Overview
These data focus on marine and estuarine benthic habitat in nearshore, intertidal, and subtidal areas. Some data are comprehensive and capture all detectable resources within a study area, while others focus on a specific feature or habitat type such as seagrasses or oyster reefs. Most data are derived from raster imagery sources such as aerial multispectral imagery, aerial lidar, or multibeam acoustic echosounders, though foundation datasets may not be included. Additional data come from underwater cameras, sediment grabs, sediment profile imaging, side-scan sonar, and single-beam sonar.
Featured Resources
- NOAA’s Benthic Data Hub allows users to view and interact with data, aerial imagery, dive photography, underwater video, and related publications.
Additional Information
- What is a benthic habitat map?
- NCCOS Benthic Habitat Mapping Data Collection
- NOAA National Benthic Inventory
- Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard (CMECS)