Dataset description: Benthic habitat map of the geomorphological structure, biological cover, and geologic zonation of Olowalu reef, Maui
Geometry
This shapefile contains habitat polygons identifying the dominant and major geomorphological structure, biological type and percent cover, and geologic zone for 11 square kilometers of Olowalu reef off west-central Maui at a minimum mapping unit of 100 square meters. Habitats were mapped with heads-up digitization using the NOAA Habitat Digitizer Extension in ArcMap (Esri, v.10.8.2). Seafloor characteristics were based on visual interpretation of 3-band (red, green, blue) 0.5m satellite orthoimagery, 1-m-resolution acoustic backscatter imagery, lidar-derived digital bathymetric models (DBM) at 1-, 4-, and 8-m resolutions, and various surface morphometric layers derived from the three DBMs (relative position, aspect, rugosity, slope). Ground reference (n=870) and accuracy assessment (n=216) images of the seafloor were extracted from live video taken by a vessel-towed camera sled surveying shore-normal transects in waters 10-40 m depth.
