Coastal Maine Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Data 1993-1997 Biotic

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The aerial photography was used to identify and delineate SAV habitat. In addition, the photos form the backdrop for certain field operations | Source Geospatial Form: map | Type of Source Media: color film diapositives

Aerial photography acquisition Conventional color (Kodak Aerochrome 2448) film was acquired over the Maine coast at a nominal scale of 1:12,000. The coast was flown in an incremental fashion in 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, and 1997. The film was flown according to the environmental parameters recommended in the C-CAP protocol. The mission specifications included 60% endlap and 30% sidelap for adjacent lines. A 153mm color corrected lens and Wild RC10 camera were used to collect the imagery.Process Date Range is 1993-1997

Photo-Interpretation: The duplicated film diapositives were interpreted monoscopically on a large-format light table. SAV habitat was annotated on acetate overlays attached to the film. The habitat was assigned to 1 of four density classes based on percent ground coverage by actual eelgrass. The photography was interpreted by a skilled analyst who is very familiar with the local environment. GPS controlled field work was used to develop signatures suitable form mapping.Process Date Range is 1993-1997

Data Vectorization: At the conclusion of the interpretation process, the diapositives were with overlays attached were placed on the light table below mylar USGS 7.5 minute quads. The photos were manually fitted to the USGS map and the habitat polygons were transferred to the quad mylars. Then the annotated mylar was scanned and an automated vectorization software was used to capture the linework as ESRI vectors. These vectors were manually edited and a polygon coverage was built using ArcInfo software. The benthic data is classified according to the System for Classification of Habitats in Estuarine and Marine Environments (SCHEME). This system is fully described in "Development of a System for Classification of Habitats in Estuarine and Marine Environments (SCHEME) for Florida, Report to U.S. EPA - Gulf of Mexico Program, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Florida Marine Research Institute. Review Draft 12/04/02."Process Date Range is 1993-1997

The data were converted from a single ESRI polygon shapefile classified according to the System for Classifying Habitats in Estuarine and Marine Environments (SCHEME) to the Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard (CMECS) 2012 format (which can be found at https://coast.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/tools/cmecs-crosswalk) which produces separate geoform, biotic, and biotic feature layers from the original input benthic habitat dataset. This biotic feature layer contains CMECS biotic component attributes where an "Equal" or "Nearly Equal" SCHEME value was present in the original data. Polygons for which no biotic information was present have been removed. No other changes to the original polygon boundaries or any other alterations of the original SCHEME data were made during this process.