After two delays due to a hurricane and a short lapse in government funding, the SECART, NCCOS and OCM hosted the second in a series of workshops to improve coordination among agencies in mapping seafloor habitats in the SE US Continental Shelf. Covering North Carolina to Florida, over 40 representatives from federal and state agencies as well as academic and non-governmental organizations shared seafloor mapping activities in the region including updates to publicly accessible data portals. Opening channels for data sharing has already saved significant funds within federal agencies by eliminating unnecessary duplication of seafloor surveys. Participants then identified key ecosystem and economic drivers and requirements for seafloor habitat mapping information, and summarized the current state-of-science for collecting and interpreting seafloor imagery in estuarine habitats, nearshore ocean sand resources, and outer shelf rocky and deep coral reefs. Recognizing less than 15% of the SE US Continental Shelf has been mapped, the group discussed a formal approach to identify gaps and prioritize resources to map new areas of the seafloor in the region. The SECART will present key outcomes from the workshop as webinars in the coming months. Plans are already underway for the next workshop in 2019!
After two delays due to a hurricane and a short lapse in government funding, the SECART, NCCOS and OCM hosted the second in a series of workshops to improve coordination among agencies in mapping seafloor habitats in the SE US Continental Shelf. Covering North Carolina to Florida, over 40 representatives from federal and state agencies as well as academic and non-governmental organizations shared seafloor mapping activities in the region including updates to publicly accessible data portals. Opening channels for data sharing has already saved significant funds within federal agencies by eliminating unnecessary duplication of seafloor surveys. Participants then identified key ecosystem and economic drivers and requirements for seafloor habitat mapping information, and summarized the current state-of-science for collecting and interpreting seafloor imagery in estuarine habitats, nearshore ocean sand resources, and outer shelf rocky and deep coral reefs. Recognizing less than 15% of the SE US Continental Shelf has been mapped, the group discussed a formal approach to identify gaps and prioritize resources to map new areas of the seafloor in the region. The SECART will present key outcomes from the workshop as webinars in the coming months. Plans are already underway for the next workshop in 2019!
