Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Skip to content
  • Feedback

    • NCCOS Mapping: Characterizing Benthic Habitats West of Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), 2018-11-05 to 2022-04-29 (NCEI Accession 0291792)

    Metadata Updated: December 1, 2025

    This data package contains information and maps showing the geology and biology of select submerged lands (0 to 40 meters deep) offshore of western Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). This information and maps were developed using benthic information from underwater photographs, environmental predictor variables derived from satellite imagery and bathymetry, and machine learning modeling approaches. From this process, two types of map products were created. The first type describes the spatial distribution of 5 substrate and 14 biological cover types, where each grid cell denotes the probability (0 to 100%) that a given habitat is present. The second product was a classified map depicting the 7 most common combinations of substrate and cover types (plus artificial structures). The performance and accuracy of these products were evaluated using an independent of underwater photographs. The overall accuracy of the classified map was 91.5% with user’s accuracy of individual habitat classes between 84% and 100% correct. The substrate and cover predictions had little bias (𝑥̅ error = 0.01 ±0.01 SE), good to excellent ability to discriminate between presences and absences (𝑥̅ area under the curve = 0.82 ±0.02 SE) and they explained almost a quarter of the variation in the data (𝑥̅ percent deviance explained = 23.8% ±2.9 SE).

    Over 95 square kilometers (km2) of seafloor was characterized west of Saipan, CNMI. Overall, ‘Live and Upright Dead Coral Reef, Mixed Algae’ was the most abundant habitat type mapped inside and outside the Lagoon, comprising 32% (31 km2) of the area. The largest, continuous patches were located outside the Lagoon north Susupe Point, as well as inside the lagoon on the reef crest and back reef north of the harbor channel. Most live coral (all species) observations were documented outside the Lagoon from the harbor channel to Agingan Point, as well as inside the Lagoon north of Garapan. Enhalus acoroides and Halodule uninervis seagrass were both located exclusively inside the Lagoon, from Tanapag Beach south to Oleai as well as north of Tanapag to Pau Beach and south of Garapan to Agingan Point, respectively.

    Endangered Species Act (ESA) protected corals (i.e., Acropora globiceps) were documented at 4 sites outside the Lagoon, located seaward of the reef crest between Susupe and Agingan Points. No nuisance species (i.e., C. vieillardi) or crown of thorns sea star (COTS) were photographed outside the Lagoon. The prevalence of coral bleaching and marine debris were also very low outside the Lagoon (<0.7% and <0.9%, respectively). Theses maps mark the first time that the seafloor area outside the Lagoon has been mapped since 2005, providing an updated inventory of marine resources and new baseline for future monitoring and management decisions in the region.

    Access & Use Information

    License: No license information was provided. If this work was prepared by an officer or employee of the United States government as part of that person's official duties it is considered a U.S. Government Work.

    Downloads & Resources

    Dates

    Metadata Date 2025-09-26T19:24:25Z
    Metadata Created Date February 1, 2025
    Metadata Updated Date December 1, 2025
    Reference Date(s) May 20, 2024 (publication)
    Frequency Of Update asNeeded

    Metadata Source

    Harvested from NOAA/NESDIS/ncei/accessions

    Other Data Resources

    Graphic Preview

    Preview graphic

    Additional Metadata

    Resource Type Dataset
    Metadata Date 2025-09-26T19:24:25Z
    Metadata Created Date February 1, 2025
    Metadata Updated Date December 1, 2025
    Reference Date(s) May 20, 2024 (publication)
    Responsible Party (Point of Contact)
    Contact Email
    Guid gov.noaa.nodc:0291792
    Access Constraints Cite as: Costa, Bryan; Sweeney, Edward; Kraus, Jennifer (2024). NCCOS Mapping: Characterizing Benthic Habitats West of Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), 2018-11-05 to 2022-04-29 (NCEI Accession 0291792). [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://doi.org/10.25921/m0f6-3b26. Accessed [date]., Use liability: NOAA and NCEI cannot provide any warranty as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of furnished data. Users assume responsibility to determine the usability of these data. The user is responsible for the results of any application of this data for other than its intended purpose.
    Bbox East Long 145.846083
    Bbox North Lat 15.295254
    Bbox South Lat 15.082944
    Bbox West Long 145.594796
    Coupled Resource
    Frequency Of Update asNeeded
    Graphic Preview Description Preview graphic
    Graphic Preview File https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/metadata/landing-page/bin/gfx?id=gov.noaa.nodc:0291792
    Graphic Preview Type PNG
    Harvest Object Id 563a336f-c297-4229-bb14-2edb567de54a
    Harvest Source Id c084a438-6f6b-470d-93e0-16aeddb9f513
    Harvest Source Title NOAA/NESDIS/ncei/accessions
    Licence accessLevel: Public
    Lineage
    Metadata Language eng
    Metadata Type geospatial
    Old Spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": [[[145.594796, 15.082944], [145.846083, 15.082944], [145.846083, 15.295254], [145.594796, 15.295254], [145.594796, 15.082944]]]}
    Progress completed
    Spatial Data Service Type
    Spatial Reference System
    Spatial Harvester True
    Temporal Extent Begin 2018-11-05
    Temporal Extent End 2022-04-29

    Didn't find what you're looking for? Suggest a dataset here.