Puerto Rico ESI/RSI: BENTHIC (Benthic Marine Habitats)

Dataset Identification:

Resource Abstract:
This data set comprises the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) and Reach Sensitivity Index (RSI) data for Puerto Rico. ESI data characterize estuarine environments and wildlife by their sensitivity to spilled oil. The ESI data include information for three main components: shoreline habitats, sensitive biological resources, and human-use resources. Most rivers and streams can be readily subdivided into clear-cut segments, or reaches (RSI), that have very distinct and uniform characteristics within that reach of the stream. The definition of reach type is usually based on whatever the intended use of the reach classification might be. In this project, stream reaches are defined as those segments where similar spill-response modes and potential ecological and/or socioeconomic impacts from the spill are to be anticipated. However defined, the boundary of the reach is usually marked by an abrupt change in the morphology of the stream, a change commonly, but not always, brought about by an alteration in the stream's gradient. This data set contains sensitive biological resource data for benthic marine habitats.
Citation
Title Puerto Rico ESI/RSI: BENTHIC (Benthic Marine Habitats)
publication  Date   2001-06-01
Edition Second
presentationForm  mapHardcopy
Series
Name None
Issue Puerto Rico
other Citation Details  Prepared by Research Planning, Inc., Columbia, South Carolina for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Ocean Service, Office of Response and Restoration, Hazardous Materials Response Division, Seattle, Washington, United States Environmental Protection Agency, United States Coast Guard, Puerto Rico Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales, and United States Department of the Interior.
cited responsible party - publisher
organisation Name  National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Ocean Service, Office of Response and Restoration, Hazardous Materials Response Division, Seattle, Washington
Contact information
Address
, Seattle, Washington
cited responsible party - originator
organisation Name  National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Ocean Service, Office of Response and Restoration, Hazardous Materials Response Division, Seattle, Washington; United States Environmental Protection Agency; United States Coast Guard; Puerto Rico Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales; and United States Department of the Interior.
cited responsible party -
organisation Name  
Contact information
Linkage for online resource
URL: http://response.restoration.noaa.gov/esi
Topic Category:  environment,oceans
Keywords:
Theme keywords (theme):
Environmental Monitoring
thesaurus name >
Title NOS Topic Category
Theme keywords (theme):
ESI
RSI
Sensitivity maps
Coastal resources
Oil spill planning
Coastal Zone Management
Benthic
Coral
Hardbottom
Reef
Submersed aquatic vegetation (SAV)
thesaurus name >
Title None
Location keywords:
Puerto Rico
thesaurus name >
Title None
purpose:
The ESI and RSI data were collected, mapped, and digitized to provide environmental data for oil spill planning and response. The Clean Water Act with amendments by the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 requires response plans for immediate and effective protection of sensitive resources.
Browse image (thumbnail):
thumbnail file name:  datafig.jpg
file type: JPEG
thumbnail file description:  Relationships between spatial data layers and attribute data tables for the Puerto Rico data.
Resource language:  eng; USA
Resource progress code:  completed
Resource Maintenance Information
maintenance or update frequency:  NONE SCHEDULED
Constraints on resource usage:
Constraints
Use limitation statement:
Although these data have been processed successfully on a computer system at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, no warranty, expressed or implied, is made by NOAA regarding the utility of the data on any other system, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty. NOAA warrants the delivery of this product in computer-readable format, and will offer a replacement copy of the product when the product is determined unreadable by computer input peripherals, or when the physical medium is delivered in damaged condition.
Constraints on resource usage:
Legal Constraints
use constraint:  otherRestrictions
Other constraints
Use Constraints: DO NOT USE MAPS FOR NAVIGATIONAL PURPOSES. Besides the above warning, there are no use constraints on these data. Acknowledgment of the publishers and contributing sources listed in Data_Set_Credit (below) would be appreciated in products derived from these data.
Constraints on resource usage:
Legal Constraints
Access Constraints  otherRestrictions
Other constraints
Access Constraints: None
Spatial representation type code:  vector
Processing environment:  Native Dataset Environment: The software packages used to develop the atlas are Environmental Systems Research Institute's ARC/INFO(r) (version 8.0.2) and ORACLE(r) RDBMS (version 8.0.5.0.0). The hardware configuration is Hewlett Packard workstations (models 715/50 and 712/80i with 4 X-terminals) with UNIX operating system (HP-UX Release A.10.20). The following files are included in the data set: benthic.e00, birds.e00, bio_lut.e00, biofile.e00, biores.e00, breed.e00, breed_dt.e00, esi.e00, fish.e00, fishl.e00, habitats.e00, hydro.e00, index.e00, invert.e00, invertl.e00, karst.e00, mgt.e00, m_mammal.e00, reptiles.e00, seasonal.e00, shelfbnd.e00, soc_dat.e00, soc_lut.e00, socecon.e00, sources.e00, species.e00, stations.e00, status.e00, t_mammal.e00, wetlands.e00.
Resource extent
Geographic Extent
Geographic Bounding Box
westBoundLongitude  -68.168
eastBoundLongitude  -65.167
northBoundLatitude  18.711
southBoundLatitude  17.517
Temporal Extent
1998-07-01 2001-06-01
Additional information on resource:
Resource Description - ESI/RSI Atlas for Puerto Rico
Credits:
This project was supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Ocean Service, Office of Response and Restoration, Hazardous Materials Response Division, Seattle, Washington, United States Environmental Protection Agency, United States Coast Guard, Puerto Rico Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales and United States Department of the Interior.
Back to top:

Vector spatial representation information

Geometric Objects
geometric Object Type  GT-polygon composed of rings
geometric Object Count  3210
Geometric Objects
geometric Object Type  Area point
geometric Object Count  3210
Geometric Objects
geometric Object Type  Complete chain
geometric Object Count  5032
Geometric Objects
geometric Object Type  Link
geometric Object Count  861290
Geometric Objects
geometric Object Type  Node, planar graph
geometric Object Count  4687
Back to top GT-polygon: Three types of benthic marine habitats were mapped for Puerto Rico: 1) coral reefs, 2) hardbottoms, and 3) seagrass beds. These resources were mapped using a variety of data sources and methods. Geographic sources included NWI (National Wetlands Inventory) data, the USGS (U.S. Geological Survey) Marine Geologic Map series for the Insular Shelf of Puerto Rico, USGS-BRD (Biological Resources Division) benthic habitat maps for Roosevelt Roads and Isla de Vieques, DRNA (Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales) benthic habitat maps for Isla Mona, USGS topographic quadrangles, and other sources. Where previous data or maps did not exist, biologists from DRNA and other groups used bathymetric features shown on USGS topographic maps and NOAA nautical charts to estimate the distribution of reef and seagrass areas. The type of a benthic habitat feature was often described by experts and resource managers and then applied to geographic boundaries from an existing source (e.g., a polygon derived from NWI data was given a new and different classification based on information provided by a resource manager familiar with the area). Classifications were also based on various reports and publications, including Goenega and Cintron (1979), Goenega and Boulon (1992), Garcia et al. (2000), various materials provided by the CFMC (Caribbean Fishery Management Council), and other documents and reports. The reef classification and definitions used by Garcia et al. (2000) were followed as closely as possible. Garcia et al. (2000) also provided a map graphic showing the general distribution of reef types and reef survey areas for Puerto Rico. Hardbottom categories used during this project included: Hardground and Rock Reef. Coral Reef categories included: Coral Patch Reef, Coral Reef, Shelf-edge Reef, and Reef (unclassified). "Hardground" refers to areas of relatively low relief, such as hard calcareous banks or eolianite platforms dominated by encrusting species, turf algae, soft corals, sponges, etc. The "Rock Reef" classification was used mostly for nearshore and emergent reefs found along the northern and northwestern coast of Puerto Rico. These are typically submerged bedrock features of moderate to high relief, mostly colonized by turf algae, encrusting biota, and low coral cover. "Coral Reef" was used for areas containing high cover of living, structure-building, hard-coral species, where an outline of the major reef structure could be approximated (mainly along the southern, southwestern, and eastern coasts of Puerto Rico). Many of the areas mapped would be considered fringing coral reefs. In this project, "Coral Patch Reef" was used for large areas containing numerous coral patch reefs that could not be individually depicted due to lack of information and/or small patch size relative to the mapping scale (roughly 1:20,000 at best; 1:100,000 at worst). In areas where individual patches were differentiated, the "Coral Reef" classification was used. "Shelf-edge Reef" was used for the "drowned" or submerged coral reefs occurring along the southern and southwestern shelf-edge of Puerto Rico, and parts of Vieques and Culebra. Well-developed shelf-edge reef also occurs off the south side of Isla Mona (but was not mapped). Shelf-edge reefs are a major spawning habitat for aggregating reef fish such as red hind, mutton snapper, and tiger grouper. Finally, the "Reef" category was a default category used when reef type could not be differentiated.
Band
descriptor A unique identifier that links to the BIO_LUT table. ID is a concatenation of atlas number (66), element number (8), and record number. ID values of 9999 are holes in polygons and do not contain information. The following BENTHIC species are found in the Puerto Rico ESI/RSI data set (SPECIES ID, NAME): 85, Seagrass; 411, Reef; 1030, Coral reef; 1031, Hardground; 1032, Rock reef; 1033, Shelf-edge reef; 1034, Coral patch reef.
sequence Identifier
name ID
Long Wavelength  660803218
Short Wavelength  660800002
units
Band
descriptor An identifier that links directly to the BIORES table or the flat format BIOFILE table.
sequence Identifier
name RARNUM
Long Wavelength  66000511
Short Wavelength  66000001
units

Scope of quality information
scope level  dataset
Resource lineage description
source
source description  Source Contribution: Benthic informationSource Type: paper
source citation
Title USGS Topographic Quadrangles
publication  Date   1982-01-01
presentationForm  MAPS
cited responsible party - publisher
organisation Name  U.S. Geological Survey
Contact information
Address
, Reston, VA
cited responsible party - originator
organisation Name  U.S. Geological Survey
Resource extent
Temporal Extent
1944-01-01 1982-01-01
source
source description  Source Contribution: Benthic informationSource Type: Personal communication
source citation
Title Various Natural Resource and Human-use Features for Puerto Rico
publication  Date  
presentationForm  EXPERT KNOWLEDGE
cited responsible party - originator
organisation Name  Lopez, F., U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Boqueron
Resource extent
Temporal Extent
1999-01-01
source
source description  Source Contribution: Benthic informationSource Type: paper
source citation
Title Habitats del Fondo Marino en la Reserva Natural Isla de Noma
publication  Date  
presentationForm  MAPS
cited responsible party - originator
organisation Name  Univ. Nac. Pedro Henriquez Urena Contact: C.E. Diez, Puerto Rico Department of Planning Natural Resources, San Juan
Resource extent
Temporal Extent
source
source description  Source Contribution: Benthic informationSource Type: Personal communication
source citation
Title Spawning Aggregations, Benthic Habitat, and other Resource Features of Puerto Rico
publication  Date  
presentationForm  EXPERT KNOWLEDGE
cited responsible party - originator
organisation Name  Rosario, A., Puerto Rico Department of Planning Natural Resources, Mayaguez
Resource extent
Temporal Extent
1999-01-01
source
source description  Source Contribution: Benthic informationSource Type: Disk
representative resolution scale:
Scale denominator: 33150
source citation
Title Nearshore Benthic Habitats Around Vieques Island, Puerto Rico
publication  Date   1998-01-01
presentationForm  VETCOR DIGITAL DATA, MAPS
cited responsible party - publisher
organisation Name  Sirenia Project, Florida Caribbean Science Center, USGS Biological Resource Division
Contact information
Address
, Gainesville, FL
cited responsible party - originator
organisation Name  Florida Caribbean Science Center, U.S.Geological Survey Biological Resource Division
Resource extent
Temporal Extent
1991-01-01 1998-01-01
source
source description  Source Contribution: Benthic informationSource Type: paper
representative resolution scale:
Scale denominator: 100000
source citation
Title NOAA Nautical Charts
publication  Date  
presentationForm  MAPS
cited responsible party - publisher
organisation Name  NOAA, National Ocean Service, Coast Survey
Contact information
Address
, Washington, D.C.
cited responsible party - originator
organisation Name  NOAA
Resource extent
Temporal Extent
source
source description  Source Contribution: Benthic informationSource Type: paper
source citation
Title Puerto Rican Reefs: Research Synthesis, Present Threats and Management Perspectives
publication  Date   2000-01-01
presentationForm  DOCUMENT, MAPS
cited responsible party - publisher
organisation Name  Elsevier Publishers (IN PRESS)
Contact information
Address
, The Netherlands
cited responsible party - originator
organisation Name  Garcia, J.R., J. Morelock, et al.
Resource extent
Temporal Extent
2000-01-01
source
source description  Source Contribution: Benthic informationSource Type: paper
representative resolution scale:
Scale denominator: 40000
source citation
Title Geologic Maps of the Southwestern Puerto Rico Parguera to Guanica Insular Shelf
publication  Date   1994-01-01
presentationForm  MAPS
cited responsible party - publisher
organisation Name  U.S. Geological Survey, Miscellaneous Investigation Series
Contact information
Address
, Reston, VA
cited responsible party - originator
organisation Name  Morelock, J., E. A. Winget, et al.
Resource extent
Temporal Extent
1989-01-01 1996-01-01
source
source description  Source Contribution: Benthic informationSource Type: Personal communication
source citation
Title Benthic Habitats and Various Fisheries and Human-use Features for Puerto Rico
publication  Date  
presentationForm  EXPERT KNOWLEDGE
cited responsible party - originator
organisation Name  Velazco, A., Puerto Rico Department of Planning Natural Resources, San Juan
Resource extent
Temporal Extent
1999-01-01
source
source description  Source Contribution: Benthic informationSource Type: online
representative resolution scale:
Scale denominator: 40000
source citation
Title Draft National Wetlands Inventory (NWI) Data for Puerto Rico
publication  Date  
presentationForm  VETCOR DIGITAL DATA
cited responsible party - originator
organisation Name  U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, NWI Program Contact:U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Wetlands Inventory Center, (See also <http://www.nwi.fws.gov/>)
Resource extent
Temporal Extent
1983-01-01
source
source description  Source Contribution: Benthic informationSource Type: paper
source citation
Title Threatened and Endangered Species Site Records
publication  Date  
presentationForm  MAPS
cited responsible party - originator
organisation Name  U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Caribbean Field Office Contact: S, Silander, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Boqueron
Resource extent
Temporal Extent
1999-01-01
source
source description  Source Contribution: Benthic informationSource Type: Personal communication
source citation
Title Benthic Habitats, Sea Turtles, and Various other Marine Resources for Puerto Rico
publication  Date  
presentationForm  EXPERT KNOWLEDGE
cited responsible party - originator
organisation Name  Rivera, J., National Marine Fishery Service, Mayaguez
Resource extent
Temporal Extent
1999-01-01
source
source description  Source Contribution: Benthic informationSource Type: paper
source citation
Title Benthic Communities Mapping, Roosevelt Roads Navel Station, CEIBA, Puerto Rico
publication  Date   1995-01-01
presentationForm  MAPS
cited responsible party - publisher
organisation Name  Sirenia Project, Florida Caribbean Science Center, USGS Biological Resource Division
Contact information
Address
, Gainsville, FL
cited responsible party - originator
organisation Name  Florida, Caribbean Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey Biological Resource Division
Resource extent
Temporal Extent
1994-01-01 1995-01-01
source
source description  Source Contribution: Benthic informationSource Type: paper
source citation
Title Inventory of Puerto Rican Coral Reefs
publication  Date   1979-01-01
presentationForm  documentDigital
cited responsible party - publisher
organisation Name  Puerto Rico DNR
Contact information
Address
, San Juan, PR
cited responsible party - originator
organisation Name  Goenaga, C. and G. Cintron
Resource extent
Temporal Extent
1978-01-01 1979-01-01
source
source description  Source Contribution: Benthic informationSource Type: paper
representative resolution scale:
Scale denominator: 40000
source citation
Title Marine Geologic Map of the Puerto Rico Insular Shelf-Guanica to Ponce Area
publication  Date   1991-01-01
presentationForm  MAPS
cited responsible party - publisher
organisation Name  U.S. Geological Survey, Miscellaneous Investigations Series
Contact information
Address
, Reston, VA
cited responsible party - originator
organisation Name  Trias, J.
Resource extent
Temporal Extent
1991-01-01
source
source description  Source Contribution: Benthic informationSource Type: paper
representative resolution scale:
Scale denominator: 40000
source citation
Title Marine Geologic Map of the Puerto Rico Insular Shelf, Isla Caja de Muertos Area
publication  Date   1981-01-01
presentationForm  MAPS
cited responsible party - publisher
organisation Name  U.S. Geological Survey, Miscellaneous Investigations Series
Contact information
Address
, Reston, VA
cited responsible party - originator
organisation Name  Beach, D.K. and J.V.A. Trumbull
Resource extent
Temporal Extent
1981-01-01
source
source description  Source Contribution: Benthic informationSource Type: Personal communication
source citation
Title Resources of Jobos Bay, Including Field Verification of Shoreline and Benthic Habitats
publication  Date  
presentationForm  EXPERT KNOWLEDGE
cited responsible party - originator
organisation Name  Jobos Bay NERR Staff, Puerto Rico Department of Planning Natural Resources/NOAA Contact: C. Gonzalez, Reserve Manager
Resource extent
Temporal Extent
1999-01-01
source
source description  Source Contribution: Benthic informationSource Type: paper
representative resolution scale:
Scale denominator: 40000
source citation
Title Marine Geologic Map of the NE Insular Shelf of Puerto Rico-Luquillo Area
publication  Date   1998-01-01
presentationForm  MAPS
cited responsible party - publisher
organisation Name  U.S. Geological Survey, Miscellaneous Investigations Series
Contact information
Address
, Reston, VA
cited responsible party - originator
organisation Name  Rodriguez, R.W., et al.
Resource extent
Temporal Extent
1991-01-01 1992-01-01
source
source description  Source Contribution: Benthic informationSource Type: Personal communication
source citation
Title Edits to Benthic Habitats for the Draft Puerto Rico ESI Atlas
publication  Date  
presentationForm  EXPERT KNOWLEDGE
cited responsible party - originator
organisation Name  Vicente, V.
Resource extent
Temporal Extent
1999-01-01
AbsoluteExternalPositionalAccuracy
name Of Measure Horizontal Positional Accuracy Report
evaluation Method Description  The biological data sets are developed primarily using regional experts who estimate concentration areas. Unlike shorelines, which maintain relative spatial stability through time, the biological data by nature vary in distribution across the landscape. Therefore, the 1:20,000 and 1:30,000 USGS quadrangles are used as a basemap in gathering the data but the data have "fuzzy" boundaries, which must be understood when utilizing this information.
Completeness Commission
evaluation Method Description  Biological information presented in this atlas was collected and compiled with the assistance of biologists from the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and various other agencies, organizations, and groups. Information collected and depicted on the maps denotes the key biological resources that are most likely at risk in the event of an oil spill. Seven major categories, or ELEMENTs, of biological resources were considered during data compilation: birds; fish; invertebrates; habitats; marine mammals; terrestrial mammals; and reptiles. The ELEMENTs generally correspond to the coverage or geographic data layer names. There are also six attribute, or data tables, BIORES, BREED, SEASONAL, SOURCES, SPECIES, and STATUS, that are used to store the complex biological data. The biological polygons (BENTHIC) are linked to the Biological Resources table (BIORES) using the unique ID and the lookup table BIO_LUT, or they can be linked directly using RARNUM [The ID is a unique combination of the atlas number (for Puerto Rico this is 66), an element specific number (birds are layer 1, fish are layer 2, etc.) and a unique record number. The RARNUM represents a unique combination of species, seasonalities, concentrations, and source information. For each of these groupings, a number is generated. That number is concatenated with the atlas number to create a "resource at risk" number that is unique across atlases.]. The items in BIORES include: RARNUM, SPECIES_ID, CONC, SEASON_ID, G_SOURCE, S_SOURCE, ELEMENT, EL_SPE, and EL_SPE_SEA. SPECIES_ID is the numeric identifier of each species and is unique within each ELEMENT. CONC is the concentration of the species and can be descriptive (LOW, MEDIUM, HIGH, etc.) or an actual count of the number of individuals or nests associated with a polygon. SEASON_ID contains a numeric identifier for the unique monthly presence and life history characteristics of each species at a given location. There can be one seasonality record per species, or the same species can have different monthly presence or breeding activities at different sites. When this occurs, a new record with a different SEASON_ID is referenced. G_SOURCE contains the SOURCE_ID for geographic information, and S_SOURCE contains the SOURCE_ID for seasonality information. Both items link to the SOURCES data table. EL_SPE is a concatenation of ELEMENT and SPECIES_ID and links to other data tables (primarily the SPECIES table). EL_SPE_SEA is a concatenation of ELEMENT, SPECIES_ID, and SEASON_ID and links to the SEASONAL and BREED data tables. The SPECIES data table contains the SPECIES_ID (described above), common name (NAME), scientific name (GEN_SPEC), date the list of Natural Heritage Program (NHP) ranks was published (DATE_PUB), biological element (ELEMENT), biological subelement (SUBELEMENT), and the NHP global conservation status rank. The item SUBELEMENT refers to the grouping of the species: (ELEMENT, subelement): BENTHIC: coral, hardbottom, reef, sav (submersed aquatic vegetation). The STATUS data table contains records for each species that is threatened or endangered on state or federal lists. The items include: ELEMENT, SPECIES_ID, STATE (two-letter state abbreviation, populated with "PR" for Puerto Rico), S_F (state or federal status, populated with "S" for the Commonwealth States), T_E (threatened or endangered status), DATE_PUB (the date the atlas was published when the given state and federal listings were in effect), and EL_SPE. The SEASONAL data table indicates the presence of a particular species in a particular location by month (JAN-DEC). The BIORES table is linked to the SEASONAL table using the item EL_SPE_SEA (a concatenation of the first letter of the ELEMENT, SPECIES_ID, and SEASON_ID). The BREED data table contains the life stage or life history data for each unique combination of ELEMENT, SPECIES_ID, and SEASON_ID (or EL_SPE_SEA). It contains up to 12 records corresponding to each month of the year that the species is present in that location. The items BREED1-BREED5 will reflect different life activities, depending on the ELEMENT referenced. There are no BREED activities for BENTHIC. The SOURCES data table contains metadata for each biological and human-use source listed in the ESI atlas. The items in SOURCES include: SOURCE_ID; ORIGINATOR (author); DATE_PUB (date of publication); TITLE (title of the data set); DATA_FORMAT (digital type, hardcopy maps, etc.); PUBLICATION (additional citation); SCALE (source scale denominator); and TIME_PERIOD (beginning and ending dates of original data collection). The SOURCES data table is linked to all biological data at the feature plus species-level and human-use data at the feature-level. Due to the complexity of the relational database model, the biological data items are also post-processed into a flat file format. This file is entitled BIOFILE and it may be used in place of the relational files to ease simple data queries. The items in the flat file are ELEMENT, SUBELEMENT, NAME, GEN_SPEC, S_F, T_E, NHP, DATE_PUB, CONC, JAN, FEB, MAR, APR, MAY, JUN, JUL, AUG, SEP, OCT, NOV, DEC, BREED1, BREED2, BREED3, BREED4, BREED5, RARNUM, G_SOURCE, S_SOURCE, and BREED. All of these items are the same as their counterparts in the individual files described above, except the BREED1-BREED5 items. BREED is a newly generated variable used to link to the BREED_DT file, a modified, more compact version of the aforementioned BREED file. BREED1-BREED5 give a text summary of when each life stage occurs within that polygon. The life stages referred to are the same as those listed in the previous table. The link to the BIOFILE may be made through BIO_LUT using ID to link to RARNUM, or it may be linked directly to the RARNUM in each of the biology cover's attribute files. As mentioned, BREED_DT is an auxiliary support file to the flat file structure, which allows the user to do searches based on month for seasonal breeding activities. The link from the flat file to BREED_DT is the BREED item. A second supporting data file is SOURCES. This is the same as the source file described above, and the link from the flat file is both G_SOURCE and S_SOURCE. It should be noted that although the flat file eases data query, it is not a normalized database structure, and actual updates performed by the states and other responsible agencies should be done using the relational files.
ConceptualConsistency
measure Description  The digitization of shoreline types, biological resources, and human-use resources is a complex and highly quality-controlled process. Existing digital shoreline and wetlands data are integrated into a study-wide basemap. In order to facilitate digitizing, the entire study area is split into individual quadrangles using the INDEX data layer. The first layer of information digitized is the ESI/RSI shoreline classification. The ESI/RSI habitat ranking is compiled onto 1:20,000 and 1:30,000 USGS topographic quadrangles by a geomorphologist. The hardcopy maps are then digitized and checked using both on-screen and hardcopy reviews. The edited maps are updated and checked once again for completeness and topological and logical consistency. Any errors in the shoreline classification are updated prior to digitization of the biological reference so that there are no slivers in the geographic coordinates. The hardcopy biological information is compiled onto 1:20,000 and 1:30,000 USGS topographic quadrangles by a biological expert using data from regional specialists in the form of maps, tables, charts, written descriptions of wildlife distributions, and personal interviews. Concurrently, digital data sources are imported, projected, checked for quality control, and integrated into the data structure. The hardcopy data are digitized, checked using both digital and on-screen procedures, integrated with existing data, plotted, and sent out for review by the regional specialists. The edited maps are updated, checked once again, and the final product plotted (at approximately 1:55,000 scale). A team of specialists reviews the entire series of maps, checks all data, and makes final edits. The data are then merged to form the study-wide layers. The data merging includes a final quality control check where labels, chains, and polygons are checked for attribute accuracy. To finalize the data checking process, each data layer is checked using a standardized form by two GIS personnel (a technician and the GIS manager), and each attribute database is checked using several programs that test the files for missing or duplicate data, rules for proper coding, GIS topological consistencies (such as dangles, unnecessary nodes, etc.), and ORACLE (r) and ARC/INFO (r) consistencies. A final review is made by the GIS manager, where the data are written to CD-ROM and the metadata are written. After the data are delivered to NOAA, they are again subjected to a number of quality and consistency checks. In the process of checking for topological and database consistencies, new IDs and RARNUMs or HUNUMs are also generated. The new IDs are a combination of atlas number, element number, and record number. In addition, the value used to represent the element is modified to reflect the type of feature being mapped. In the case of an element that is normally represented by a point or polygon, a value of 20 is added to the standard element value for mapping of linear features. In the case where an element usually mapped as a polygon is represented by a point, a value of 30 is added to the regular element value. The RARNUMs are also modified to include the atlas number, so multiple atlases can be combined and RARNUMs remain unique. RARNUMs are redefined on an element basis, so "resource at risk" groupings will contain only a single element. HUNUMs are also modified to include the atlas number. ESI data are processed into multiple formats to make them useful to a wider community of GIS/mapping users. Distribution formats include ARC export, MOSS and Shape files, and MARPLOT map folders. An ArcView ESI project and ESI_Viewer product are also included on the CDs for ease of use of the ESI data. The database files are distributed both in the NOAA standard relational database format (see NOAA Technical Memorandum NOS ORCA 115) and in a simplified desktop flat file format. This metadata document includes information on both of these database formats. The section Spatial_Data_Organization_Information refers to the source files in ARC export format only.

Resource distribution information

Distributor
distributor contact - distributor
individual Name ESI Manager
organisation Name  NOAA, Office of Response and Restoration
Contact information
Telephone
Voice (206) 526-6400
Fax (206) 526-6329
Address
7600 Sand Point Way N.E., Seattle, Washington, 98115-6349

Metadata data stamp:  2001-06-01
Resource Maintenance Information
maintenance or update frequency:  annually
notes: This metadata was automatically generated from the Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata standard (version FGDC-STD-001-1998) using the 2015-07-24 version of the FGDC RSE to ISO 19115-2 transform.
notes: Translated from FGDC 2015-09-11T04:40:35.17-04:00
notes: Last Metadata Review Date: 2001-06-01
Metadata contact - pointOfContact
individual Name ESI Manager
organisation Name  NOAA, Office of Response and Restoration
position Name GIS Manager
Contact information
Telephone
Voice (206) 526-6944
Fax (206) 526-6329
Address
7600 Sand Point Way N.E., Seattle, Washington, 98115-6349
electronic Mail Address orr.esi@noaa.gov
Metadata scope code  dataset
Metadata language  eng; USA
Metadata character set encoding:   utf8
Metadata standard for this record:  ISO 19115-2 Geographic Information - Metadata - Part 2: Extensions for Imagery and Gridded Data
standard version:  ISO 19115-2:2009(E)
Metadata record identifier:  111f19c4-642b-457c-93a2-90285ab548ee

Metadata record format is ISO19139-2 XML (MI_Metadata)