Potential Eelgrass Beds

+ Resource Description

Citation

Information used to reference the data.

Title: Potential Eelgrass Beds

Originators: Dr. Charles Yarish, University of Connecticut Dept. of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (compiler)

Mary DiGiacomo-Cohen, Long Island Sound Resource Center (editor)

State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection (publisher)

Publisher: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection

Publication place: Hartford, Connecticut, USA

Publication date: 1997

Data type: vector digital data

Data location: http://www.ct.gov/deep

Other citation details: This layer is not updated and does not represent current conditions.

Description

A characterization of the data, including its intended use and limitations.

Abstract: Potential Eelgrass Beds is a 1:24,000 scale, polygon feature-based layer that depicts the locations of potential eelgrass beds in Long Island Sound, in major rivers, and within bays, harbors and other waterbodies along Connecticut's coast. The layer is based on information from the Observed Eelgrass Beds and Eelgrass Sample Points layers. It represents conditions at a particular point in time (1993 to 1995). During the 1993-95 field seasons a team of researchers from the University of Connecticut Dept. of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology led by Charles Yarish, equipped with a Global Positioning System (GPS), SCUBA, and a 20' boat surveyed over 800 potential eelgrass locations. Their GPS coordinates and field notes were used to create a point coverage entitled Eelgrass Sample Points, which was plotted and checked on a 1:24000 scale base map of the Connecticut shore. These point locations, observations, and the nearshore bathymetry were then used to delineate areas representing both observed and potential eelgrass beds. Eelgrass beds were initially digitized at 1:24,000 scale, but have been edited and revised on screen at higher resolution. Potential beds, where not individually delineated, were created by buffering observed beds a distance of 33 feet (10 meters). These buffered polygons were intersected with buffered (distance of 5 ft.) shoreline arcs to keep potential polygons a minimum distance off the shoreline. These potential beds are considered to be areas where eelgrass is likely to spread to under ideal conditions, where eelgrass may exist in small isolated patches, where eelgrass may exhibit high temporal variability, or perhaps where restoration projects could be undertaken.

Feature locations may not always be exact due to equipment failure or lack of satellite reception. In those cases, points were estimated from field notes. It should be noted that the Potential Eelgrass Beds layer is not a complete dataset of all potential eelgrass sites in Connecticut and/or Long Island Sound. This layer was published in 1997 and is not updated. It does not represent current conditions.

There are 67 polygon features representing potential eelgrass beds in this layer. Geographic locations are as follows: westernmost areas: Clinton Harbor; easternmost areas: Little Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island waters. Potential beds range in size from .179 acre (318 sq. ft.) to 471 acres (20,551,582 sq. ft.). Potential beds contain 0 to 9 observed beds, and from 0 to 88.1% area covered by observed beds. The total area of potential beds is 2,196 acres.

Purpose: Potential Eelgrass Beds is 1:24,000-scale data. The purpose of this datalayer is to depict the locations of potential eelgrass growth along Connecticut's coast. The polygons in this layer were created from two source layers: Eelgrass Sample Points and Observed Eelgrass Beds. This layer is not intended for maps printed at map scales greater or more detailed than 1:24,000 scale (1 inch = 2,000 feet.)

Supplemental information: For more information, refer to the Eelgrass Sample Points and Observed Eelgrass Beds layers.

Language of dataset: en

Point Of Contact

Contact information for the individual or organization that is knowledgeable about the data.

Organization: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection

Person: Kevin O'Brien

Phone: 860-424-3034

Fax: 860-424-4054

Email: dep.gisdata@ct.gov

Hours of service: Monday to Friday, 08:30 to 16:30 Eastern Standard Time

Address type: mailing and physical address

Address: 79 Elm Street

City: Hartford

State or Province: Connecticut

Postal code: 06106-5127

Country: USA

Data Type

How the data are represented, formatted and maintained by the data producing organization.

File or table name: depgis.DEP.EELGRASS_POTENTIAL_1993_95

Data type: vector digital data

Data format: SDE Feature Class

Native dataset environment: These data are maintained by the State of Connecticut using ArcGIS software developed by Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) in a Microsoft Windows operating system environment.

Time Period of Data

Time period(s) for which the data corresponds to the currentness reference.

Beginning date: 1993

Ending date: 1995

Currentness reference: ground condition

Status

The state of and maintenance information for the data.

Data status: Complete

Update frequency: None planned

Key Words

Words or phrases that summarize certain aspects of the data.

Theme:

Keywords: Eelgrass, Potential Eelgrass, Submerged aquatic vegetation

Keyword thesaurus: None

Place:

Keywords: Long Island Sound, Connecticut River, Connecticut Coast, Little Narrangansett Bay

Keyword thesaurus: None

Place:

Keywords: Connecticut, CT, Rhode Island, RI

Keyword thesaurus: U.S. Department of Commerce, 1987, Codes for the Identification of the States, the District of Columbia and the Outlying Areas of The United States, and Associated Areas (Federal Information Processing Standard 5-2): Washington, DC, National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Place:

Keywords: United States of America, USA

Keyword thesaurus: U.S. Department of Commerce, 1995, Countries, Dependencies, Areas of Special Sovereignty, and Their Principal Administrative Divisions (Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 10-4): Washington, D.C., National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Data Access Constraints

Restrictions and legal prerequisites for accessing or using the data after access is granted.

Access constraints: None. The data is in the public domain and may be redistributed.

Use constraints: None. No restrictions or legal prerequisites for using the data. Note, the data is not intended for maps printed at map scales greater or more detailed than 1:24,000 scale (1 inch = 2,000 feet.) Once acquired, any modification made to the data must be noted in the metadata. When printing this information on a map or using it in a software application, analysis, or report, please acknowledge the State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection as the source for this information.

+ Graphic Example

Browse Graphic

Graphic illustration of the data.

Browse graphic 1

Open - Full view of potential and observed eelgrass beds 1993-1995.

Browse graphic 2

Open - Detail view of potential and observed eelgrass beds 1993-1995.

+ Spatial Reference Information

Horizontal Coordinate System

Reference system from which linear or angular quantities are measured and assigned to the position that a point occupies.

Projected coordinate system:

Name: NAD 1983 StatePlane Connecticut FIPS 0600 Feet

Map units: survey feet

Geographic coordinate system:

Name: GCS North American 1983

Coordinate System Details

Map projection

Map projection name: Lambert Conformal Conic

Standard parallel: 41.200000

Standard parallel: 41.866667

Longitude of central meridian: -72.750000

Latitude of projection origin: 40.833333

False easting: 999999.999996

False northing: 499999.999998

Planar Coordinate Information

Planar coordinate encoding method: coordinate pair

Coordinate representation:

Abscissa resolution: 0.000250

Ordinate resolution: 0.000250

Planar distance units: survey feet

Geodetic model

Horizontal datum name: North American Datum of 1983

Ellipsoid name: Geodetic Reference System 80

Semi-major axis: 6378137.000000

Denominator of flattening ratio: 298.257222

Vertical Coordinate System

Reference system from which vertical distances (altitudes or depths) are measured.

Altitude system definition:

Altitude resolution: 1.000000

Altitude encoding method: Explicit elevation coordinate included with horizontal coordinates

Spatial Domain

The geographic areal domain of the data that describes the western, eastern, northern, and southern geographic limits of data coverage.

Bounding Coordinates

In Projected or local coordinates

NAD 1983 StatePlane Connecticut FIPS 0600 Feet

Boundary	Coordinate
Left	1055887.750000 (survey feet)
Right	1240829.000000 (survey feet)
Top	695223.375000 (survey feet)
Bottom	654599.438000 (survey feet)

In Unprojected coordinates (geographic)

GCS North American 1983

Boundary	Coordinate
West	-72.546738 (longitude)
East	-71.872643 (longitude)
North	41.368949 (latitude)
South	41.254288 (latitude)

+ Data Structure and Attribute Information

Overview

Summary of the information content of the data, including other references to complete descriptions of entity types, attributes, and attribute values for the data.

Entity and attribute overview: Includes Potential Eelgrass Bed polygon features such as percent of area covered by observed eelgrass (P_OBSERV), existence of potential eelgrass areas (POTENTIAL), number of eelgrass sample point locations within the polygon (FREQUENCY), size of the feature in acres (ACREAGE), size of the feature in square feet (SHAPE_AREA), and perimiter of feature area (SHAPE_LENGTH).

Direct spatial reference method: Vector

Indirect spatial reference method: State of Connecticut, United States of America

Attributes of Potential Eelgrass Beds

Detailed descriptions of entity type, attributes, and attribute values for the data.

Name: depgis.DEP.EELGRASS_POTENTIAL_1993_95

Type of object: Feature Class

Geometry type: Polygon

Number of records: 67

Description: Potential Eelgrass Areas stored as digital vector data

Source: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection

Attributes

OBJECTID

Definition: Internal feature number.

Alias: OBJECTID Type: OID Width: 4 Precision: 10 Scale: 0

Attribute values: Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated.

Attribute definition source: ESRI

Shape

Definition: Feature geometry.

Alias: P_OBSERV Type: Double Width: 8 Precision: 38 Scale: 8

Attribute values: Coordinates defining the features.

Attribute definition source: ESRI

P_OBSERV

Definition: Percent of area covered by observed eelgrass beds.

Alias: FREQUENCY Type: Double Width: 8 Precision: 16 Scale: 5

Attribute values: Percentages generated by mathematical calculation.

Attribute definition source: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection

FREQUENCY

Definition: Number of point locations (Eelgrass Sample Points) within the polygon.

Alias: ACREAGE Type: Double Width: 8 Precision: 16 Scale: 5

Attribute values: Whole numbers.

Attribute definition source: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection

ACREAGE

Definition: Area of feature in acres (SHAPE_AREA divided by 43560).

Alias: Shape Type: Geometry Width: 4 Precision: 0 Scale: 0

Attribute values: Number generated by dividing Shape_Area by 43,560.

Attribute definition source: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection

SHAPE

Definition: Feature geometry.

Alias: POTENTIAL Type: String Width: 1 Precision: 0 Scale: 0

Attribute values: Coordinates defining the features.

Attribute definition source: ESRI

POTENTIAL

Definition: Existence of potential eelgrass areas.

Alias: SHAPE.area Type: Double Width: 0 Precision: 0 Scale: 0

Attribute domain values

Value	Definition
Y	Yes - potential eelgrass area exists.
N	No - Potential eelgrass area does not exist.

Attribute definition source: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection

SHAPE.area

Alias: SHAPE.len Type: Double Width: 0 Precision: 0 Scale: 0

SHAPE.len

Alias: SHAPE.len Type: Double Width: 0 Precision: 0 Scale: 0

ESRI Feature Description

Description of spatial objects in the data using the Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) terminology.

Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) terms

depgis.DEP.EELGRASS_POTENTIAL_1993_95

ESRI feature type: Simple

Geometry type: Polygon

Topology: FALSE

Feature count: 67

Spatial index: TRUE

Linear referencing: FALSE

tic

ESRI feature type: Simple

Geometry type: Tic

Topology: FALSE

Feature count: 216

Spatial index: FALSE

Linear referencing: FALSE

SDTS Feature Description

Description of point and vector spatial objects in the data using the Spatial Data Transfer Standards (SDTS) terminology.

Spatial data transfer standard (SDTS) terms

depgis.DEP.EELGRASS_POTENTIAL_1993_95

Type: G-polygon

Count: 67

tic

Type: Point

Count: 216

+ Data Quality and Accuracy Information

General

Information about the fidelity of relationships, data quality and accuracy tests, omissions, selection criteria, generalization, and definitions used to derive the data.

Logical consistency report: Logical consistency for this layer is not known.

Completeness report: The completeness of the data reflects the feature content of the data sources, which includes the GPS data files and field notes. This layer is complete in the sense that it accurately reflects the contents of the above referenced source information available at the time the State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection created the layer. However, compared to current conditions, this layer is incomplete and is not updated.

Attribute Accuracy

Accuracy of the identification of data entities, features and assignment of attribute values.

Attribute accuracy report: Attribute accuracy is unknown.

Positional Accuracy

Accuracy of the positional aspects of the data.

Horizontal accuracy report: The horizontal positional accuracy of this data is unknown.

+ Data Source and Process Information

Data Sources

Information about the source data used to construct or derive the data.

Data source information

Source 1 - Eelgrass Sample Points Coverage

Title: Eelgrass Sample Points

Originators: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection

University of Connecticut, Long Island Sound Resource Center

Publication date: 1997

Data type: vector digital data

Data location: http://www.ct.gov/deep

Map scale denominator: 24000

Media: disc

Source contribution: This source served as the first of two major sources of base data for the creation of Potential Eelgrass Beds. GPS coordinates and field notes were used to create the Eelgrass Sample Points coverage, which was plotted and checked on a 1:24000 scale base map of the Connecticut shore. These point locations, observations, and the nearshore bathymetry were then used to delineate areas representing both observed and potential eelgrass beds.

Date: 1997

Currentness reference: publication date

Source 2 - Observed Eelgrass Beds Coverage

Title: Observed Eelgrass Beds

Originators: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection

University of Connecticut, Long Island Sound Resource Center

Publication date: 1997

Data type: vector digital data

Data location: http://www.ct.gov/deep

Map scale denominator: 24000

Media: disc

Source contribution: This source served as the second of two major sources of base data for the creation of Potential Eelgrass Beds. The Observed Eelgrass Beds layer was used to create potential eelgrass beds by buffering observed beds a distance of 33 feet (10 meters). These buffered polygons were intersected with buffered (distance of 5 ft.) shoreline arcs to keep potential polygons a minimum distance off the shoreline.

Date: 1997

Currentness reference: publication date

Source 3 - Potential Eelgrass Beds Coverage

Title: Potential Eelgrass Beds Coverage

Originators: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection

University of Connecticut, Long Island Sound Resource Center

Publication date: 1997

Data type: vector digital data

Data location: http://www.ct.gov/deep

Map scale denominator: 24000

Media: disc

Source contribution: This data source refers to all features combined in one statewide layer. Since initial publication in 1997, subsequent publication of the layer was generated by the State of Connecticut in order to convert from NAD 27 to NAD 83. Consequently, a different copy of this layer was produced, representing the change in the state plane coordinate system. Changes made to the entire layer are reflected in metadata process steps where this particular data source is cited as both the Source Used and the Source Produced.

Date: 1997

Currentness reference: publication date

Source 4 - Potential Eelgrass Beds Shapefile

Title: Potential Eelgrass Beds Shapefile

Originators: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection

Publication date: 1997

Data type: vector digital data

Data location: http://www.ct.gov/deep

Map scale denominator: 24000

Media: disc

Source contribution: This source represents the final form of Potential Eelgrass Beds and was produced from the Potential Eelgrass Beds ArcInfo Coverage.

Date: 1997

Currentness reference: publication date

Process Steps

Information about events, parameters, tolerances and techniques applied to construct or derive the data.

Process step information

Process Step 1

Process description: Feature Creation and Attribution - During the 1993-95 field seasons a team of researchers led by Charles Yarish, equipped with a Global Positioning System (GPS), SCUBA, and a 20' boat surveyed over 800 potential eelgrass locations. Their GPS coordinates and field notes were used to create a point coverage entitled Eelgrass Sample Points (Source 1), which was plotted and checked on a 1:24000 scale base map of the Connecticut shore. These point locations, observations, and the nearshore bathymetry were then used to delineate areas representing both observed eelgrass beds (Source 2) and potential eelgrass beds. Eelgrass beds were initially digitized at 1:24,000 scale, but have been edited and revised on screen at higher resolution. Potential beds, where not individually delineated, were created by buffering observed beds (Source 2) a distance of 33 feet (10 meters). These buffered polygons were intersected with buffered (distance of 5 ft.) shoreline arcs to keep potential polygons a minimum distance off the shoreline. These potential beds are considered to be areas where eelgrass is likely to spread to under ideal conditions, where eelgrass may exist in small isolated patches, where eelgrass may exhibit high temporal variability, or perhaps where restoration projects could be undertaken.

Organization: University of Connecticut, Long Island Sound Resource Center

Person: Mary DiGiacomo-Cohen

Phone: 860-405-9015

Address type: mailing and physical address

Process date: 1997

Process software and version: ArcInfo 7

Data Source used

Source 1 - Eelgrass Sample Points Coverage

Title: Eelgrass Sample Points

Originators: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection

University of Connecticut, Long Island Sound Resource Center

Publication date: 1997

Data type: vector digital data

Data location: http://www.ct.gov/deep

Map scale denominator: 24000

Media: disc

Date: 1997

Currentness reference: publication date

Source 2 - Observed Eelgrass Beds Coverage

Title: Observed Eelgrass Beds

Originators: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection

University of Connecticut, Long Island Sound Resource Center

Publication date: 1997

Data type: vector digital data

Data location: http://www.ct.gov/deep

Map scale denominator: 24000

Media: disc

Date: 1997

Currentness reference: publication date

Data Source produced

Source 3 - Potential Eelgrass Beds Coverage

Title: Potential Eelgrass Beds Coverage

Originators: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection

University of Connecticut, Long Island Sound Resource Center

Publication date: 1997

Data type: vector digital data

Data location: http://www.ct.gov/deep

Map scale denominator: 24000

Media: disc

Date: 1997

Currentness reference: publication date

Process Step 2

Process description: Datum conversion - Using ESRI ArcInfo software, the Potential Eelgrass Beds layer was converted from the Connecticut State Plane Coordinate System of 1927 (NAD27) to the Connecticut State Plane Coordinate System of 1983 (NAD83). The NADCON (North American Datum CONversion) data transformation was used.

Organization: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection

Process date: 1997

Process software and version: ArcInfo 7

Data Source used

Source 3 - Potential Eelgrass Beds Coverage

Title: Potential Eelgrass Beds Coverage

Originators: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection

University of Connecticut, Long Island Sound Resource Center

Publication date: 1997

Data type: vector digital data

Data location: http://www.ct.gov/deep

Map scale denominator: 24000

Media: disc

Date: 1997

Currentness reference: publication date

Data Source produced

Source 3 - Potential Eelgrass Beds Coverage

Title: Potential Eelgrass Beds Coverage

Originators: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection

University of Connecticut, Long Island Sound Resource Center

Publication date: 1997

Data type: vector digital data

Data location: http://www.ct.gov/deep

Map scale denominator: 24000

Media: disc

Date: 1997

Currentness reference: publication date

Process Step 3

Process description: Using ArcView software, the Potential Eelgrass Beds Coverage was converted to Shapefile format.

Organization: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection

Process date: 1997

Process software and version: ArcView 3

Data Source used

Source 3 - Potential Eelgrass Beds Coverage

Title: Potential Eelgrass Beds Coverage

Originators: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection

University of Connecticut, Long Island Sound Resource Center

Publication date: 1997

Data type: vector digital data

Data location: http://www.ct.gov/deep

Map scale denominator: 24000

Media: disc

Date: 1997

Currentness reference: publication date

Data Source produced

Source 4 - Potential Eelgrass Beds Shapefile

Title: Potential Eelgrass Beds Shapefile

Originators: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection

Publication date: 1997

Data type: vector digital data

Data location: http://www.ct.gov/deep

Map scale denominator: 24000

Media: disc

Source contribution: This source represents the final form of Potential Eelgrass Beds and was produced from the Potential Eelgrass Beds ArcInfo Coverage.

Date: 1997

Currentness reference: publication date

ESRI geoprocessing history

Description of ESRI geoprocessing commands, settings, and tolerances applied to the data.

ESRI geoprocessing command information

1 Process

Date: 20061205 Time: 102754

Tool location: C:\Program Files\ArcGIS\ArcToolbox\Toolboxes\Data Management Tools.tbx\CopyFeatures

Command issued: CopyFeatures F:\GeoData\Coast\geodatabase\coastal.mdb\Eelgrass_Potential_1993_95 "Database Connections\depdbs11@dep.sde\depgis.DEP.Eelgrass_Potential_1993_95" DEPVECTORSTATIC 10000 0 0

2 CopyFeatures_51

Date: 20081215 Time: 155016

Tool location: C:\Program Files\ArcGIS\ArcToolbox\Toolboxes\Data Management Tools.tbx\CopyFeatures

Command issued: CopyFeatures "Database Connections\10.18.8.94.depgis@DEP.sde\depgis.DEP.EELGRASS_POTENTIAL_1993_95" "Database Connections\062174-svr.depgis@DEP.sde\depgis.DEP.EELGRASS_POTENTIAL_1993_95" DEPFEATURESTATIC 0 0 0

+ Data Distribution Information

General

Description of the data known by the party from whom the data may be obtained, liability of party distributing data, and technical capabilities required to use the data.

Resource description: Potential Eelgrass Beds

Technical prerequisites: Geographic information sytem (GIS), computer-aided drawing or other mapping software is necessary to display, view and access the information.

Distribution Point of Contact

Contact information for the individual or organization distributing the data.

Organization: State of Connecticut, Department of Enviromental Protection

Phone: 860-424-3034

Fax: 860-424-4054

Email: dep.gisdata@ct.gov

Hours of service: Monday to Friday, 08:30 to 16:30 Eastern Standard Time

Address type: mailing and physical address

Address: 79 Elm Street

City: Hartford

State or Province: Connecticut

Postal code: 06106-5127

Country: USA

Standard Order Process

Common ways in which data may be obtained.

Digital form:

Format name: Shapefile, Feature Class

Format version number: ArcGIS

File decompression technique: Zip file

Digital transfer option:

Online option:

Computer information:

Network address:

Network resource name: http://www.ct.gov/deep

Fees: An online copy of the data may be accessed without charge.

Custom Order Process

Description of custom distribution services available.

Custom order process: The data distributor does not provide custom GIS analysis or mapping services. Data is available in a standard format and may be converted to other formats, projections, coordinate systems, or selected for specific geographic regions by the party receiving the data.

+ Metadata Reference

Metadata Date

Dates associated with creating, updating and reviewing the metadata.

Last updated: 20120119

Language of metadata: en

Metadata Point of Contact

Contact information for the individual or organization responsible for the metadata information.

Organization: State of Connecticut, Department of Environmental Protection

Person: Jacqueline Mickiewicz, Mary DiGiacomo-Cohen

Phone: 860-424-3540

Fax: 860-424-4058

Email: dep.gisdata@ct.gov

Hours of service: Monday to Friday, 08:30 to 16:30 Eastern Standard Time

Address type: mailing and physical address

Address: 79 Elm Street

City: Hartford

State or Province: Connecticut

Postal code: 06106-5127

Country: USA

Metadata Standards

Description of the metadata standard used to document the data and reference to any additional extended profiles to the standard used by the metadata producer.

Standard name: FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata

Standard version: FGDC-STD-001-1998

Time convention: local time

Metadata profiles defining additonal information:

Profile: ESRI Metadata Profile

Online linkage: http://www.esri.com/metadata/esriprof80.html

FGDC Plus Metadata Stylesheet

Stylesheet: FGDC Plus Stylesheet

File name: FGDC Plus.xsl

Version: 2.2

Description: This metadata is displayed using the FGDC Plus Stylesheet, which is an XSL template that can be used with ArcGIS software to display metadata. It displays metadata elements defined in the Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata (CSDGM) - aka FGDC Standard, the ESRI Profile of CSDGM, the Biological Data Profile of CSDGM, and the Shoreline Data Profile of CSDGM. CSDGM is the US Federal Metadata standard. The Federal Geographic Data Committee originally adopted the CSDGM in 1994 and revised it in 1998. According to Executive Order 12096 all Federal agencies are ordered to use this standard to document geospatial data created as of January, 1995. The standard is often referred to as the FGDC Metadata Standard and has been implemented beyond the federal level with State and local governments adopting the metadata standard as well. The Biological Data Profile broadens the application of the CSDGM so that it is more easily applied to biological data that are not explicitly geographic (laboratory results, field notes, specimen collections, research reports) but can be associated with a geographic location. Includes taxonomical vocabulary. The Shoreline Data Profile addresses variability in the definition and mapping of shorelines by providing a standardized set of terms and data elements required to support metadata for shoreline and coastal data sets. The FGDC Plus Stylesheet includes the Dublin Core Metadata Element Set. It supports W3C DOM compatible browsers such as IE7, IE6, Netscape 7, and Mozilla Firefox. It is in the public domain and may be freely used, modified, and redistributed. It is provided "AS-IS" without warranty or technical support.

Instructions: On the top of the page, click on the title of the dataset to toggle opening and closing of all metadata content sections or click section links listed horizontally below the title to open individual sections. Click on a section name (e.g. Description) to open and close section content. Within a section, click on a item name (Status, Key Words, etc.) to open and close individual content items. By default, the Citation information within the Description section is always open for display.

Download: FGDC Plus Stylesheet is available from the ArcScripts downloads at www.esri.com.