Priority data on marine and estuarine resources within northeastern National Parks: Inventory and acquisition needs

Natural Resource Report NPS/NCBN/NRR—2013/612
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Abstract

The purpose of this project was to guide development of a strategy for the inventory and mapping of submerged natural resources associated within 10 coastal parks of the National Park Service (NPS) Northeast Region (NER; see Table 1). Priority data needs were identified by the NER Ocean Stewardship Task Force. The majority of the NER priority data needs involve the biotic, chemical, and geological characterization of the seabed. Taken collectively, this demands a consistent and unified approach to habitat classification. The Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard (CMECS) is endorsed by the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC-STD-018) for classifying ecological units in coastal and marine environments, and is recommended as a framework for acquiring and organizing NER data. We prepared an inventory of existing data on priority marine and estuarine natural resources within the ten NER coastal parks. This report describes the data and information sources relevant to each park and identifies gaps in available data. Overwhelmingly and uniformly across all parks, the most pressing needs are consistent, high-resolution bathymetry and seafloor characterization data. Approaches for acquiring these data using an integrated, multi-resolution sampling framework are recommended.
Publication type Report
Publication Subtype Federal Government Series
Title Priority data on marine and estuarine resources within northeastern National Parks: Inventory and acquisition needs
Series title Natural Resource Report
Series number NPS/NCBN/NRR—2013/612
Year Published 2013
Language English
Publisher National Park Service
Publisher location Fort Collins, CO
Contributing office(s) Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
Description xix, 204 p.
Country UNITED STATES
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