St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands-Seafloor elevation change in Maui, St. Croix, St. Thomas, and the Florida Keys

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Frequently anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?

Title:
St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands-Seafloor elevation change in Maui, St. Croix, St. Thomas, and the Florida Keys
Abstract:
Coral reefs serve as natural barriers that protect adjacent shorelines from coastal hazards such as storms, waves and erosion but projections indicate global degradation of coral reefs due to anthropogenic impacts and climate change will cause a transition to net erosion by mid-century. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center conducted research to quantify the combined effect of all constructive and destructive processes on modern coral reef ecosystems by measuring regional-scale changes in seafloor elevation. USGS staff assessed five coral reef ecosystems in the Atlantic Ocean (Upper and Lower Florida Keys), Caribbean Sea (U.S. Virgin Islands: St. Thomas and Buck Island, St. Croix), and Pacific Ocean (Maui, Hawaii), including both coral-dominated and adjacent, non-coral dominated habitats. Scientists used historical bathymetric data from the 1930s to 1980s and contemporary light detection and ranging (lidar) digital elevation models (DEMs) from the late 1990s to 2000s to calculate changes in seafloor elevation for each study site over time periods reflecting low to high anthropogenic impacts. STT_ElevationChange.zip contains the location, elevation, and elevation change data for St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. Using these changes in elevation, further analysis was done to calculate corresponding changes in seafloor volume for all study areas and habitat types within each site.
Supplemental_Information:
All data sources and descriptions used in the creation of STT_ElevationChange.csv are listed in Yates and others (2016)
  1. How might this data set be cited?
    U.S. Geological Survey, 20170308, St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands-Seafloor elevation change in Maui, St. Croix, St. Thomas, and the Florida Keys: U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg, FL.

    Online Links:

  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?
    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -65.043984
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -64.827501
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 18.351292
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 18.266955
  3. What does it look like?
  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?
    Calendar_Date: 1966
    Currentness_Reference:
    ground condition
  5. What is the general form of this data set?
    Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: CSV
  6. How does the data set represent geographic features?
    1. How are geographic features stored in the data set?
      Indirect_Spatial_Reference: Points
      This is a Point data set.
    2. What coordinate system is used to represent geographic features?
      Horizontal positions are specified in geographic coordinates, that is, latitude and longitude. Latitudes are given to the nearest 1.0E-6. Longitudes are given to the nearest 1.0E-6. Latitude and longitude values are specified in Decimal degrees. The horizontal datum used is North American Datum of 1983 (1986).
      The ellipsoid used is Geodetic Reference System 80.
      The semi-major axis of the ellipsoid used is 6378137.0.
      The flattening of the ellipsoid used is 1/298.257222101.
      Vertical_Coordinate_System_Definition:
      Altitude_System_Definition:
      Altitude_Datum_Name: Virgin Island Vertical Datum of 2009 (VIVD09) GEOID03
      Altitude_Resolution: 0.2
      Altitude_Distance_Units: meters
      Altitude_Encoding_Method:
      Explicit elevation coordinate included with horizontal coordinates
  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?
    STT_ElevationChange.csv
    This file contains data, provided in comma separated values (CSV) format, that were used to compute seafloor elevation change in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands (Source: USGS)
    HSHEET
    Hydrographic survey sheet number. The hydrographic sheet (Hsheet) from which the historical bathymetric elevation data was collected. (Source: NOAA) H08877, H09271, H09272, H09353
    YEAR
    Survey Year. Year hydrographic sheet was published (Source: NOAA)
    Range of values
    Minimum:1966
    Maximum:1973
    Longitude (Geographic NAD83)
    NAD83(1986) geographic coordinate of sample point, in decimal degrees. (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-65.043984
    Maximum:-64.827501
    Units:decimal degrees
    Latitude (Geographic NAD83)
    NAD83(1986) geographic coordinate of sample point, provided in decimal degrees. (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:18.266955
    Maximum:18.351292
    Units:decimal degrees
    Longitude (UTM NAD83)
    X-coordinate (easting) of sample point, in meters (NAD83, UTM zone 20 N). (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:284013.4617
    Maximum:306842.8096
    Units:Meters
    Latitude (UTM NAD83)
    Y-coordinate (northing) of sounding, in meters ( NAD83, UTM zone 20 N). (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:2020821.706
    Maximum:2030264.483
    Units:Meters
    Historical sounding (VIVD09)
    Historical sounding. Historical depth in North American Vertical Datum of 2009, using the GEOID03 geoid model. Negative values indicate positions below NAVD88. (Source: U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-33.5496
    Maximum:0.0145
    Units:Meters
    Lidar elevation (VIVD09)
    Modern depth in Virgin Islands Vertical Datum of 2009. Negative values indicate below VIVD09. (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-34.31587219
    Maximum:-0.352310926
    Units:Meters
    Difference = Lidar - Historical
    Difference = Lidar - Historical. The difference between the modern (lidar) and historical (Hsheets) depths. Negative values indicate loss of seafloor elevation. Positive values indicate a gain in seafloor elevation. (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-11.16050278
    Maximum:25.60352592
    Units:Meters

Who produced the data set?

  1. Who are the originators of the data set? (may include formal authors, digital compilers, and editors)
    • U.S. Geological Survey
  2. Who also contributed to the data set?
    Acknowledgment of the U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, as a data source would be appreciated in products developed from these data, and such acknowledgment as is standard for citation and legal practices for data source is expected. Sharing of new data layers developed directly from these data would also be appreciated by the U.S. Geological Survey staff. Users should be aware that comparisons with other datasets for the same area from other periods may be inaccurate because of inconsistencies resulting from changes in photointerpretation, mapping conventions, and digital processes over time. These data are not legal documents and are not to be used as such.
  3. To whom should users address questions about the data?
    Kimberly Yates
    U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, St. Petersburg, FL
    600 4th Street South
    St. Petersburg, FL
    USA

    727 502-8059 (voice)
    kyates@usgs.gov

Why was the data set created?

These data were used to help provide a comprehensive assessment of the combined effect of all processes influencing seafloor accretion and erosion by measuring changes in seafloor elevation and volume for five coral reef ecosystems in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and Caribbean Sea over the last several decades. Additional methodology and data details are available in Yates and others (2016).

How was the data set created?

  1. From what previous works were the data drawn?
  2. How were the data generated, processed, and modified?
    Date: 2015 (process 1 of 2)
    For processing steps and descriptions please refer to: Yates, K.K., Zawada, D.G., Smiley, N.A., Tiling-Range, G., 2016, Seafloor elevation change in Maui, St. Croix, St. Thomas, and the Florida Keys: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-2016-407 Person who carried out this activity:
    Kimberly Yates
    U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, St. Petersburg, FL
    Research Oceanographer
    600 4th Street South
    St. Petersburg, FL
    USA

    727-502-8059 (voice)
    kyates@usgs.gov
    Hours_of_Service: M-F, 9:00-5:00 ET
    Date: 13-Oct-2020 (process 2 of 2)
    Added keywords section with USGS persistent identifier as theme keyword. 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
  3. What similar or related data should the user be aware of?
    Yates, K.K., Zawada, D.G., Smiley, N.A., and Tiling-Range, G., 20170308, Divergence of seafloor elevation and sea level rise in coral reef regions: Biogeosciences Discussions 2016-407, Biogeosciences.net, St. Petersburg, FL.

    Online Links:

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

  1. How well have the observations been checked?
    A detailed accuracy assessment and error analysis are presented in Yates and others (2016)
  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?
    Horizontal resolution of LiDAR data is reported as better than 1m.
  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?
    The nominal vertical elevation accuracy of the point elevation data expressed as the root mean square error (RMSE) is 13.5 centimeters. Typical vertical elevation accuracies for these data are consistent with the point elevation data.
  4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?
    This dataset is considered complete for the information presented, as described in the abstract section. Users are advised to read the rest of the metadata record in Yates and others (2016) carefully for additional details.
  5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?
    Data cover area specified for this project without known issues.

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:
Public domain data from the U.S. Government are freely redistributable with proper metadata and source attribution. The U.S. Geological Survey requests to be acknowledged as originator of these data in future products or derivative research.
  1. Who distributes the data set? (Distributor 1 of 1)
    Kimberly Yates
    U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, St. Petersburg, FL
    600 4th Street South
    St. Petersburg, FL
    USA

    727 502-8059 (voice)
    kyates@usgs.gov
  2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set? STT_ElevationChange.csv
  3. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?
    Although these data have been processed successfully on a computer system at 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. The USGS shall not be held liable for improper or incorrect use of the data described or contained herein. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.
  4. How can I download or order the data?

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:
Last modified: 13-Oct-2020
Metadata author:
Kimberly Yates
U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, St. Petersburg, FL
Research Oceanographer
600 4th Street South
St. Petersburg, FL
USA

727 502-8059 (voice)
kyates@usgs.gov
Hours_of_Service: M-F, 9:00-5:00 ET
Metadata standard:
Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata (FGDC-STD-001-1998)
This page is <https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/catalog/spcmsc/STT_ElevationChange_metadata.faq.html>
Generated by mp version 2.9.50 on Tue Sep 21 18:18:52 2021