Geodataset Name:       CGATON_2002
Geodataset Type:       SHAPEFILE
Geodataset Feature:    Point
Feature Count:         16561

DATA SOURCE(S):                    Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission-Fish and Wildlife Research Institute
SCALE OF ORIGINAL SOURCE MAPS:     Unknown
DATE OF AUTOMATION OF SOURCE:      2002
GEODATASET EXTENT:                 State of Florida

FEATURE ATTRIBUTE TABLES:

Datafile Name: CGATON_2002.DBF

FEATURE ATTRIBUTE TABLES CODES AND VALUES:

Item	Item Description
OBJECTID	Internal feature number.
LGT_LIST_N	Unique identifier used by public when reporting problems about a specific navigation aid; reference number for cross-reference with Light List document
AID_NAME	Unique name assigned by the corresponding district
AID_TYPE	This code identifies the type of aid. Each type of aid has a specific function for navigation; unique physical characteristics usually make each easy to identify in the field. LT = Lighted aid DBN = Daybeacon ULB = Unlit buoys LB = Lighted buoys LBB = Lighted bell buoys LWB = Lighted whistle buoys RFL = Range forward lights RRL = Range rear lights LGB = Lighted gong buoy N = Nun Buoy MB = Mooring buoy BBL = Articulated Light
LT_CHAR	Lighted aid description. Applies only to lighted aids (AID_TYPE = LB or LT). Example: "FL G 4 s," is flashing green light with four seconds interval
DAYBOARD	Refers to colors (and occasionally numbers) painted on dayboard; see "Overview Description " below for codes
LATDD	Latitude in decimal degrees (NAD 83)
LONGDD	Longitude in decimal degrees (NAD83)
AID_COLOR	Color of lighted aid R = Red G = Green W = White Y = Yellow
AID_LABEL	Labels are defined as any identification marks displayed on the actual aid. Often, this is a number, but port entrance buoys will have the port initials painted on the buoy. Some hazardous buoys will be identified with "WR."
DISTRICT	Refers to the USCG district that provided the information
CLASS	Indicates a federal or private ATON
ODD_EVEN	In most cases, aids marking a narrow channel will be located as gated pairs; aids on one side of the channel are assigned an odd number, and aids on the other side are assigned an even number: "E" for even, "O" for odd. If the aid has no number then the field is blank. When aids along a narrow channel are displayed on a small-scale map, the map can be cluttered with aid symbols. This odd and even designation allows display of only aids on one side of a channel thus eliminating clutter. O = Odd E = Even
SOURCE	Source of the data
DAYBOARD_Q	Number of aids on a dayboard
DAYBOARD_S	The size of a dayboard in feet
SYMBOL	This field is a concatenation of AID_TYPE and ODD_EVEN. This field is used for symbolizing aids based on both the AID_TYPE and the ODD_EVEN attributes.
DESCRIPT	FGDL added field based on AID_NAME
FGDLAQDATE	FGDL added field based on date received from source
SHAPE	Feature geometry.
AUTOID	FGDL Unique ID

Overview Description: This is a detailed description of the attributes for the ATONs. These attributes were obtained from multiple spreadsheets from the USCG Seventh and Eighth Districts. An individual aid may not have values for all of the attributes listed. B - Black Bn - Beacon C - Can Buoy F - Fixed Fl - Flashing Fl (2) - Group Flashing Fl (2+1) - Composite Group-Flashing G - Green Iso - Isophase J - Junction (S or T Dayboard) K - Rectangular (Range Dayboard) M - Octagonal Dayboard MO (A) - Morse Code N - Nun Buoy Oc - Occulting Pri - Private Q - Quick (Flashing) R - Red S - Square Dayboard s - seconds T - Triangle Dayboard W - White Y - Yellow

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.

The term "aids to navigation" refers to devices outside of a vessel that are used to assist mariners in determining their position, safe course or warn them of obstructions. Aids to navigation include light buoys and beacons. This data set includes federal aids, which are installed and maintained by the Coast Guard, as well as some privately maintained aids. This data set does not include unofficial (illegal) aids, such as PVC pipes, placed without permission. This data set is not certified for navigation and is not intended for navigation purposes. Each USCG district headquarters is responsible for updating its database on an as-needed basis. When existing aids are destroyed or relocated and new aids are installed, the data base is updated. Each aid is assigned an official light listing number. The Light List is a document listing the status of the ATONs; it is regularly published and distributed. Interim changes to the Light List are published in local notices to mariners. In addition, the USCG broadcasts notices to mariners on the marine band radio as soon as changes in the status of individual aids are reported. Navigators should use the official notices to mariners to maintain current charts. Annual (or more frequent) updates of the Aids to Navigation database can be obtained from each USCG district headquarters. 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 source information of this data set was collected and maintained solely for the internal uses of the Coast Guard. It has not been verified for accuracy or completeness by the USCG or by FWRI. The Coast Guard makes no representations that this information contains an accurate description of aids to navigation or their actual positions. Many fields in the original ATONS database may contain data that are no longer used; therefore, the data are suspect. Consequently, this information should not be used, published, or relied on for the purpose of navigation. Furthermore, it will be subject to change without notice. The Coast Guard makes no representations that this information contains an accurate description of the wrecks and obstructions or their actual positions. Thus, this information should not be used, published, or relied on for navigation. Typographical errors do exist in this data set. FWRI updates these data annually. For the most current ATON information, please contact the appropriate USCG district.

This data set represents an all-inclusive GIS layer of ATONs for the year 2002, with spatial extent of the Seventh and Eighth Coast Guard Districts. The Peninsular Florida area in the USCG Seventh District represents a 2004 data update.

The source data from the USCG gave coordinates in latitude and longitude of varying degrees of precision; the coordinates vary from degree only to three decimal seconds. FWRI has not field-verified these points, so positions are as accurate as the source data. Please see the Coast Guard's disclaimer in the Supplemental Information section of this metadata report. FWRI edited the positional accuracy for only gross errors of logical consistency. FWRI deleted point data that did not have coordinates in the source spreadsheets. Point data that were obviously on land were corrected wherever possible if there was an obvious, verifiable typographical error (such as incorrect coordinates that could be corrected by using the coordinates for other aids in the same water body and the appropriate NOAA nautical chart as reference). FWRI used a NOAA nautical chart as the background to visually verify any points that were moved.

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://ocean.floridamarine.org General ATON abbreviations from: http://www.uscgboating.org/safety/aton/abbreviations.htm

DATA LINEAGE SUMMARY:

Excel spreadsheets from the Seventh and Eighth Districts were formatted to convert coordinates from degrees, minutes, and seconds to decimal degrees. Additional attributes were created based on information contained within the spreadsheets. FWRI formatted all spreadsheets to contain the same attribute items and attribute field lengths. The Excel files were then converted to dbase and converted to shapefiles using the "add X,Y" function in ArcMap 8.2. The shapefiles were MERGEd together to create one ATON map representing both Districts federal ATONs and the Seventh District's private ATONs. Process Date: 2003 FWRI staff also included mooring buoys and speed zone buoys maintained by Biscayne National Park, as well as private aids provided by Brevard County. Process Date: 2004 FWRI received the Excel spreadsheet of 7th district containing Florida 2004 ATON data from the 7th district USCG. The purpose of the project is to replace the 2002 Florida 7th district ATON data with the received new data. So the exact column names and formats of the 2002 data had to be repeated in the new file. FWRI formatted the new spreadsheet with the same attribute items and attribute field lengths as of 2002 data. The 7th district coordinates which were originally in degrees, minutes and seconds were converted to decimal degrees. The excel file was converted to a dbase file and later to a shapefile using "Add XY" function in ArcMap 8.3. The shapefile now contains Florida 7th district ATON data for 2004 representing both Federal and Private ATONS. This data set was used to update the peninsular Florida section from the 2002 7th and 8th district ATONs file. Process Date: 2004 GeoPlan received this data in shapefile format on CD-ROM from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission-Fish and Wildlife Research Institute on June 6, 2006. When received, the data was in Geographic projection Albers NAD 83, Spheroid: GRS 80. The file was projected to FGDL Albers HARN. The shapefile received had 19351 records some of which fell outside the FGDL extent. The records that fell within the FGDL extent were selected out and exported to a new shapefile. Therefore this data set does not represent all aids to navigation for the Seveth and Eighth Coast Gaurd Districts. The final FGDL data set has 16601 records. For a complete Seventh and Eighth USCG District data set visit the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission-Fish and Wildlife Research Institute site at http://ocean.floridamarine.org/mrgis/viewer.htm - Reprojected data to FGDL Albers HPGN - Added a DESCRIPT field to attribute table based on AID_NAME - Added a FGDLAQDATE field based on date received from source - Renamed shapefile fromatons_uscg_20022004_point to CGATON_2002 - Upcased all records in the table Process Date: 20060606 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

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

Contact FGDL: 

      Technical Support:	        http://www.fgdl.org/fgdlfeed.html
      FGDL Frequently Asked Questions:  http://www.fgdl.org/fgdlfaq.html
      FGDL Mailing Lists:		http://www.fgdl.org/fgdl-l.html
      For FGDL Software:                http://www.fgdl.org/software.html