja G., and Storlazzi, Curt D., 2019, Projected flooding extents and depths based on 10-, 50-, 100-, and 500-year wave-energy return periods, with and without coral reefs, for the States of Hawaii and Florida, the Territories of Guam, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands: data release DOI:10.5066/P9KMH2VX, U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Santa Cruz, CA.

    Online Links:

    Other_Citation_Details:
    Suggested citation: Gibbs, A.E., Cole, A.D., Lowe, E., Reguero, B.G., and Storlazzi, C.D., 2019, Projected flooding extents and depths based on 10-, 50-, 100-, and 500-year wave-energy return periods, with and without coral reefs, for the States of Hawaii and Florida, the Territories of Guam, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9KMH2VX
  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?
    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -65.058829637
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -64.564832646
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 18.405325618
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 17.673332653
  3. What does it look like?
    https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/file/get/5bd77b33e4b0b3fc5ce825d8?name=ReefHazard_StudyLocations.jpg&allowOpen=true (JPEG)
    Location map of coral reef areas included in this data release.
  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?
    Calendar_Date: 2019
    Currentness_Reference:
    publication date
  5. What is the general form of this data set?
    Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: comma-delimited text, polygon and point shapefiles
  6. How does the data set represent geographic features?
    1. How are geographic features stored in the data set?
      Indirect_Spatial_Reference: 1 polygon shapefile, 1 point shapefile, and 1 .csv file.
    2. What coordinate system is used to represent geographic features?
      Grid_Coordinate_System_Name: Universal Transverse Mercator
      Universal_Transverse_Mercator:
      UTM_Zone_Number: 20
      Transverse_Mercator:
      Scale_Factor_at_Central_Meridian: 0.9996
      Longitude_of_Central_Meridian: -63.0
      Latitude_of_Projection_Origin: 0.0
      False_Easting: 500000.0
      False_Northing: 0.0
      Planar coordinates are encoded using coordinate pair
      Abscissae (x-coordinates) are specified to the nearest 0.6096
      Ordinates (y-coordinates) are specified to the nearest 0.6096
      Planar coordinates are specified in Meter
      The horizontal datum used is D_WGS_1984.
      The ellipsoid used is WGS_1984.
      The semi-major axis of the ellipsoid used is 6378137.0.
      The flattening of the ellipsoid used is 1/298.257223563.
  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?
    USVI_floodmasks.shp
    Polygon shapefile containing attribute information associated with the U.S. Virgin Islands floodmask data set. (Source: Producer defined)
    MaskName
    Sublocation floodmask polygon name (Source: Producer defined) Sublocation floodmask polygon name in the following format: [Sublocation]_rp[#]_[REEFSTATUS]_floodmask, where [Sublocation] = one of 22 sublocations within the 7 main geographic areas of the States of Hawaii and Florida, the Territories of Guam, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, [#] = wave energy return period (10, 50, 100, or 500 years), and [REEFSTATUS] = with reef (wrf) or without reef (wofr)
    USVI_floodpoints.shp
    Point shapefile containing attribute information associated with the U.S. Virgin Islands floodpoints data set. (Source: Producer defined)
    Easting
    X-coordinate in meters relative to UTM Zone (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:283160.5323
    Maximum:334023.6582
    Northing
    Y-coordinate in meters relative to UTM Zone (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:1955230.177
    Maximum:2035748.825
    F_Depth
    Flood depth in meters relative to approximate mean sea level (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:0
    Maximum:9.69
    Scenario
    Sublocation flood depth scenario (Source: Producer defined) Flood depth point scenario name and location in the following format: [Sublocation]_rp[#]_[REEFSTATUS]_floodpoints, where [Sublocation] = one of 22 sublocations within the 7 main geographic areas of the States of Hawaii and Florida, the Territories of Guam, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, [#] = wave energy return period (10, 50, 100, or 500 years), and [REEFSTATUS] = with reef (wrf) or without reef (wofr)
    USVI_floodmasks.csv
    Comma-separated text file containing attribute information associated with the U.S. Virgin Islands flood points data set. (Source: Producer defined)
    Easting
    X-coordinate in meters relative to UTM Zone (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:283160.5323
    Maximum:334023.6582
    Northing
    Y-coordinate in meters relative to UTM Zone (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:1955230.177
    Maximum:2035748.825
    F_Depth
    Flood depth in meters relative to approximate mean sea level (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:0
    Maximum:9.69
    Scenario
    Sublocation flood depth scenario (Source: Producer defined) Flood depth point scenario name and location in the following format: [Sublocation]_rp[#]_[REEFSTATUS]_floodpoints, where [Sublocation] = one of 22 sublocations within the 7 main geographic areas of the States of Hawaii and Florida, the Territories of Guam, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, [#] = wave energy return period (10, 50, 100, or 500 years), and [REEFSTATUS] = with reef (wrf) or without reef (wofr)

Who produced the data set?

  1. Who are the originators of the data set? (may include formal authors, digital compilers, and editors)
    • Ann E. Gibbs
    • Aaron D. Cole
    • Erik Lowe
    • Borja G. Reguero
    • Curt D. Storlazzi
  2. Who also contributed to the data set?
    U.S. Geological Survey
  3. To whom should users address questions about the data?
    U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
    Attn: PCMSC Science Data Coordinator
    2885 Mission Street
    Santa Cruz, CA
    USA

    831-427-4747 (voice)
    pcmsc_data@usgs.gov

Why was the data set created?

These data are intended for policy makers, resource managers, science researchers, students, and the general public. These data can be used with geographic information systems or other software to identify and assess possible areas of vulnerability to wave-driven flooding. These data are not intended to be used for navigation.

How was the data set created?

  1. From what previous works were the data drawn?
    Summary of methods (source 1 of 1)
    Storlazzi, Curt D., Reguero, Borja G., Cole, Aaron D., Lowe, Erik, Shope, James A., Gibbs, Ann E., Nickel, Barry A., McCall, Rorbert T., van Dongeren, Ap R., and Beck, Michael W., 2019, Rigorously valuing the role of coral U.S. coral reefs in coastal hazard risk reduction: Open-File Report 2019-1027, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

    Online Links:

    Type_of_Source_Media: online
    Source_Contribution:
    Complete explanation of data and methodology used to create flooding model.
  2. How were the data generated, processed, and modified?
    Date: 2018 (process 1 of 6)
    Flood water depths were extracted from a grid of modeled total water levels for 4 modeled storm return periods (10, 50, 100, or 500 years) with and without the influence of coral reefs. Points were extracted every 4 meters along shore normal profiles with a 100 m alongshore spacing and saved as an ESRI point shapefile and .csv file with filenames in the following format: [Sublocation]_FZ_rp[#]_[REEFSTATUS]_floodpoints, where [Sublocation] = one of 22 sublocations within the 7 main geographic areas of the States of Hawaii and Florida, the Territories of Guam, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, [#] = wave energy return period (10, 50, 100, or 500 years), and [REEFSTATUS] = with reef (wrf) or without reef (wofr). See Storlazzi and others (2019) for a detailed description of model development and methodologies.
    Date: 2018 (process 2 of 6)
    Flood water depth shapefiles were merged to create a single shapefile for each of the within the 7 main geographic areas of the States of Hawaii and Florida, the Territories of Guam, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. A Scenario attribute was added to identify the wave-energy return period and reef status combination used to derive the flood depth based on the original shapefile.
    Date: 2018 (process 3 of 6)
    The merged flood water depth shapefiles were exported as a text file in a comma separated value (.csv) format.
    Date: 2018 (process 4 of 6)
    Flood extent polygons were built by creating a minimum-bounding polygon between flood points along adjacent shore normal profiles for 4 modeled storm return periods (10, 50, 100, or 500 years) with and without the influence of coral reefs. The resulting 8 polygons for each geographic sublocation area were clipped and/or extended to a simplified coastline based on the 0-m contour used in the elevation model and edited to remove spurious results. The edited polygons were merged into a single shapefile (flood mask) and are identified by a unique MaskName attribute in the following format: [Sublocation]_rp[#]_[REEFSTATUS]_floodmask, where [Sublocation] = one of 22 sublocations within the 7 main geographic areas of the States of Hawaii and Florida, the Territories of Guam, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, [#] = wave energy return period (10, 50, 100, or 500 years), and [REEFSTATUS] = with reef (wrf) or without reef (wofr).
    Date: 19-Oct-2020 (process 5 of 6)
    Edited metadata to add keywords section with USGS persistent identifier as theme keyword. No data were changed. Person who carried out this activity:
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Attn: VeeAnn A. Cross
    Marine Geologist
    384 Woods Hole Road
    Woods Hole, MA

    508-548-8700 x2251 (voice)
    508-457-2310 (FAX)
    vatnipp@usgs.gov
    Date: 13-Oct-2021 (process 6 of 6)
    Performed minor edits to the metadata to correct typos. No data were changed. Person who carried out this activity:
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Attn: Susan A. Cochran
    Geologist
    2885 Mission Street
    Santa Cruz, CA

    831-460-7545 (voice)
    scochran@usgs.gov
  3. What similar or related data should the user be aware of?
    Storlazzi, Curt D., Reguero, Borja G., Cole, Aaron D., Lowe, Erik, Shope, James A., Gibbs, Ann E., Nickel, Barry A., McCall, Rorbert T., van Dongeren, Ap R., and Beck, Michael W., 2019, Rigorously valuing the role of coral U.S. coral reefs in coastal hazard risk reduction: Open-File Report 2019-1027, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

    Online Links:

How reliable are the data; what problems remain in the data set?

  1. How well have the observations been checked?
    No formal attribute accuracy tests were conducted. Attribute values are extents of modeled flood projections due to extreme wave and sea-level conditions and presence or absence of coral reefs and therefore cannot be validated against observations. Values are within a reasonable and expected range.
  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?
    Data are concurrent with topobathymetric DEM locations.
  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?
    Data are concurrent with topobathymetric DEM locations.
  4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?
    Dataset is considered complete for the information presented as described in the abstract. Users are advised to read the metadata record carefully for additional details.
  5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?
    No formal logical accuracy tests were conducted. Values are within reasonable and expected range.

How can someone get a copy of the data set?

Are there legal restrictions on access or use of the data?
Access_Constraints: None
Use_Constraints:
USGS-authored or produced data and information are in the public domain from the U.S. Government and are freely redistributable with proper metadata and source attribution. Please recognize and acknowledge the U.S. Geological Survey as the originator(s) of the dataset and in products derived from these data.
  1. Who distributes the data set? (Distributor 1 of 1)
    U.S. Geological Survey - Science Base
    Denver Federal Center, Building 810, Mail Stop 302
    Denver, CO
    CA

    888-275-8747 (voice)
    sciencebase@usgs.gov
  2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set? Filenames are in the following format [Location]_ floodmasks.shp, [Location]_floodpoints.shp, and/or [Location]_floodpoints.csv where [Location] = one of the 7 main geographic areas of the States of Hawaii and Florida, the Territories of Guam, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
  3. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?
    Unless otherwise stated, all data, metadata and related materials are considered to satisfy the quality standards relative to the purpose for which the data were collected. Although these data and associated metadata have been reviewed for accuracy and completeness and approved for release by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), no warranty expressed or implied is made regarding the display or utility of the data on any other system or for general or scientific purposes, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty.
  4. How can I download or order the data?
  5. What hardware or software do I need in order to use the data set?
    These zip files contain data available in Environmental Systems Research Institute (Esri) shapefile format. The user must have ArcGIS or ArcView 3.0 or greater software to read and process the data file. In lieu of ArcView or ArcGIS, the user may utilize another GIS application package capable of importing the data. A free data viewer, ArcExplorer, capable of displaying the data is available from Esri at www.esri.com.

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:
Last modified: 13-Oct-2021
Metadata author:
U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
Attn: PCMSC Science Data Coordinator
2885 Mission Street
Santa Cruz, CA
United States

831-427-4747 (voice)
pcmsc_data@usgs.gov
Metadata standard:
Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata (FGDC-STD-001-1998)
This page is <https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/catalog/pcmsc/DataReleases/ScienceBase/DR_P9KMH2VX/USVI_metadata.faq.html>
Generated by mp version 2.9.50 on Thu Oct 14 14:47:22 2021