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CORAL REEFMAPPING IMPLEMENTATION PLAN

MAPPING AND INFORMATION SYNTHESIS WORKING GROUP of the

U.S. CORAL REEF TASK FORCE

This document should be cited as:Coral Reef Mapping Implementation Plan (2nd Draft). November 1999. U.S. Coral Reef Task Force, Mapping andInformation Synthesis Working Group. Washington, DC: NOAA, NASA and USGS (Work Group Co-chairs). 17 pp.

Rose Atoll - American Samoa

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I. ABOUT THIS DOCUMENT

This document was produced to support theU.S. Coral Reef Task Force (CRTF), createdby Executive Order P.L. 13089, which callsfor the conservation and protection of thenation’s coral reefs. The MappingImplementation Plan (MIP) complementsthe CRTF’s Mapping and InformationSynthesis Working Group’s (MISWG)mapping strategy document, which waspresented and endorsed by the CRTF at itsMarch 1999 meeting in Maui, Hawaii(MISWG 1999a). The Task Force requestedthat the Mapping Implementation Plan becompleted by November 1999 to enablemapping efforts to move forward in 2000.The MIP provides the first comprehensiveframework to map all U.S. coral reef habitatsby 2007 using a suite of satellite, aircraft,and underwater data-collection platforms.The MIP is an evolving document that willbe routinely revised and updated based onWorking Group and user comments, fundingconstraints, and changes in technology. Thisdocument will be used as source materialfor the coral reef mapping section of theU.S. CRTF Action Plan.

II. BACKGROUND

U.S. Coral Reef Task Force and the Mappingand Information Synthesis Work Group

On June 11, 1998, President WilliamJefferson Clinton announced ExecutiveOrder 13089, “Coral Reef Protection,” toconserve and protect U.S. coral reefecosystems and those species, habitats andother natural resources associated with coralreefs in all maritime areas and zones subjectto U.S. jurisdiction (i.e., federal, state,territorial and commonwealth waters). TheTask Force’s duties are organized aroundfour thematic areas: (1) coral reef mappingand monitoring, (2) research, (3)conservation, mitigation, and restoration,and (4) international cooperation. Toimplement Executive Order 13089, severalworking groups were formed to address anddevelop action plans for each thematic area.

With respect to coral reef mapping,Executive Order 13089 directs the TaskForce, in cooperation with state, territory,commonwealth, and local governmentpartners, to coordinate a comprehensiveprogram to map and monitor U.S. coralreefs. The National Oceanic and

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U.S.Geological Survey (USGS), and NationalAeronautics and Space Administration(NASA) were designated as the federal co-chairs of the Mapping and InformationSynthesis Working Group to lead thedevelopment of a comprehensive coral reefmapping plan. The Working Group’s overallgoal is to develop a strategy for creating aset of comprehensive, consistent U.S. andterritory coral reef ecosystem maps and amap information synthesis capability. TheExecutive Order states that to the extentfeasible, remote-sensing capabilities shouldbe developed and applied to this effort, andthat local communities should beencouraged to participate. In response tothese guidelines, the Working Group hasdeveloped three primary documents toimplement the coral reef mappingcomponent of the Executive Order.

The first two documents, (1) A Strategy toMap State, Commonwealth, Territory, andFreely Associated State Coral ReefEcosystems in the U.S. (MISWG 1999a), and(2) Summary of Issues and ProposedActions. Report of the Mapping andInformation Synthesis Working Group to theCoral Reef Task Force (MISWG 1999b),were presented at the second U.S. CRTFmeeting in March 1999. The Task Forcerecommended that the Working Group’sproposed strategy be adopted, and directedthe Working Group to develop a companiondocument to implement comprehensivemapping of U.S. coral reef ecosystems.Depending on resource availability andmapping techniques selected, severaladditional documents will be required tooutline specific protocols and proceduresfor data collection, data processing, digitalmap development, and institutionalpartnerships to conduct the work. Basedon priorities presented in the MIP, thesedocuments will be developed as mappingactivities proceed forward.

This Mapping Implementation Plan reflectsthe feedback to the Strategy document, thesummary report, and numerous WorkingGroup meetings. A brief summary of thesedocuments and meetings is provided belowas background information fundamental todeveloping the plan. These documents andother background materials, as well asresults from the first and second meetingsof the Task Force, can be viewed on the Webat . In the workinggroup’s documents, we define mapping as

determining the location and extent ofbenthic habitats, assessment ascharacterizing the health of benthic (e.g.,coral) communities, and monitoring as theability to detect and measure changes overtime in benthic habitat communities. It isimportant to recognize that “mapping” hasmany components including development ofdigital shorelines, high resolutionbathymetry, habitat classification systems,and digital habitat maps.

While our primary goal is to produce coralreef ecosystem maps, the working groupfully recognizes the importance of mergingthese map products with other information.Information acquired through coral reefmonitoring activities, some of which havebeen going on many years, needs to beincorporated. Because the coral reef mapswill be developed and distributed ingeographic information systems (GIS),incorporating these other types ofinformation will create a “tool” that can beused by researchers and managers to studyand evaluate the condition of the ecosystem.Data collected in the past can be comparedto current conditions to measure change.Data from other sources, such as industrialdischarge permits, land-based water qualitymonitoring activities, public health-relatedmonitoring activities and others, can beintegrated and looked at simultaneously. Inaddition, other thematic map layers, such asthe land use activities, locations of industrialdischarge pipes, water quality monitoringstations, river inputs of fresh water,navigation routes, and commercial and non-commercial marine species spatialdistributions can be incorporated into theGIS. The result is a powerful, flexibledecision support tool for coral reefecosystem research, conservation, andmanagement. For example, such a tool canbe used to: develop better marineenvironmental education programs thatstress the importance of coral reefecosystems and their conservation; identifyand evaluate areas where coral reefmanagement efforts are neededimmediately; characterize and evaluate thestatus of the essential habitat of commercialand non-commercial marine species;develop management strategies for marineprotected areas; predict and model thepotential damage to populated areas causedby severe weather; and support activities thatevaluate and develop capabilities to conductlong-term monitoring and change analyses.

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Summary of Working Group Issues andActions

The initial Working Group meetings resultedin several key actions and identifiedimportant issues concerning coral reefmapping throughout the U.S., and it’sterritories, commonwealths, and freelyassociated states. The Working Group agreedto identify technologies that should be usedto collect data and to recommend what typeof digital coral reef maps (e.g., spatialresolution) should be developed based oninput from scientists and local and regionalcoastal managers. This resulted in amultidisciplinary Working Group thatincluded members from federal, state andlocal governments, academia, the privatesector and private citizens (Appendix 1). Acomplete list of partner institutions can befound in MISWG (1999a).

The Working Group agreed that both short-term (1-5 years) and long-term (>5 years)coral reef mapping goals should beidentified. The Working Group narrowed thedefinition of map information to that whichcan be incorporated into a geographicinformation system (GIS). Thus, mapsshould be digital, and information layersshould be tied to a geographic base map.Although the mapping effort will focus oncoral reefs, the Working Group recommendsthat associated shallow benthic (bottom)habitats, such as seagrass, sand, mangroves,and hard substrate, should also be mapped.

The first activity of the Working Group wasto inventory existing hard-copy and digitalcoral reef map products for U.S. coral reefecosystems. This activity is described in thesection of the plan entitled “Mapping andInformation Synthesis - Existing Data andProducts,” and in Appendix 2. A wide varietyof data sources of varying content andquality were identified and compiled. Thesewill be used to aid in the development andvalidation of upcoming digital coral reefmap products. This will lead to discussionsregarding the distribution of digital data.

The Working Group identified two high-priority issues: (1) the lack of digital mapsof coral reefs, and (2) an inability to detectchanges in coral reef distribution, health andecology over time.

(1) Digital Maps

Baseline digital maps do not exist for allcoral reef ecosystems within the UnitedStates and its territories. The lack of mapinformation is particularly evident in thePacific.

To address the need for a comprehensive setof baseline maps, the Working Groupproposed in its mapping strategy the short-term goal of:

Producing comprehensive digital coral-reefecosystem maps for all U.S. State andTerritories within five – seven years,beginning in the Pacific where critical gapspresently exist.

The feature resolution of comprehensivedigital coral reef maps will range from 1 sq.km (satellite technology) to 1 - 5 sq. m(aircraft; e.g., air photos) depending onavailable resources, local mappingrequirements and available technology. TheWorking Group and the user communitydefined high-resolution maps as those thatdepict features less than or equal to 5 metersin size (features typically visible in aerialphotography of 1:12,000 to 1:48,000 scale).This resolution is required for high-priorityareas as defined by island and state partners.In addition, the Task Force recommendedthat the Benthic Habitats of the Florida KeysCD-ROM serve as a prototype for the typeof research and management capabilitydesired for other coral reef ecosystems(NOAA/FMRI 1998). While it may not befeasible to map all U.S. coral reefs(estimated to be 17,000 sq km) to this levelof detail, the Benthic Habitats of the FloridaKeys product was identified as a model forareas that require high-resolution maps.Where possible, very fine resolution data(e.g.,

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III. WHY REMOTE SENSING?

Remote sensing (e.g., aerial photography,satellite/airborne spectral imaging) ofbenthic habitats is the only option to obtainsynoptic data for large coastal and islandareas. This provides a view that is notpossible from in situ field surveys, whichare more expensive and time consuming toperform. Remote sensing, however, cannotbe considered a replacement for fieldsurveys, both of which should be viewed ascomplementary efforts. Field surveys arerequired to interpret remotely sensed imagesand to evaluate the accuracy of suchinterpretation. Factors affecting theavailability of remotely sensed data includecloud cover, sea state and water clarity. Todate, most remote sensing efforts utilizingspectral imaging (e.g. hyperspectral data)have been directed toward research ofpotential applications, with little attentionpaid to operational realities (e.g. cost ofexisting capabilities to discriminate and mapcoral environments). Regardless of theseconstraints, remote sensing remains the onlyviable means of producing consistent andcomprehensive coral reef ecosystem mapsover the next 5 to 7 years.

Executive Order 13089 encourages the useof existing remote sensing technologies tomap U.S. coral reef ecosystems, andsupports continued research to refine itscapabilities as an applied ecosystemmanagement tool for coastal managers. TheWorking Group recommends a hierarchicalapproach to mapping these coral reefhabitats, using a suite of remote sensingplatforms ranging from satellites, to aircraft,to in situ field surveys.

Remote sensing technology can generally begrouped by the resolution (pixel size) of theresulting data. This resolution is affectedby both the altitude of the platform fromwhich data are collected and the design ofthe instrument or camera. First, low-resolution satellite platforms, such asNASA’s SeaWiFS (Sea-Viewing WideField-of-View Sensor) and NOAA’s AVHRR(Advanced Very High ResolutionRadiometer) acquire synoptic data that rangein pixel size from 1 to 10 km2. Moderate-resolution satellite platforms such asLandSat, SPOT, and human-occupiedspacecraft (Space Shuttle, InternationalSpace Station) produce data with pixelsranging from 10 - 30 m2, depending on thespecifics of the acquisition. Instruments

mounted on fixed-wing aircraft andhelicopter platforms range in resolution,depending on the altitude and specifictechnology used, from sub-meter to 5 mfeatures. A final category of classifiedremote sensing images from the NationalTechnical Means (NTM) Program wouldalso have high resolution. NOAA hasrequested access to selected NTM data toproduce benthic habitat maps and toaugment civilian data acquisition of benthichabitat data.

Aircraft Platforms

Historically, high-resolution benthic habitatmaps of large coastal areas have beenproduced from color aerial photography(NOAA/FMRI 1998). An importantadvantage to using aerial photographs istheir widespread availability and ease ofanalysis. Color aerial photographs at scalesof 1:12,000 to 1:24,000 have a resolvingpower of 0.5 to 1 m. However, conventionalphoto-interpretation techniques definepolygons at 10 to 20 m in size due toprohibitive time constraints and the practicaldifficulty of mapping smaller features. Evenwith such “scaling up,” standard photo-interpretation is very time consuming.Experts must manually classify habitatsbased on textures and colors in the imageand their own knowledge of the distributionof benthic habitats. An alternative to thisapproach is to digitally scan the photo at aresolution consistent with its scale and thenclassify the resultant digital image usingimage-analysis software. While thisapproach is much faster than theconventional method, a disadvantage is thatthe digital image has poor spectral resolution(caused by overlapping, broad color bands,i.e., red, green, and blue), which limits theanalyst’s ability to discriminate betweencertain types of benthic habitats.

In an effort to expedite the analysis of aerialphotographs, experiments are underway thatcombine the advantages of the abovetechniques. In this technique, aerialphotographs are digitally scanned and aportion of the classification effort iscomputer automated as a “preclassification”step to standard photointerpretation. Thistechnique shows promise for increasing theefficiency of deriving benthic habitat mapsfrom photographs.

Multi- and hyperspectral remote sensingsystems offer the tremendous advantage of

increased spectral resolution. Multispectralsystems have been successfully used to mapcoral reef ecosystems and to identify otherbenthic habitats, such as sand, algae andseagrass (Mumby et al. 1997). Recently,hyperspectral sensors have been used inrelatively small geographic areas to mapbenthic habitats, including coral reef features(Mumby et al. 1998). Hyperspectral datacontain far more information (i.e.,characteristic spectral signatures) per imagethan a single conventional red-green-blue(RGB) color image (photograph), andsignificantly more information thanmultispectral data (Holasek et al. 1997).These studies show great promise for digitalmapping of coral reef habitats. However,hyperspectral mapping generates large datasets and, to date, no regional benthic habitatmaps have been generated from thistechnology. NOAA is currently conductingexperiments in the U.S. Virgin Islands andPuerto Rico to explore the feasibility ofsynoptic habitat mapping usinghyperspectral images.

Satellite Platforms

Satellite imagery has been used to mapgeneral benthic habitat types (e.g., sand,seagrass, coral, hard substrate) in coral reefenvironments. While lacking the spatial orspectral resolution of aircraft obtained datathat enables detailed mapping, satelliteimagery offers the advantages of increasedfrequency of coverage, extensive coverageat low cost, archival data and fast results.Satellite imagery also assures continuityacross areas not covered by aircraft. Atpresent, satellites can provide resolutions(pixel size) ranging from 1 km2 to less than10 m2.

Moderate Resolution: Landsat ThematicMapper (TM). This sensor has been used tomap several types of bottom cover in coralreef environments (Mumby et al. 1997;Luczkovich et al., 1993). The TM canprovide adequate resolution for planningaircraft missions, and also permits rapidresponse to reported bleaching events (e.g.,at least several images per year in the Pacific,and biweekly coverage in the Caribbean).A TM sensor has been flying for 17 years.While data collection over coral reef regionshas been rare, some key regions in thePacific, such as Hawaii and Guam, havebeen covered at least once during this time,permitting some change analysis to beconducted. The launch of the Landsat 7

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satellite potentially offers systematic,multispectral coverage of coral reefs at 30m resolution, and panchromatic coverage at15 m resolution. Unlike the earlier sensors,the TM on Landsat 7 is fully calibrated,allowing comparable processing for TM,aircraft and ocean-color sensors.

Moderate Resolution: Space Shuttle andInternational Space Station. Medium-format cameras have been used tophotograph Earth from low orbits (median176 nautical miles, 326 km) since the early1970s. As with color aerial photography,color orbital photography can be interpretedfrom prints, or digitized in three bands (red,green, blue) and classified (Webb et al. 1999;Robinson et al. 1999). A nadir-lookingphotograph will have resolution rangingfrom 10 to 50 m2, depending on the specificsof the mission and camera. Although thephotographs are more variable in look anglethan other remote sensing platforms, most

slightly oblique photographs are alsosuitable for use as remote sensing data(Robinson 1999). The digital images canbe referenced to a map so that they can becombined with other mapping data. Becausedata is collected by human observers, it hasbeen pre-screened for heavy cloud cover.Reef areas, especially in the Pacific, havebeen routinely photographed for the last 20years. Continuous observations from theInternational Space Station (ISS, to beoccupied beginning in the year 2000) willprovide opportunities to collect imagery forthose areas that have not yet beenphotographed under low-cloud conditions.ISS photographic capabilities includemedium-format cameras, electronic stillcameras, and high-definition television. ISSwill also be equipped for mounting otherinstruments, including hyperspectralsensors, that may be useful for reef mappingat moderate resolutions.

platforms (e.g., satellites). The WorkingGroup recommends that the Long-TermAcquisition Plan of the Landsat 7 missioncontinue to obtain imagery over the world’scoral reefs and make these data easilyavailable for many users. Local, high-priority areas will require relatively high-resolution maps derived from sensorsmounted on aerial platforms, includingmulti- and/or hyperspectral instruments andcolor photographs.

As stated in Section I, this document is anevolving one because its recommendationsare likely to change based on changes infunding levels, program priorities andtechnology. Commercial firms are nowtaking many of the existing remote-sensingmapping tools out of the research anddevelopment mode and into the realm ofapplied habitat mapping. Severalcommercial and Department of Defensesatellites proposed for 2000 and beyond, forexample, may provide better spatialresolution at lower costs. Thus, an area suchas the Federated States of Micronesia, forwhich the Working Group currentlyrecommends the use of Landsat 7 images,may ultimately be mapped via higher-resolution tools.

This plan does not contain detaileddescriptions of the logistical requirementsfor the acquisition of digital data, post-processing of those data, validation of draftmaps, and development of final digital coralreef ecosystem maps, bathymetry maps orshoreline maps. The Mapping andInformation Synthesis working group willcontinue to work closely with our federal,state and local partners to ensurecoordination among these agencies incompleting these mapping activities. Also,as interim products, such as aerialphotography, bathymetry, or high resolutionshoreline are completed, these will be madeavailable to our working group partners.

IV. MAP INFORMATIONSYNTHESIS: EXISTINGDATABASES AND PRODUCTS

ReefBase. Currently, the only uniform reefmaps available for all the U.S. reefs are partof the larger set of maps compiled by theWorld Conservation Monitoring Center anddistributed as part of ReefBase (ReefBase1998, produced by the International Centerfor Living Aquatic Resources Management).

Table 1. Existing databases and products

Low-resolution: SeaWiFS and AVHRR.The ocean color sensors in SeaWiFShave the potential to provide a standardglobal coverage of reef areas at 1 kmresolution. These sensors can identifyshallow water areas, potentiallydistinguish live bottom from deadbottom, and provide consistentpositional accuracy. These functionalcapabilities at this resolution have beendemonstrated with 1-km data from theNOAA’s AVHRR satellite, which hasbeen used to produce the first accurateestimates of seagrass loss in Florida Bayand the Florida Keys during the past 10-years (Stumpf et al. 1999). Oneadvantage to use of SeaWiFS is theability to rapidly produce global color-based maps that can serve as a referencewith which to plan the acquisition ofhigher resolution data, and to organizehigher resolution data as it is acquiredand processed.

Other Sensors: MOS (500 m) and SPOT(10-20 m) data can be incorporated asappropriate.

Hierarchical Mapping Strategy

Based on the requirements and needsidentified by the Working Group, and theTask Force objective to comprehensivelyand consistently map U.S. coral habitats,a phased-in, multiplatform approach isrecommended. All U.S. coral reefsshould be mapped with low- resolution

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These maps were compiled from existingcharts and information at a uniform 1 kmpixel size. Although the maps are uniformin scale, they are presently constrained bydata source limitations and datainterpretation. ReefBase also accumulatesground-based data on aquatic resources thatare integrated with the maps. Successfulpilot projects have been completed forintegration of NASA data with WCMC/ICLARM projects. SeaWiFS data can beused to improve the accuracy of theReefBase maps. Georeferenced SpaceShuttle photographs have been used as basemaps for display of ReefBase attributes in aprototype GIS.

An initial step in developing this plan wasto obtain information for all U.S. islands onthe availability of digital benthic habitat dataand associated baseline information, such asdigital shorelines and bathymetry. TheWorking Group conducted two datainventories: (1) a mail questionnaire, and (2)a series of site visits to Florida, the U.S.Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, Guam,Saipan and American Samoa. Table 1provides an overview of the inventoryresults. See Appendix 2 for a summary ofdata and information availability for eachisland, state and territory. In addition to theinformation compiled on the availability ofdigital habitat data, many Island hardcopyand technical reports exist that will aid ininterpreting new acquired habitat data andprovided a historical perspective.

V. MAPPING IMPLEMENATION

Baseline Mapping Requirements

(1) Shallow Water Bathymetry

Bathymetry is a critical thematic data layerfor many mapping activities. Bathymetrydepicting water depths of less than 100 m isneeded to identify and locate navigationhazards and shipping channels, predict andmanage the damage from floods and storms,identify and monitor critical fish habitat, anddocument the location and extent of shallowcoral reef ecosystems. Bathymetry also isrequired to fully utilize remotely sensed datato correct for light attenuation. Lightreceived by the sensor is affected by thedistance that it must travel through the watercolumn. Fortunately, most corals are foundin shallow-water environments of less than30 m. Bathymetry of the Pacific Islandshas not been extensively acquired. Recent

efforts to gather high-resolution shallowwater bathymetry have focused on southernMolokai, Oahu, Kauai, and Maui.Elsewhere, low-resolution bathymetry frommapped sources, such as NOAA nauticalcharts, has been used. It has, however, beenmore than 50 years since some of thisinformation was updated. As a result, effortsshould continue to acquire high-resolutionbathymetry for shallow waters. Deeper reefbathymetry is also not generally availablefor the Pacific, Florida or much of the U.S.Caribbean, and efforts need to focus on theseupdating and improving these data sets.

Several technologies to measure bathymetryexist. Bathymetry for certain applicationsand depths to 25 m can be derived fromremote-sensing techniques, althoughoptimal conditions of water clarity arerequired. Airborne LIDAR, which utilizesan active, laser-based technology, canproduce very accurate (+/- 30 cm), detailedbathymetric charts to 25-50 m depth in clearwaters. In partially turbid waters, theLIDAR system can provide bathymetry todepths approximately 2.5 times the depth atwhich aerial photography can depict theocean bottom. Costs of LIDAR range from$900 to $1,800 per sq km depending uponthe horizontal spatial resolution needed.These costs include both data collection andthe production of digital bathymetry maps.

(2) Deep Water Bathymetry

Deep water (> 50 m) bathymetry also iscrutial for many mapping activities,including coral reef ecosystem mapping.Ship-based acoustic surveys usingmultibeam depth sounders have successfullyproduced bathymetric maps with verticalaccuracies of +/- 15 cm from depths 10 m to500 m and greater. Bathymetric datacollected with multibeam systems isgeoreferenced, thus providing valuableinformation for identifying specific featuresor for follow-up mapping to detect change.In addition to providing highly accuratebathymetric maps, the system providesbackscatter, which can be used to map theroughness of the seafloor.

(3) Digital Shoreline Maps

Shoreline is a critical thematic layer becauseof its importance in linking land-based andwater-based coastal zone managementissues. An accurate, high-resolutionshoreline is the base map upon which all

other thematic data layers are superimposed.In addition, datum adjustments must beapplied to the shoreline to properly place thiskey feature on the earth in a GIS. For theCaribbean islands, high-resolution(nominally, 1:20,000 scale) shoreline dataare available. In the Pacific, accurate, high-resolution digital shoreline data are generallyunavailable. NOAA nautical charts andUSGS quadrangle maps are the most widelyavailable sources of information. Thesemaps have not been updated for many years,and generally are unavailable as digital data.Moreover, they are drawn in old datums and,in some cases, are known to depict islandsas much as 1 to 2 nautical miles from theiractual location on the Earth. Efforts mustcontinue to develop accurate, high-resolution, datum-corrected digital land(shoreline) maps for the Pacific.

(4) Habitat Classification

A required step in developing digital mapproducts is the formulation of a benthichabitat classification scheme. Work is underway in the Caribbean with Working Groupmembers and other experts to develop acomprehensive classification systemspecific to that region. The approachinvolves developing a hierarchical biologicaland physical classification scheme based onthe needs of the management community,the strengths and weaknesses of existingclassification schemes for the area and, mostimportantly, the limitations of eachtechnology (e.g., aerial photographs,hyperspectral). The digital data derived fromeach method can be used to generate mapsdepicting a certain level of classification.For example, aerial photographs can be usedto produce maps that depict coral reef types,but are unsuitable for mapping individualspecies of coral. The more detailed theclassification scheme, the more highlyresolved the data must be to support theclassification.

The development of a marine habitatclassification scheme is under way in thePacific as well. Holthus and Maragos (1995)have produced a detailed classificationsystem that covers many islandgeomorphologies and substrate types thatoccur throughout the Pacific. More recently,the Pacific Marine Environmental GIS WorkGroup, a consortium of federal, state andacademic partners, is leading thedevelopment of an updated classificationsystem for the Pacific Islands. The

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applicability of these classification schemesto the features identifiable in the remotely-sensed imagery will need to be evaluated.

In summary, accurate, high-resolutionbathymetry and shorelines are importantdata sets that aid in the development of coralreef ecosystem maps. In addition, ahierarchical classification system must bedeveloped to map benthic habitats.

Overview of Island/State MappingRequirements and Priorities

Representatives of the Working Group metwith state and island partners in a series ofmeetings and site visits to determinemapping requirements in these areas. Basedon the consensus of the territory and stateWorking Group partners, priorities weredetermined for geographic areas to bemapped, preferred map resolution, andproposed products. These priorities aresummarized in Tables 2 and 3, and includeinformation on where, when, and how tomap coral and other benthic habitats. Mostimportantly, cost estimates are provided forvarious remote-sensing technologies. Thecost estimates have been broken down byhigh- and low-resolution mapping platforms.

It is important to note that in developingthe following information on coralmapping requirements and needs, theWorking Group treated the MappingImplementation Plan as a high priority foreach island. When other activities areintegrated into the U.S. CRTF Action Plan,however, the mapping of coral reefs mayrange from high to low priority relative toother important action items identified byisland and state partners. The overallpriority placed on mapping is presented inthe All U.S. Islands Plan. Thiscomprehensive coral reef management,research, monitoring and assessmentdocument will strongly influence the U.S.CRTF Action Plan.

The Islands agree that coral mapping is ahigh priority, however, it is felt that fundingfor this important task should beaccomplished through internalreprioritization of Federal agenciesexisting budgets as directed in thePresidential Executive Order. However,reprioritization of funds will only enabledigital high-resolution maps to becompleted for a portion of U.S. coral reefecosystems within five years. If new funds

are provided by Congress, the priority forallocation remains with the Islands, asadopted as a resolution by the U.S. CRTF.

Atlantic Ocean/Gulf of Mexico

(1) Caribbean

In the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) and PuertoRico, high-resolution benthic habitat mapsare under development for the U.S. VirginIslands and Puerto Rico. In 1999, NOAA’sNational Ocean Service (NOS) and NationalMarine Fisheries Service (NMFS) initiateda coral mapping study with a series ofpartners, including the USVI National ParkGroup (NPG) , the USVI Department ofPlanning and Natural Resources, and thePuerto Rico Department of Natural andEnvironmental Resources, and the USGS.The objective of the study is to consistentlyand comprehensively map the distributionof shallow-water coral reefs and otherbenthic habitats in and around these islands.Made possible through the strongcommitment of many governmental,academic and private-sector partners, thestudy serves as a model for integrating alarge number of partners to develop high-resolution digital maps of benthic habitats.

Data acquisition was completed in April1999. NOAA aircraft were used to conductcolor aerial photography and hyperspectralimaging. Color photographs were taken ofall U.S. Virgin Island and the majority ofPuerto Rico shorelines, and offshore to waterdepths of approximately 20 m. The aerialphotography mission was flown primarilyat an altitude of 24,000 feet (1:48,000 scale).An important complementary component ofthis investigation was a suite of airborne andwaterborne hyperspectral experimentsconducted at St. Croix and Buck Island, U.S.Virgin Islands, to determine the feasibilityof mapping regional benthic habitats usinghyperspectral remote sensing technologies.The pilot study is tentatively scheduled forcompletion by the end of 1999. Follow-upwork includes: (1) completing theacquisition of aerial photography of PuertoRico; (2) determining how best to processthe aerial images; (3) developing a benthichabitat classification system that isappropriate for the area; (4) draft digitalmaps of benthic habitats; and (5)development and distribution of finalproducts.

These maps will prove useful to a wide array

of research and management activities. Inboth Puerto Rico and the USVI, coastaldevelopment and land use have beenidentified as primary stressors on coral reefecosystems. Managers lack criticalinformation that can help or assist them inregulating and evaluating status and trendsof reef ecosystems and the effects ofmanagement decisions. Coral reef maps willserve as a basis to integrate monitoring,permit evaluation, land use activities andbenthic habitat characterization. In additionto the need for coral reef maps, otherthematic maps, such as bathymetry and land-use activity maps would greatly improve theability of these islands to effectively manageand protect these resources.

As a result, the working group will work toidentify and fill-in gaps that exist in the aerialphotography and hyperspectral data. Theworking group will work to identify sourcesof land-use data and make these availabletoo. The cooperative partnership that hasbeen established with Puerto Rico and USVIhas been instrumental in accomplishing theworking group’s goals. We will continue towork closely together, making interimproducts available as soon as possible andin developing technologies and trainingactivities that can be used immediately toaddress coral reef management issues.

(2) Gulf of Mexico

In Florida, NOAA and the Florida MarineResearch Institute used aerialphotogrammetry techniques from visualoverflight data to map approximately 60%of the benthic habitats of the Florida Keyscoral reef ecosystem (NOAA/FMRI 1998).Digital benthic habitat maps were producedand published as a CD-ROM. That CD-ROM has been made widely available to thescientific and management communities.The identified benthic habitats wereclassified into 23 major “types” (e.g., sparseseagrass, patch reef, fringing reef). Whilethis work could serve as a “model” for otherCoral Reef Initiative efforts conducted inother regional ecosystems, it should bepointed out that the mapped areas would besubject to errors in classification and “non-identification.” These problems stem fromthe methods of collecting and assimilatingdata from aerial photography, sub-optimalwater transparency during overflights, cloudcover, and the bulk of functional habitatsbelow one optical depth.

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An even more serious problem is that,despite its economic and ecologicalimportance to the nation, about 40% of theFlorida Keys remains unmapped. Themajority of Florida Bay, most of the areafrom Key West past the Dry Tortugas, and“unmapped areas” depicted on the CD-ROMmaps remain to be characterized. Some ofthe Keys’ most productive coral reefs fall inthese areas. Places like the Marquesas andthe Dry Tortugas, where NOAA’s NationalMarine Sanctuary Program and the U.S.National Park Service are currently in theprocess of establishing innovative spatialprotection zones to conserve marinebiodiversity and build sustainable fisheries.As a result, these areas and, in particular,the Dry Tortugas region, are high-priorityareas for additional mapping. In fact, boththe Florida Governor’s Office and NOAA’sadvisory council to the Florida KeysNational Marine Sanctuary and the NationalPark Service have identified the DryTortugas as a “High Priority” area formapping.

Pacific Ocean

While approximately 85% of U.S. coralecosystems are found in the Pacific Ocean(Clark and Gulko 1999), only a smallfraction of these reefs have been digitallymapped at a resolution sufficient formanagement, research and monitoringactivities. Fortunately, the Working Groupwas able to develop a comprehensivestrategy to map these coral reefs by drawingon the experience of researchers andmanagers and the results of applied mappingstudies conducted in Florida, the Caribbeanand Hawaii.

The first step in developing the WorkingGroup’s mapping strategy (MISWG 1999a)for the Pacific Islands was to conduct acomprehensive inventory of existing digitalcoral reef maps. The Working Groupconducted an intensive reconnaissance effortthroughout several major Pacific islands.The work was conducted through four sitevisits (to Hawaii, Guam, the Commonwealthof the Northern Mariana Islands, andAmerican Samoa), a mailed questionnaire,and via phone and electronic mail. Thiseffort identified much data to support coralreef mapping (e.g., existing aerialphotography) as well as priority areas formapping at relatively high resolution.Priorities were defined based on ecological,political and economic concerns (Table 2).

Each of the major island areas, and asummary of the Working Group’s findings,are briefly described below. Tables 2 and 3summarize the islands’ and state partners’needs, and the costs associated withdeveloping digital benthic habitat maps atboth high and low resolutions. The workinggroup recognizes that producing coral reefecosystem maps for accessible areas will besignificantly easier than for remote areas.The cost of in-situ groundtruthing, acquiringgeoreferenced mapping data, and otherlogistical-support activities will be fargreater in these areas.

(3) Hawaii

For the state of Hawaii, the highest-priorityis benthic habitat mapping of the eight mainHawaiian Islands and the surrounding smallislands and reefs. The northwest HawaiianIslands have been identified as a priority byNOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Serviceand the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Itwas agreed, however, that data acquisitionmust first be conducted for the eight mainislands. The geographic area priorities are:the southern coasts of the main HawaiianIslands (except Lanai and Niihau), all ofOahu, and eastern coast of Maui. TheWorking Group’s recommendation is toconduct experimental high-resolutionmapping in the northwest Hawaiian Islands,including Midway, in combination withsatellite-based remote sensing, during thefirst few years of study. Midway Atoll, atthe extreme northwest end of theNorthwestern Hawaiian island chain, isunder U.S. jurisdiction, but is not a part ofthe State of Hawaii. As it is generated,digital data will be rapidly transferred to theHawaiian partners, These data includegeoreferenced TIFF images of both aerialphotos and hyperspectral imagery. Inaddition, where appropriate, raw imagery offull hyperspectral bands for selected areasshould be made available to meet multipleassessment needs.

In Hawaii, some citizens and institutionsraised the concern that providing high-resolution maps to the public could increasethe potential for exploitation of coralresources. The Working Group offeredseveral ideas for minimizing this concern,including investigating the possibility ofdegrading the geopositional accuracy ofselected map features. Also, as draft coralreef ecosystem maps are reviewed andverified, generalization of certain features

may be considered in response to concernsabout the depiction of cultural sites.

(4) Territories, Commonwealth and FreelyAssociated States

The islands of Guam, American Samoa andthe Commonwealth of the Northern MarianaIslands (CNMI) were determined, byconsensus, to be high-priority areas formapping at the highest level or resolutionpracticable. These small but importantislands could use maps immediately toprotect, conserve and manage their coral reefecosystems. While only some of theseislands may need the high-resolution mapsderived from data collected by aircraft, allthe islands should be comprehensivelymapped using data from satellites, such asLandsat 7. In addition, every attempt shouldbe made to acquire high resolution imageryof Howland Island and Baker Island. Bothare small islands near the air transit corridorbetween Hawaii and American Samoa.These islands possess areas of highbiodiversity. However, due to theirremoteness, any mission to acquire imageryof these islands will require special logisticalsupport.

(5) GuamMany institutions, including the GuamCoastal Management Program, Division ofAquatic Wildlife Resources, GuamEnvironmental Protection Agency, and theUniversity of Guam, require high-resolutionmaps of coral reefs to support their coastalzone management and research activities.These activities include boundarydelineation of protected areas and theidentification of areas having high sedimentrunoff relative to the location anddistribution of coral reefs. The WorkingGroup recommends the use of aircraftplatforms to map these benthic habitats athigh resolution.

(6) American Samoa

High resolution images are needed toaddress the issues and challenges faced byAmerican Samoa. Some needs of localagencies include: spatial characterization ofreefs and associated benthic habitats, betterunderstanding of the relationship betweenland and sea, watershed delineation, andmapping products suitable as educationaland interpretive tools. Conducting a dataacquisition mission to American Samoarequires special logistical planning.

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Opportunities may exist to partner withorganizations located locally to acquire data.The working group will pursue theseopportunities. American Samoa ranks coralreef mapping as a high priority. However,they have indicated to the working group thatits final ranking of geographic area prioritieswill need to await the results of decisionson what Coral Reef Initiative proposalsreceive funding.

(7) Commonwealth of the NorthernMariana Islands (CNMI)

In the CNMI, the islands of Saipan, Rotaand Tinian were identified by the island’sCoastal Zone Management Program as thehighest-priority islands for high-resolutioncoral reef mapping. The Working Group’srecommendation is to initially map theremaining 11 islands in the archipelago usingsatellite platforms. If adequate fundingbecomes available, however, all coral reefswithin the CNMI should be mapped usinghigh-resolution technology.

(8) Freely Associated Islands

The Freely Associated Islands have close tiesto the United States, which governed theseislands for over 40 years as Territoriesfollowing World War II. The “FreelyAssociated” Islands (FAI) of Micronesia(i.e., the Republic of the Marshall Islands,the Federated States of Micronesia and theRepublic of Palau) possess coral reefs withthe highest biodiversity of any US or FAIreef ecosystems. The belief is that the totalarea of reefs in the FAI is much higher thanthat of the US Flag Islands. Many of thesereefs are believed to be in good to excellentcondition. As such, they provide animportant “baseline” for studying the effectof both anthropogenic and naturaldisturbances. They also serve as a sourceof natural products of potential biomedicalvalue. Reefs within the jurisdiction of theisland nations may be among the bestchoices for marine protected areas of globalimportance. There are less political andsocial constraints at establishing MPAs inuninhabited areas, and many are situatednear corresponding candidate MPAs in theUS Pacific Islands. A mapping mission atWake Atoll, for example, could be extendedto cover several atolls in the MarshallIslands. A mapping mission to Guam couldbe extended to cover islands and atolls inPalau and the FSM. In concert with otherCRTF initiatives to promote establishment

of MPAs in the FAI, coral reef mapping inthe latter can greatly stimulate, publicize orotherwise assist in these ventures. Therenegotiation of the Compacts of FreeAssociation in the next few years could alsoinclude economic incentives for theindividual FAI committees to establishMPAs and their long-range management.Mapping of these candidate areas would bea crucial first step in this process.

For the Federated States of Micronesia(approximately 607 islands), the Republicof Palau (more than 200 islands) and theRepublic of the Marshall Islands (fiveislands and 29 atolls), the Working Group’srecommendation is to use satellitetechnology for initial coral reef mappingefforts. Due to the vast expanse of theseareas, preliminary mapping at relatively lowresolution (0.3 to 1 km2) will allowresearchers to identify those areas thatrequire high resolution mapping. In addition,the working group is in discussions with thecivilian and classified satellite remotesensing community to determine the bestway forward to map these important areas.

(9) Other U.S. Flag Islands

Eight other small islands and atolls in thePacific are under the jurisdiction of the U.S.government: Midway, Wake, Johnston, andPalmyra Atolls, Kingman Reef, and Jarvis,Howland, and Baker Islands. Of these, allbut Wake Atoll, Palmyra Atoll, and KingmanReef are National Wildlife Refuges and areunder administration of the U.S. Fish andWildlife Service. All eight possessexceptionally important biodiversity valuesand coral reefs. The working grouprecommends collection of high resolutionimagery of Midway Atoll as part of thenorthwest Hawaiian Islands mission. Theaircraft can also collect imagery alongselected corridors in this vast coral reefecosystem during transit between Midwayand the main Islands.

Product Development

A suite of coral reef mapping products wasdefined by the various potential users ofdigital benthic habitat maps. Some groups,such as nongovernmental organizations,need worldwide and regionwide coraldistribution maps to validate and updateexisting broad-scale coral distributiondatabases, for example, the ReefBasedatabase housed at the ICLARM (ReefBase

1998). Digital imagery produced fromsatellites, such as SeaWifs and Landsat, mayprovide sufficient data content andresolution for these types of users (Figure 1provides an example of low- to moderate-resolution imagery). In addition, this typeof digital product is sufficient as an interimproduct for particular areas (e.g., thenorthwest Hawaiian Islands). In areas inwhich relatively high populations occur orare increasing, high-resolution digitalimagery and hard-copy map products, suchas those produced for the Florida Keys(Figures 2 and 3 provide examples of high-resolution imagery and the resultant mapproduct) are required for local managementdecisions. Many island-based Coastal ZoneManagement Programs need to conductspatial analyses to determine sensitive areasrequiring increased protection andregulation. As a result, digital coral reefmaps must be of sufficient spatial resolution(e.g., 5 m or less) to define the managementboundaries of protected areas. Thus, the MIPcost estimates account for both high- andlow-resolution products.

Mapping Cost Scenarios and Timing

Mapping coral reef ecosystems is anexpensive activity, especially at highresolution. Acquiring imagery and otherinformation requires airplanes, fuel, pilotsand crew, landing and takeoff facilities,cameras, film, remote sensing instruments,and good weather. Extensive effort must beexpended to establish the ground controllocations needed for georeferencing thedigital data. Once the information isacquired, it must be processed into draftmaps, checked for accuracy and groundcontrol, reviewed, edited, and finalized. Thefinal coral reef ecosystem maps then needto be made available to the user communityas digital data products over the internet and/or other media (e.g., CD-ROMs).

Based on the published literature (Green etal. 1999; Low et al. 1999; NOAA/FMRI1998) and federal and state agency andprivate sector experiences in mapping coraland other benthic habitats, cost estimateswere derived for data collection, draft digitalmap development (e.g., classification, fieldvalidation), and final digital map productcosts. An estimated $500/sq km is requiredto produce high resolution digital coral reefmaps. This value was used to estimate highresolution mapping costs based on Hunteret al. (1995) estimates of coral reef area by

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island (Table 2). For the six major Island andState areas that require high resolution coralreef maps, cost was estimated to beapproximately $9,150,000. For all US coralreefs found in State, Territories, and FreelyAssociated States, low resolution (30 sq. mpixels) digital coral reef maps wereestimated to cost approximately $450,000(Table 3). Thus, the estimated total costs fordigital mapping of US coral reef ecosystemsis approximately $9.2 million dollars.

It must be noted that very little informationexists to accurately derive the costs ofmapping all U.S. coral reefs. Moreover, thecosts of mapping remote areas, such as thenorthwest Hawaiian islands or theRepublic of Palau, will be higher thanareas like Puerto Rico or the eight mainHawaiian islands. Based on potential costestimate errors (plus or minus 25%),changes in cost due to gains in technologyand economic inflation, it is estimated that,over the next five–seven years, the cost ofdeveloping high resolution coral reef mapscould range from $6 to $15 million dollars.If funding is obtained to initiate datacollection and map product development,a detailed technical specification documentwill be developed. That document will have

detailed cost estimates for data acquisition,data processing, data validation andlogistical support, map verification, andfinal map product development anddistribution.

Table 4 shows three funding scenariosassuming zero funding, $500K, and $1million dollars per year allocated to digitalmapping of benthic habitats for all U.S. coralreef ecosystems. Under a “no new money”scenario, only draft products can bedeveloped for the U.S. Virgin Islands andPuerto Rico. NOAA plans to reprioritizeinternal funding so that data collection cantake place for at least a portion of the maineight Hawaiian Islands during fiscal 2000.No monies are currently available for dataprocessing or map development. Scenario2 ($500k/yr) will enable digital highresolution map products to be developed forthe USVI, Puerto Rico, eight main HawaiianIslands, Guam, CNMI, and American Samoaby 2005. At this level of funding, highresolution products cannot be developed forthe northwest Hawaiian Islands by 2007. Atthe $1 million per year funding level forseven years, most of the high-priority islandareas could receive high-resolution digitalcoral reef maps. However, even under this

funding scenario, the gaps in Florida Keysbenthic habitat maps could not becompleted. Approximately $1.3 to $1.8million/year would be required to completedigital maps for all U.S. coral reefs withinthe proposed 5 to 7 year time-frame.

The order of geographic mapping prioritieswas based on the consensus reached amongisland and state partners and MISWGmembers using several criteria. Thesecriteria included ecosystem stress(population), lack of digital maps, extent ofcoral coverage, mapping priority in the AllUS Islands Coral Reef Plan, and cost ofmapping relative to other coral reef-relatedactivities. The most difficult region to mapwill be the northwest Hawaiian Islands dueto the great extent of coral area and inherentlogistical problems. Therefore, the northwestHawaiian Islands was ranked fourth for highresolution data collection, because of therelatively high costs ($5.8 million) to mapthis area. High resolution satellites of thenear future may significantly decrease thecosts of digital coral mapping in expansiveareas, such as the northwest HawaiianIslands.

Reef Data Draft Final Total

Priority Location Area (km2) Col lect ion Maps Product Cost† Puerto Rico/USVI 5201 200 2001 Main 8 Hawaiian Islands 2535 350 650 350 13502a Guam 179 50 50 50 1502b CNMI 579 100 150 100 3503 Amer. Samoa 296 50 100 50 2004 NW Hawaiian Islands 11331 1450 2850 1450 57505 Midway 223 50 100 50 2006 Florida Keys 988 150 250 150 5507 other* 706 100 200 100 400

total: 9150† Approximately $200K needed to complete project.

Table 2. Mapping priorities and estimated costs ($K) for high-resolution digital mapping of benthic habitats

Estimates of Pacific coral reef ecosystem area in Table 2 are from Hunter (1995). Caribbean coral reef ecosystem area estimates arefrom Miller and Crosby (1998), except for the Florida Keys, where the reef ecosystem area was estimated as that portion not mappedin the Benthic Habitats of the Florida Keys project (NOAA/FMRI 1998). The order of mapping priorities is based on: (1) population/ecosystem stress level, (2) lack of existing maps, (3) coral area, (4) priorities identified in the All Islands Plan, and (5) cost of mappingrelative to other areas. Values (expressed in $1000s) were determined by multiplying the area to be mapped by the estimated cost ofmapping per unit area (data collection=$125 per sq km; draft maps=$250 per sq km; final product=$125 per sq km) and then roundingup to the nearest $50,000 to simplify presentation.

* Johnston, Palmyra, and Wake Atolls, Baker, Jarvis, and Howland Islands, Kingman Reef, and Freely Associated States.Cost estimates for these islands do not include the transport of equipment and aircraft between remote locations.

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Figure 1. Example of low- to moderate-resolution (satellite) imagery of Long Key area, Florida Keys

Figure 2. Example of high-resolution (aerial) imagery of Long Key area, Florida Keys

Figure 3. Example of GIS product using aerial photography that was classified into seven benthic habitat types

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Table 3a-b. Estimated costs ($K) for Landsat TM(a) and SeaWiFS(b) low and moderateresolution digital coral reef mapping

Table 4. High resolution coral reef mapping under three funding scenarios

3a. Landsat TM (Thematic Mapper)Location Scenes Historical

Imagery ($3K/scene)

Labor ($2.8K/scene)

Hardware Other ($0.7K/scene)

Total ($7.5K/scene)

Landsat 7 Imagery

($650/scene)PR/USVI 3 $9.0K $8.4K $2.1K $22.5K $2.0KMain HI Islands 10 $30.0K $28.0K $7.0K $75.0K $6.5KGuam/CNMI 8 $24.0K $22.4K $5.6K $60.0K $5.2KNW HI Islands 15 $45.0K $42.0K $10.5K $112.5K $9.8KMidway 1 $3.0K $2.8K $0.7K $7.5K $0.7KAm. Samoa 3 $9.0K $8.4K $2.1K $22.5K $2.0KFlorida 4 $12.0K $11.2K $2.8K $30.0K $2.6KMiscellaneous§ 17 $51.0K $47.6K $11.9K $127.5K $11.1K

Total Cost Total CostTotal 61 $183K $171K $60K $43K $458K $40K

§ Jarvis, Johnson, Palmyra and Wake Atolls and Baker, Howland and Kingman reefs, and Freely Associated States.

3b. SeaWiFs (Sea-Viewing Wide Field of View Sensor)Annual Expense under NASA ManagementLabor $15KTravel/Supplies $3KPublication $7K

Total Cost $25K

$60.0K

Scenario 1: No additional monies.2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

USVI/PRMain HI IslandsGuamCNMIAm. SamoaNWHIFloridaOther Islands§

Scenario 2: Additional $500K per year.2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

USVI/PRMain HI IslandsGuamCNMIAm. SamoaNWHIFloridaOther Islands§

Scenario 3: Additional $1 million per year.2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 20072008 2009

USVI/PRMain HI IslandsGuamCNMIAm. SamoaNWHI *FloridaOther Islands§

No WorkData Collection - plan and complete fixed wing photo and hyperspectral missions.Draft Maps - habitat characterization of collected data and field verification.Final Product - final habitat map products (e.g. cd-rom, web) with local expert review.

* Pilot study - approximately 20% of total data collection.§ Jarvis, Johnson, Palmyra and Wake Atolls and Baker, Howland and Kingman reefs, and Freely Associated States.

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Capacity Building in Islands and States

Based on discussions held with territory andisland partners during the Working Group’sreconnaissance trips, map products shouldbe incorporated into the data acquisition anddistribution plans to ensure that usefulmanagement products can be derived fromthe raw data. If federal resources areprovided to island and state communities, aprocess needs to be established to ensurethese partners receive the most usefulmapping products. Most importantly, theU.S. Coral Reef Task Force and its Mappingand Information Synthesis Working Groupmust take an active role in ensuring the usercommunity actively participates in thedevelopment, generation, distribution, anduse of the coral reef ecosystem maps. This“capacity-building” will bridge the gapbetween one-time synoptic mapping effortsand coral reef ecosystem management. Italso will elevate mapping efforts from“snapshot” investigations to the continualspatial monitoring of coral reef habitats. Forexample, an initial activity is under way inthe U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico todevelop a Classification Manual thatdescribes methods and protocols for habitatclassification and the development of mapproducts. These types of products will aidin capacity-building throughout all of theislands associated with the United States.

VI. NEXT STEPS

This draft of the MIP will be submitted tothe U.S. Coral Reef Task Force at theNovember task force meeting. Commentsreceived from the task force and the publicwill be integrated into the next version ofthe MIP. This document will continue toevolve based upon mapping priorities andavailability of funds. Please submitcomments and questions to:

Dr. Steve RohmannNOS Special Projects Officesteve.rohmann@noaa.gov1305 East-West Hwy., 9th Fl.Silver Spring, MD 20910-3281

You may also ask questions of, or addresscomments to:

Dr. Mark Monaco, MIS Working Group Co-chairNOS Center for Coastal Monitoring andAssessmentmark.monaco@noaa.gov1305 East-West Highway, 9th Fl.Silver Spring, MD 20910-3281

VII. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The Working Group expresses gratitude toits many active participants and theircolleagues, who provided information usedto develop the final draft MappingImplementation Plan. Our island partnershave been tremendously cooperative andresponsive to members of the WorkingGroup in defining coral mapping needs andpriorities. We recognize Dr. Jonathan Gradieof TerraSystems, Inc., Dr. Richard Holasekof ITS, Inc., and Dr. Marlin Atkinson of theUniversity of Hawaii, who providedinvaluable information on remote-sensingcapabilities and associated costs. In addition,we thank the NOS, NPS, USGS, and NASAfor providing funding that enabled theWorking Group to meet face to face with itsisland partners, and for sponsoring theSeptember 1999 workshop. Special thanksgo to Gale Peek at the NOS Coastal ServicesCenter for coordinating the workshoplogistics. Thanks also go to Pam Rubin ofthe NOS Special Projects Office forreviewing and editing the manuscript.

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Clark, A.M., and D. Gulko. 1999. Hawaii’s State of the ReefsReport, 1998. Department of Land and Natural Resources,Honolulu, Hawaii. p 1-41.

Low, R., J.C. Gradie, and Kevin T.C. Jim. 1999. Marine RemoteSensing and GIS in Hawaii and the Pacific. Presented at theInternational Workshop on the Use of Remote Sensing Toolsfor Mapping and Monitoring Coral Reefs. June 7-10, 1999.East-West Center, Honolulu, HI.

Green, E.P., P.J. Mumby, A.J. Edwards, and C.D. Clark. 1999.Remote Sensing Handbook for Tropical Coastal Management.

Holasek, R.E., and seven co-authors. 1997. HIS mapping ofmarine and coastal environments using the Advanced AirborneHyperspectral Imaging System (AAHIS). SPIE vol. 3071:169-180.

Holthus, P.F., and Maragos, J.E., 1995. Marine ecosystemclassification for the tropical island Pacific. In: Maragos, J.E.,Peterson, M.N.A., Eldredge, L.G., Bardach, J.E., Takeuchi,H.F. Eds.), Marine and Coastal Biodiversity in the TropicalIsland Pacific Region, East-West Center, Honolulu. pp 239-278.

Hunter, Cynthia. 1995. Review of Status of Coral Reefs aroundAmerican Flag Pacific Islands and Assessment of Need, Value,and Feasibility of Establishing a Coral Reef Fishery Manage-ment Plan for the Western Pacific Region. Final Reportprepared for Western Pacific Fishery Management Council. pp1-21.

Luczkovich, J.J., T.W. Wagner, J.L. Michalek, and R.W. Stoffle.1993. Discrimination of Coral Reefs, Seagrass Meadows, andSand Bottom Types from Space: A Dominican Republic CaseStudy. Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing.59(3):385-389.

Miller, S.L., and M.P. Crosby. 1998. The extent and conditon ofU.S. coral reefs. In: NOAA’s State of the Coast Report. NOAA,Silver Spring, MD. pp 1-34.

MISWG. 1999a. A Strategy to Map U.S. State, Commonwealth,Territory, and Freely Associated State Coral Reef Ecosystems.Report to the Coral Reef Task Force March 5-6 1999. pp 1-9.

MISWG. 1999b. Summary of Issues and Proposed Actions.Report to the Coral Reef Task Force March 5-6 1999.

Mumby, P.J., E.P. Green, A.J. Edwards, and C.D. Clark. 1997.Coral reef habitat-mapping: how much detail can remotesensing provide? Marine Biology 130:193-202.

Mumby, P.J., E.P. Green, A.J. Edwards, and C.D. Clark. 1998.Digital analysis of multispectral airborne imagery of coralreefs. Coral Reefs 17:59-69.

NOAA/FMRI. 1998. Benthic Habitats of the Florida Keys.Florida Department of Environmental Protection: FloridaMarine Research Institute Technical Report TR-4. St. Peters-burg, FL. 53 p.

Robinson, J. A., K. P. Lulla, M. Kashiwagi, M. Suzuki, M. D.Nellis, C. E. Bussing, W. J. Lee Long, and L. J. Mckenzie.1999. Astronaut-acquired orbital photography as a data sourcefor conservation applications across multiple geographicscales. Conservation Biology, In review.

Robinson, J.A. 1999. Space photographs as remote sensing datafor reef environments. Presented at the International Work-shop on the Use of Remote Sensing Tools for Mapping andMonitoring Coral Reefs. June 7-10, 1999. East-West Center,Honolulu, HI.

ReefBase. 1998. ReefBase: A Global Database on Coral Reefsand their Resources. Version 3.0. CD-ROM, ICLARM,Manila, Philippines.

Stumpf, R.P., M.L. Frayer, M.J. Durako and J.C. Brock. 1999.Variations in water Clarity and Bottom Albedo in Florida Bayfrom 1985 to 1997. Estuaries 22 No. 2b (in press).

Webb, E. L., Ma. A. Evangelista, and J.A. Robinson. 1999.Digital land use classification using Space Shuttle acquiredEarth Observation Photographs: a quantitative comparisonwith Landsat TM imagery of a coastal environment,Chanthaburi, Thailand. Photogrammetric Engineering andRemote Sensing. In review.

VIII. REFERENCES

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IX. APPENDICESAppendix 1. Working Group Members and PartnersSimpson Abraham, KosraeSebastian Aloot, Office of Hawaiian AffairsS. Miles Anderson, Analytical Laboratories of HawaiiSerge Andrefouet, University of South FloridaMarlin Atkinson, Hawaii Institute of Marine BiologyStephanie Bailenson, U.S. Senate, Subcommittee on Oceans and FisheriesCDR. Jon Bailey, NOAAPeter Barlas, CNMI Coastal Resources Management OfficePeter Barnes, U.S. Geological SurveyJames F. Battey, University of the Virgin IslandsBarbara Best, U.S. Agency for International DevelopmentCharles Birkeland, University of GuamDail Brown, NOAAEric Brown, Hawaii Institute of Marine BiologyGene Buck, Congressional Research ServiceLauretta Burke, World Resources InstituteSusan Burr, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana IslandsDonald R. Cahoon, USGS, National Wetlands Research CenterPatrick Caldwell, NOAAJanet Campbell, NASAPat Chavez, USGSCharlie Chesnutt, U.S. Army Corps of EngineersJohn Cooper, U.S. Fish and Wildlife ServiceMary E. Clutter, U.S. National Science FoundationSteve Coles, Bishop Musuem of Natural SciencePeter Craig, National Park of American SamoaMichael Crosby, NOAAHoward Danley, NOAANancy Daschbach, Fagatele Bay National Marine SanctuaryGerry Davis, Guam Department of AgricultureEric Denny, NOAAWilliam S. Devick, Hawaii DLNRErnesto Diaz, Government of Puerto RicoRichard E. Dodge, Nova Southeastern University Oceanographic CenterDan Dorfman, The Nature Conservancy of HawaiiMichael Dowgiallo, NOAAPhillip Dustan, College of CharlestonC. Mark Eakin, NOAAAsher Edward, PohnpeiLucius G. Eldredge, Bishop MuseumBrian Farm, USGSGene Feldman, NASA - MISWG Co-ChairMike E. Field, USGSMark Finkbeiner, NOAAKevin Foster, USFWSChuck Fox, EPAAlan Friedlander, Oceanic Institute, Center for Applied AquacultureAlan M. Gaines, NSFDiane Gelburd, USDA, NRCSEric Gilman, USFWSSteve Gittings, NOAACarmen Gonzales, Hobos Bay National Estuarine Research ReserveEdmund Green, World Conservation Monitoring CentreRoger Griffis, NOAARobert Halley, USGSMike Ham, Guam Coastal Management ProgramMike Hamnett, Pacific Basin Development CouncilIsaac D. HarpCharles Helsley, University of HawaiiThomas F. Hourigan, NOAACharles D. Hunt Jr., USGSCynthia Hunter, Waikiki AquariumNoah Idechong, PalauPaul Jokiel, Hawaii Institute of Marine BiologyMelia Lane-Kamahele, NPS

Les Kaufman, Boston University Marine ProgramNorma Kempf, U.S. Department of JusticeDavid Kennard, Federal Emergency Management AgencyKaren H. Koltes, DOIStephen Kubota, Ahupua’a Action AllianceDamaris Delgado Lopez, Government of Puerto RicoRodman Low, FWSM. Kimberly Lowe, Hawaii Dept. of Land and Natural ResourcesMacara Lousberg, EPAJim Lucas, NOAAM. Vicki Lukas, USGSJohn Marra, NASAJames E. Maragos, FWSEd Martin, NOAAJohn W. McManus, ICLARMSteven Miller, University of North Carolina at WilmingtonMark Minton, Western Pacific Fishery Management CouncilMichael Molina, FWSMark E. Monaco, NOAA - MISWG Co-ChairElsie Munsell, U.S NavyJohn Naughton, NOAAJerry B. Norris, Pacific Basin Development CouncilMichael F. Parke, NOAAJim Parrish, Hawaii Cooperative Fishery Research UnitWilliam C. Patzert, NASAArthur Paterson, NOAALelei Peau, Government of American SamoaAnthony R. Picciolo, NOAAWilliam G. Pichel, NOAALiz Porter, EPAKen Potts, EPAJennifer RahnDave Raney, Sierra ClubRobert H. Richmond, University of GuamAndrew Robertson, NOAAJulie Robinson, NASAGeorge Rohaley, USDA, NRCSSteven O. Rohmann, NOAACaptain Robert G. Ross, U.S. Coast GuardDon Scavia, NOAALois Schiffer, U.S. Department of JusticeRobert Schroeder, Western Pacific Regional Fisheries Management CouncilRichard Seman, CNMI GovernmentRobert P. Smith, U.S. Fish and Wildlife ServiceJack Sobel, Center For Marine ConservationMichael Soukup, NPSSusan Saucerman, EPAPaul Souza, FWSCDR Barry Stamey, U.S. NavyAlan Strong, NOAAAndy Tafileichig, Yap, FSMFranklyn Tan Te, College of the Marshall IslandsPhillip Taylor, USNSFJim Tilmant, NPSBrian Tissot, University of WashingtonPaul Thomas, Virgin Islands CZMAllen Tom, Humpback Whale National Marine SanctuaryDouglas Tom, Hawaii Dept. of Business, Economic Development and TourismKirk Waters, NOAASteve Wegener, NASAS. Jeffress (Jeff) Williams, USGS - MISWG Co-ChairL. Dorsey Worthy, NOAAC. Wayne Wright, NASASally J. Yozell, NOAA

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Information Date*Source Developed Information Description

American SamoaUSGS 1990 Digital Orthophoto QuadsNOAA/HAZMAT 1999 Environmental Sensitivity Index maps being updatedNOAA/NOS 1994 partial (some clouds) 1:35K scale color aerial photography for five islandsNPS n/a digital data set of beach and nearshore reef communities for a 2 mile portion of Ofu IslandFWS n/a National Wetlands Inventory maps indicating presence/absence of coralNOAA/NGDC n/a deep water NOAA/NOS bathymetric sounding data

Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana IslandsUSGS 1990 Digital Orthophoto QuadsU.S. Navy ongoing will conduct bathymetric surveys and B&W aerial photo mission to Tinian and Farallon de MendillaCRM 1999 numerous terrestrial and aquatic thematic data layers (e.g., coral presence/absence) digitized from USGS

topographic sheets for SaipanNOAA/HAZMAT 1999 Environmental Sensitivity Index map for Saipan availableCRM 1999 1:10K color aerial photography acquiredCRM 1996 1:10K color aerial photography availableNOAA/NOS 1994 partial (some clouds) 1:35K scale color aerial photography for eight islandsFWS n/a National Wetlands Inventory maps for Saipan

Federated States of MicronesiaUniv. of Guam 1998 shoreline and coral reef extent for Kosrae, Chuuk, Pohnpei, and Yap digitized from 1:24K USGS

topographic sheets

NOAA/NOS 1994 partial (some clouds) 1:35K scale color aerial photography for Kosrae, Chuuk, Pohnpei, and Yap (plus some other islands)

GuamUSGS 1990 Digital Orthophoto QuadsNOAA/HAZMAT 1999 Environmental Sensitivity Index map for Saipan availableUniv. of Guam 1998 shoreline and coral reef extent thematic data layers digitized from1:24K USGS topographic sheetsGovGuam 1995 1:20K color aerial photographs of most of Guam available.NOAA/NOS 1994 partial (some clouds) 1:35K scale color aerial photographyNPS ongoing To be scanned, georeferenced and mosaiced during FY2000 for base map to preliminary reef inventory

assessment by University of Guam/NPS. Natural color stereo aerial photography with associated ground control information: Agat Beach/Reef - 3 flight lines,

FWS n/a National Wetlands Inventory maps available

Hawaiian Islands (Main Eight)NRCS ongoing acquisition of 1:6K digital imagery to delineate 11 and 14-digit hydrologic units and to use in

watershed assessment projects.USGS 1990 Digital Orthophoto QuadsWPFMC 1999 generalized (various scales) GIS maps of islands and political boundaries (e.g., EEZ) used for FMP.Univ. of Hawaii 1999 800+ in-situ spectra of coral reef ecosystem localitiesDLNR 1994 SPOT images of eight main islands.NOAA/NOS 1994 1:35K scale color aerial photographs of eight main islandsNOAA/HAZMAT 1985 Environmental Sensitivity Index maps availableDLNR n/a numerous digital data files available, including shoreline, some reef extent polygons, and some general

bathyNOAA n/a 5 arcsecond bathy for entire Pacific region

OahuUniv. of Hawaii 1998 Digital Airborne MSS data and georeferenced map (1:10,000) of reef and nearshore on Windward Oahu,

Kailua - water depths 0 to 40m(original pixel resolution - 1m). Data are being trained/modeled with bathymetric data, and substrate classification currently

Appendix 2. List of available data and information to support coral reef mapping by island, state,commonwealth and territory

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Information Date*Source Developed Information Description

MauiUniv. of Hawaii 1998 digital bathymetry and coral cover in and around Maalaea harbor.COE 1998 low altitude bathymetric LIDAR for all of island

MolokaiUSGS 1999 1:10,000 scale color aerial photos of south shore of islandCOE 1999 low altitude bathymetric LIDAR for south shore of islandOgden Environ. 1994 reef coverages for portions of southeast Molokai

KauaiCOE 1999 low altitude bathymetric LIDAR for south shore of islandOgden Environ. 1994 reef coverages for portions of north Kauai

HawaiiOgden Environ. 1994 reef coverages for Puako area in North Kohala district of the island

LanaiOgden Environ. 1994 reef coverages for eastern portion of island

Northwest Hawaiian IslandsFWS n/a digital maps of numerous themes, including NWHI wildlife refuges

Puerto RicoNOAA/NOS ongoing project underway to digitally map coral reef ecosystems from 1:20K and 1:48K color aerial photography

and hyperspectral instrumentsNOAA/NOS 1999 aerial photography at 1:24K and 1:48K scalesUSGS/BRD 1999 benthic habitat maps of Vieques island and and Roosevelt Roads NAS at 1:9,600 scaleNOAA/NGDC n/a NOAA/NOS bathymetric sounding data at 3 arc second intervalsUSGS n/a digital and hard copy maps of sediments, reefs, and detailed bathymetry for segments of the coastlineFWS n/a National Wetlands Inventory maps indicating presence/absence of coral

Republic of PalauUniv. of Guam 1998 shoreline and coral reef extent for Babeldaob digitized from 1:24K USGS topographic sheetsNOAA/NOS 1994 partial (some clouds) 1:35K scale color aerial photography for Babeldaob, Oreor, Belilou, and Ngeaur

U.S. Virgin IslandsNOAA/NOS ongoing project underway to digitally map coral reef ecosystems from 1:20K and 1:48K color aerial photography

and hyperspectral instrumentsNOAA/NOS 1999 color aerial photography at 1:24K and 1:48K scalesNOAA/HAZMAT 1999 Environmental Sensitivity Index maps recently reviewed and updatedCDC/TNC 1999 Rapid Ecological Assessment maps for St.John and St.ThomasCDC/TNC 1998 Rapid Ecological Assessment Maps for St.CroixNPS of USVI 1986 marine habitat maps for St.John at 1:5,300 scaleNOAA/NGDC n/a NOAA/NOS bathymetric sounding data at 3 arc second intervals

* Date of product development does not necessarily mean date of data collection.