The Port Norfolk Project: Improved Raster Navigation Products From High Resolution Source Data

With increasing capabilities in technology, modern hydrographic surveys are comprised of similarly increasing amounts of data, only a minute fraction of which is currently available in the nautical charts produced by the NOAA Office of Coast Survey (OCS). Simultaneously, a tremendous amount of effort goes into the generalization and optimal cartographic representation of the hydrographic data onto raster products, from which the vector products are digitized. Preserving and maintaining a single database of high-resolution vector source data will retain— and make accessible—much more of the hydrographic data collected, alleviate the burden of generalization, and would allow for delivery of high-resolution vector products, as well as a very wide selection of raster products. From high-resolution source data, raster output could be generated at customer specifications. These “user-defined” raster products could be suitably tailored to meet anyone’s needs, regardless if they are a mariner, a scientist, a fisherman, a student, or a casual “common man” customer. The “user-defined” concept will ultimately improve our ability to meet the highly variable needs of our customers. This paper is intended as an exploratory endeavor, specifically, using the Paper Chart Editor component of CARIS HPD to create examples of the kinds of raster products one can create from high-resolution source data, how this process could optimize the current raster chart production workflow within OCS, while also providing a stronger focus on customer service. Finally, the capabilities and lessons learned from the experimentation with HPD will be applied toward the NOAA-wide implementation of Nautical Chart System II (NCSII)

Scarring of Florida’s seagrasses: assessment and management options

Management programs that address scarring of seagrasses should be based on an approach that involves (1) education, (2) channel marking, (3) increased enforcement, and (4) limited-motoring zones. Aerial monitoring and photography of the managed area are essential in evaluating the effectiveness of a program. Management programs that use this multifaceted approach have been instituted by a few local governments and at several state parks. Initial results of the programs indicate that in some areas seagrass scarring has been reduced but that in other areas emphasis may need to be increased on one or more of the components of the four-point approach. A statewide management plan is needed to address the most egregious scarring over large areas that may be difficult to regulate at the local-government level

Incorporating family function into chronic pain disability: the role of catastrophizing

Background. Observers' responses to pain are recently investigated to more comprehensively explain chronic pain (CP) and disability. However, the role of family context, defined as interference in roles, communication, and problem-solving, and how (i.e., through which mechanisms) these variables contribute to CP related disability have yet to be examined. Objectives. The aim of the present study is to examine family context in relationship to pain catastrophizing, fear of movement, and depression and its role in understanding CP disability. Three different models were examined. Methods. A total sample of 142 patients with musculoskeletal chronic pain was recruited to examine the role of fear of movement, pain intensity, pain catastrophizing, and depression in relationship to family functioning as predictors of disability. Results. Findings indicated that two models showed acceptable fit, but one of them revealed superior fit indices. Results of the model with superior fit indices indicated that family dysfunction may contribute to catastrophic thinking, which, in turn, contributes to patients' disability through increasing fear of movement and depression. Discussion. The current study provides further support for the notion that the impact of emotional and cognitive variables upon CP-related disability can be better understood when we consider the social context of pain patients and family function in particular

Tracer dynamics in two-layer density stratified estuarine flow

This paper considers tidal-driven particle motion in Tampa Bay, Florida, USA under fully stratified conditions with riverine inflow. The flow field is modelled by means of the two-layer shallow-water equations solved on an adaptive quadtree grid using a second-order Roe-type finite-volume scheme. Tracer dynamics are then obtained through Lagrangian particle tracking. The results show that the effect of external forcing is concentrated primarily in the upper layer, with particles in the lower layer less mixed and exhibiting relatively longer residence time in the semi-enclosed tidal bay. Particle flushing from Old Tampa Bay into the open sea is particularly hindered by the narrow inlet, whereas particles in Hillsborough Bay experience rapid transport seaward due to the large influx of river discharge. Particle patches are typically stretched in Middle Tampa Bay and may be trapped in the shallow Lower Tampa Bay region. The study reveals interesting underlying mixing features that cannot be produced by a single-layer depth-averaged shallow-water model. </jats:p

Design and Implementation of an Extensible Variable Resolution Bathymetric Estimator

For grid-based bathymetric estimation techniques, determining the right resolution at which to work is essential. Appropriate grid resolution can be related, roughly, to data density and thence to sonar characteristics, survey methodology, and depth. It is therefore variable in almost all survey scenarios, and methods of addressing this problem can have enormous impact on the correctness and efficiency of computational schemes of this kind. This paper describes the design and implementation of a bathymetric depth estimation algorithm that attempts to address this problem by combining the computational efficiency of locally regular grids with piecewise-variable estimation resolution to provide a single logical data structure and associated algorithms that can adjust to local data conditions, change resolution where required to best support the data, and operate over essentially arbitrarily large areas as a single unit. The algorithm, which is in part a development of CUBE, is modular and extensible, and is structured as a client-server application to support different implementation modalities. The algorithm is called “CUBE with Hierarchical Resolution Techniques”, or CHRT

Rethinking the Patch Test for Phase Measuring Bathymetric Sonars

While conducting hydrographic survey operations in the Florida Keys, NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson served as a test platform for the initial operational implementation of an L-3 Klein HydroChart 5000 Swath Bathymetry Sonar System1 , a hull-mounted phase measuring bathymetric sonar (PMBS). During the project it became apparent that the traditional patch test typically utilized for multibeam echosounder (MBES) systems was poorly suited to the HydroChart – and perhaps other PMBS systems as well. These systems have several inherent characteristics that make it difficult to isolate and subsequently solve for biases under the traditional patch test paradigm: presence of a nadir gap, wide swaths (typically greater than 6 times water depth), and relatively poor object-detection capability in the outer swath. After “rethinking” the patch test to account for these characteristics, the authors propose a new patch test paradigm that is better suited to the HydroChart and other PMBS systems

State of Florida Conservation Plan for Gulf Sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi)

Gulf sturgeon are anadromous. They spend the cooler months (October or November through March or April) in estuarine or marine habitats, where they feed on benthic organisms such as isopods, amphipods, lancets, molluscs, crabs, grass shrimp, and marine worms (Mason and Clugston, 1993). In the spring, gulf sturgeon return to their natal river, where the sexually mature sturgeon spawn, and the population spends the next 6–8 months there (Odenkirk, 1989; Foster, 1993; Clugston et al., 1995; Fox et al., 2000). The conservation plan detailed in this document will be used to aid recovery of gulf sturgeon populations throughout the state of Florida and could be a model for other gulf states to use. (106pp.

Climate tolerances and trait choices shape continental patterns of urban tree biodiversity

Aim: We propose and test a climate tolerance and trait choice hypothesis of urban macroecological variation in which strong filtering associated with low winter temperatures restricts urban biodiversity while weak filtering associated with warmer temperatures and irrigation allows dispersal of species from a global source pool, thereby increasing urban biodiversity. Location: Twenty cities across the USA and Canada. Methods: We examined variation in tree community taxonomic diversity, origins and production of an aesthetic ecosystem service trait in a cross-section of urban field surveys. We correlated urban tree community composition indicators with a key climate restriction, namely mean minimum winter temperature, and evaluated alternative possible drivers: precipitation, summer maximum temperature, population size and the percentage of adults with a college education. Results: Species accumulation curves differed substantially among cities, with observed richness varying from 22 to 122 species. Similarities in tree communities decreased exponentially with increases in climatic differences. Ordination of tree communities showed strong separation among cities with component axes correlated with minimum winter temperature and annual precipitation. Variation among urban tree communities in richness, origins and the provisioning of an aesthetic ecosystem service were all correlated with minimum winter temperature. Main conclusions: The urban climate tolerance and trait choice hypothesis provides a coherent mechanism to explain the large variation among urban tree communities resulting from an interacting environment, species and human decisions. Reconciling the feedbacks between human decision making and biophysical limitations provides a foundation for an urban ecological theory that can better understand and predict the dynamics of other linked biotic communities, associated ecosystem dynamics and resulting services provided to urban residents