FLORIDA GEOGRAPHIC DATA LIBRARY DOCUMENTATION
VERSION 2006

TITLE: FLORIDA SEA GRASS BED SCAR DAMAGE

Geodataset Name:       SGSCAR
Geodataset Type:       SHAPEFILE
Geodataset Feature:    Polygon
Feature Count:         6805
GENERAL DESCRIPTION:
This GIS data set depicts the spatial distribution of propeller scars in shallow sea grass areas. Aerial photo interpretation and aerial surveys were conducted from 1991-1994 for the area from New Smyrna Beach, on Florida's northeast coast to Perdido Beach, near the Florida-Alabama border. The project culminated in a publication: Scarring of Florida's seagrasses: assessment and management options, FWRI Technical Report 1.
DATA SOURCE(S):                    Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), Fish and Wildlife Research Institute (FWRI), Center for Spatial Analysis
SCALE OF ORIGINAL SOURCE MAPS:     Unknown
DATE OF AUTOMATION OF SOURCE:      1994
GEODATASET EXTENT:                 State of Florida

FEATURE ATTRIBUTE TABLES:

Datafile Name: SGSCAR.DBF
ITEM NAME WIDTH TYPE N. DECIMAL DEGREES
DESCRIPT
13 String ---
PERIMETER
19 Number 3
DAMTEXT
10 String ---
DAMCODE
9 Number ---
COUNTY
15 String ---
TYPE
9 Number ---
FRQ_
9 Number ---
REGION
4 String ---
ETAT.SGSCAR.AREA
8 Double ---
AUTOID
4 Integer ---
SHAPE_FID
4 OID ---
SHAPE
4 Geometry ---
SHAPE.AREA
0 Double ---
SHAPE.LEN
0 Double ---

FEATURE ATTRIBUTE TABLES CODES AND VALUES:

Item
Item Description
DESCRIPT FGDL added field based on DAMTEXT

PERIMETER Perimeter of polygon (meters)

DAMTEXT Textual description of DAMCODE attribute
Light = <5% damage

Moderate = 5-20% damage

Severe = >20% damage


DAMCODE Code corresponds to the amount of damage sustained by a given extent of seagrass
0 = Not defined, possibly land or unvegetated areas surrounded by seagrass.

1 = Light

2 = Moderate

3 = Severe


COUNTY Florida county in which the damaged seagrass occurs: Bay Brevard Broward Charlotte Citrus Collier Dade Dixie Escambia Franklin Gulf Hernando Hillsborough Indian River Jefferson Lee Levy Manatee Martin Monroe Okaloosa Palm Beach Pinellas Santa Rosa Sarasota St. Lucie Taylor Volusia Wakulla Walton

TYPE Undefined by Source

FRQ_ Undefined by Source

REGION Code corresponds to region in which the damage occurs.
BEND = Big Bend

CHAR = Charlotte Harbor

EC = East coast of Florida

PAN = Florida Panhandle

SF = South Florida

TBAY = Tampa Bay


ETAT.SGSCAR.AREA No description

AUTOID FGDL Unique ID

SHAPE_FID Internal feature number.

SHAPE Feature geometry.

SHAPE.AREA No description

SHAPE.LEN No description


USER NOTES:
This data is provided 'as is'. GeoPlan relied on the integrity
of the original data layer's topology
This data is provided 'as is' by GeoPlan and is complete to our
knowledge.
GeoPlan relied on the integrity of the attribute information within
the original data.
Prior to July 1, 2004, the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute (FWRI) was 
known as the Florida Marine Research Institute (FMRI). The institute name 
has not been changed in historical data sets or references to work completed 
by the Florida Marine Research Institute. The institute name has been changed 
in references to ongoing research, new research, and contact information.

The damage polygons may not coincide with seagrass data, which were 
mapped in different years and seasons.  Thus, a seagrass bed that was 
present in one year may not have existed when the scars were mapped.

This data set depicts the statewide spatial distribution of boating 
impacts to seagrasses in shallow water.

National Map Accuracy Standards for 1:40,000-scale maps.

This data is provided 'as is' and its vertical positional accuracy
has not been verified by GeoPlan

THE DATA INCLUDED IN FGDL ARE 'AS IS' AND SHOULD NOT BE CONSTRUED
AS LEGALLY BINDING. THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA GEOPLAN CENTER SHALL
NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES SUFFERED AS A RESULT OF USING,
MODIFYING, CONTRIBUTING OR DISTRIBUTING THE MATERIALS.

A note about data scale: 

Scale is an important factor in data usage.  Certain scale datasets
are not suitable for some project, analysis, or modeling purposes.
Please be sure you are using the best available data. 

1:24000 scale datasets are recommended for projects that are at the
county level.
1:24000 data should NOT be used for high accuracy base mapping such
as property parcel boundaries.
1:100000 scale datasets are recommended for projects that are at the
multi-county or regional level.
1:125000 scale datasets are recommended for projects that are at the
regional or state level or larger.

Vector datasets with no defined scale or accuracy should be
considered suspect. Make sure you are familiar with your data
before using it for projects or analysis. Every effort has been
made to supply the user with data documentation. For additional
information, see the References section and the Data Source Contact
section of this documentation. For more information regarding
scale and accuracy, see our webpage at:
http://geoplan.ufl.edu/education.html

REFERENCES:
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission-Fish and Wildlife Research Institute:
http://research.myfwc.com/

DATA LINEAGE SUMMARY:
Aerial photos were interpreted and delineated for prop scar damage, and 
the information was recorded onto NOAA nautical charts.  These same 
charts were used in aerial surveys to redefine and/or add additional information 
on the charts.  Then the charts were digitized into ARC/INFO.

Classification is based on percent cover of scars within a seagrass bed.
Process Date: 1994

In 2005 FWRI staff conducted a comparison of this data set to the data shown in the graphics in FMRI Technical Report TR-1. These graphics appear more generalized than the features in the data set. This may have been due to the conversion of the maps to PDF form. The data in the Mosquito Lagoon and Sarasota Bay areas appear partially pixellated. This is because, while scarred area delineations were derived from aerial photos, the seagrass data in those areas was derived from LandSat imagery. For the final report and acreage estimates, the scar delineations were CLIPped to the boundaries of the existing seagrass coverage. The resulting data appear partially pixellated, i.e. a polygon may have a stairstep boundary on one edge, while the opposite edge appears smooth. For more information on the procedures used to create these data, refer to TR-1. No data were altered during this internal review of data consistency. This information is added to the metadata solely for clarification purposes. Process Date: 1994
The process step describes, in general, the process used in the production of data sets. The originating agencies created the original spatial coverage. GeoPlan, during the QA/QC process included the following aspects: (1) Coverage was reprojected to FGDL albers (2) Set tolerances to FGDL standards (3) Renamed coverage from fl_scars to sgscar (4) Added DESCRIPT item based on DAMTEXT Process Date: 2000
Dataset copied. Process Date:
Metadata imported. Process Date:
MAP PROJECTION PARAMETERS:

Projection                          ALBERS
Datum                               HPGN
Units                               METERS
Spheroid                            GRS1980
1st Standard Parallel               24  0  0.000
2nd Standard Parallel               31 30  0.000
Central Meridian                   -84 00  0.000
Latitude of Projection's Origin     24  0  0.000
False Easting (meters)              400000.00000
False Northing (meters)             0.00000

DATA SOURCE CONTACT (S):

Name:
Abbr. Name:
Address:


Phone:

Web site:
E-mail:
Contact Person:
         Phone:
        E-mail:
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission-Fish and Wildlife Research Institute
FWRI
100 Eighth Avenue Southeast
St. Petersburg, Florida
33701
727-896-8626

http://ocean.floridamarine.org/mrgis/viewer.htm GISLibrarian@MyFWC.com GISLibrarian

FGDL CONTACT:
Name:                   FLORIDA GEOGRAPHIC DATA LIBRARY
Abbr. Name:             FGDL
Address:                Florida Geographic Data Library
                        431 Architecture Building
                        PO Box 115706
                        Gainesville, FL  32611-5706
Web site:               http://www.fgdl.org

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