Approved Exclusive Economic Zone for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, USA

Metadata:

• Identification_Information
• Data_Quality_Information
• Spatial_Data_Organization_Information
• Spatial_Reference_Information
• Entity_and_Attribute_Information
• Distribution_Information
• Metadata_Reference_Information

Identification_Information:

Citation:

Citation_Information:

Originator:

Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Ocean Service (NOS), Office of Coast Survey (OCS)

Publication_Date: 20031203

Title:

Approved Exclusive Economic Zone for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, USA

Edition: v. 1.0

Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: vector digital data

tabular digital data

Publication_Information:

Publication_Place: Silver Spring, Maryland

Publisher: NOAA's Ocean Service, Office of Coast Survey (OCS)

Online_Linkage:

http://nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/csdl/eez.htm

Description:

Abstract:

NOAA's Office of Coast Survey (OCS) is responsible for generating the 3 Nautical Mile Line, Territorial Sea, Contiguous Zone, and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Traditionally, these maritime limits have been generated by hand from the low water line depicted on paper, U.S. nautical charts. Upon final approval by the U.S. Baseline Committee, these legally-binding maritime limits are applied to the next edition of nautical charts produced by the Marine Chart Division of OCS.

Due to new cartographic production processes and the availability of digital products such as Electronic Navigational Charts (ENCs), the Coast Survey Development Laboratory (CSDL) is supporting OCS' Chief Geographer in developing improved techniques for generating more accurate, digital maritime boundaries. Through the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software such as CARIS' LOTS and ESRI's ArcGIS, CSDL will provide NOAA cartographers and the public with the latest vector representations of these boundaries.

In our effort to create digital boundaries, we are utilizing CSDL's Extracted Vector Shoreline from the largest scale nautical charts. This MLLW line is used as input to CARIS' LOTS: Limits and Boundaries software for the designation of a baseline. Once the boundaries are created, they are exported to a text file as a series of points with .1 nautical mile spacing.

Digital limits of the Exclusive Economic Zone for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands are contained within a zipped file. Within the zipped file is a shapefile and a text file detailing the individual coordinates. The shapefile is a polyline which was exported from the LOTS environment after using the tools "Join Nearest Points" and "Line to Geodesic". Coordinates for the EEZ were gathered from the August 23, 1995 Federal Register Notice ("Exclusive Economic Zone and Maritime Boundaries: Notice of Limits") and from 200 nautical mile (NM) arcs for the northern end of the islands.

Purpose:

This dataset is to be used as the source for the depiction of maritime boundaries on NOAA's paper nautical chart and electronic navigational chart. The maritime boundaries were constructed from baseline points that represent the most seaward, drying features at mean lower low water on NOAA's largest scale, latest edition, paper nautical charts of the area. These digital boundaries do NOT represent the legal depiction of the maritime boundaries.

Time_Period_of_Content:

Time_Period_Information:

Single_Date_Time:

Calendar_Date: 2004

Currentness_Reference: publication date

Status:

Progress: Complete

Maintenance_and_Update_Frequency: Continually

Spatial_Domain:

Bounding_Coordinates:

West_Bounding_Coordinate: -69.000

East_Bounding_Coordinate: -63.000

North_Bounding_Coordinate: 22.0000

South_Bounding_Coordinate: 14.0000

Keywords:

Theme:

Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: None

Theme_Keyword: GIS

Theme_Keyword: Boundary

Theme_Keyword: Baseline

Theme_Keyword: Points

Theme_Keyword: Exclusive Economic Zone

Theme_Keyword: Maritime

Theme_Keyword: Law of the Sea

Theme_Keyword: oceans

Theme:

Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: NOS Data Explorer Topic Category

Theme_Keyword: marine boundaries

Theme_Keyword: nautical charting

Place:

Place_Keyword_Thesaurus: None

Place_Keyword: Puerto Rico

Place_Keyword: Caribbean Sea

Place_Keyword: U.S. Virgin Islands

Place_Keyword: Atlantic Ocean

Access_Constraints: NONE

Use_Constraints: NOT FOR LEGAL USE

Point_of_Contact:

Contact_Information:

Contact_Organization_Primary:

Contact_Organization:

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Ocean Service (NOS), Office of Coast Survey (OCS)

Contact_Position: Chief Geographer

Contact_Address:

Address_Type: mailing and physical address

Address: 1315 East-West Highway

City: Silver Spring

State_or_Province: Maryland

Postal_Code: 20910

Country: USA

Contact_Voice_Telephone: (301) 713-2780, x137

Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: 301-713-4501

Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: Curtis.Loy@noaa.gov

Hours_of_Service: Monday - Friday, 0900 EST - 1700 EST

Native_Data_Set_Environment: CARIS' Law of the Sea: Limits and Boundaries v. 4.02, Win 2K

Data_Quality_Information:

Attribute_Accuracy:

Attribute_Accuracy_Report:

For the northern portion of the EEZ: The baseline points were derived from the largest scale charts and reprojected onto smaller scale boundary charts for boundary generation. In CARIS LOTS, the working mapping files were defined as the projection of the chart with a .01 meter X/Y resolution. To aid in the baseline point designation process, NOAA utilized the Extracted Vector Shoreline product. This product contains the vector low water line extracted from source binary raster files which are compiled to create the paper nautical chart. There is 1 to 1 correspondence between the Extracted Vector Shoreline and the paper nautical chart. In some instances, the Extracted Vector Shoreline did not provide full coverage; therefore, heads-up digitizing in the CARIS environment was necessary. The attributes established in LOTS were SourceDoc and Limit. The SourceDoc values reflect the nautical chart or hydrographic survey number upon which the baseline points were taken and are assumed to be accurate. The digital boundaries were projected in the same environment from the designated baseline. No added tests were conducted.

For all other portions of the EEZ: The EEZ was derived from the August 23, 1995 Federal Register Notice- "Exclusive Economic Zone and Maritime Boundaries: Notice of Limits". The coordinates are labeled accordingly in the text file, PR_USVI_EEZ.txt. Federal Register coordinates 52 through 112 were translated from Puerto Rico datum to WGS84 using NIMA's GEOTRANS software. The translations are believed to be correct. No added tests were conducted.

Logical_Consistency_Report:

The data, which reflects the largest scale nautical charts or hydrographic surveys of the area, are believed to be logically consistent.

Completeness_Report:

The EEZ delimitation is complete for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The limit may be updated at a later date if the paper depiction of the farthest seaward low-water mark at the northern extend of Puerto Rico changes. This limit was created for internal purposes only to improve the accuracy of the charted maritime limits. This vector EEZ was not designed for legal purposes. For a legal depiction of the EEZ, please see NOAA's paper nautical chart.

Positional_Accuracy:

Horizontal_Positional_Accuracy:

Horizontal_Positional_Accuracy_Report:

No specific test was performed on the dataset. The data is a reflection of the largest scale raster nautical charts of the area. In cases such as the use of asterisk rocks (rocks awash), hydrographic surveys were referenced to determine if the features were drying at mean lower low water. The number of decimal places used in the output format does not imply an accuracy level higher than the source chart documents.

Vertical_Positional_Accuracy:

Vertical_Positional_Accuracy_Report:

The maritime boundaries are projected from a designated baseline. Points representing the baseline are referenced from the farthest seaward low-water mark as depicted on the largest scale, raster nautical charts or hydrographic surveys. No specific test was used to determine the vertical accuracy of the points.

Lineage:

Source_Information:

Source_Citation:

Citation_Information:

Originator:

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Ocean Service (NOS), Office of Coast Survey (OCS)

Publication_Date: 2002-2003

Title: NOAA's Coastal Maps of nautical charts: 25668 and 25670

Edition: latest edition

Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: map

Publication_Information:

Publication_Place: Silver Spring, Maryland

Publisher: NOAA's Ocean Service, Office of Coast Survey (OCS)

Online_Linkage:

Coastal Maps: http://nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/csdl/ctp/cm_vs.htm Nautical Charts: http://nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/staff/charts.htm

Source_Scale_Denominator: 10,000

Type_of_Source_Media: online, raster nautical chart

Source_Time_Period_of_Content:

Time_Period_Information:

Single_Date_Time:

Calendar_Date: 2003

Source_Currentness_Reference: publication date

Source_Citation_Abbreviation: COASTMAP

Source_Contribution:

For the northern portion of the EEZ: The maritime boundaries are created from normal baseline points. Points representing the baseline are referenced from the farthest seaward low-water mark as depicted on the largest scale, paper nautical charts. NOAA used a raster depiction of the paper nautical chart via the Coastal Map rasterization process. These Coastal Maps (GeoTIFFs) were used as backdrops to the working CARIS map. Projections were set based on the projection of the nautical chart.

Source_Information:

Source_Citation:

Citation_Information:

Originator:

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Ocean Service (NOS), Office of Coast Survey (OCS)

Publication_Date: 2002-2003

Title: Extracted Vector Shoreline of nautical charts: 25668 and 25670

Edition: latest edition

Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: vector digital data

Publication_Information:

Publication_Place: Silver Spring, Maryland

Publisher: NOAA's Ocean Service, Office of Coast Survey (OCS)

Online_Linkage:

http://nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/csdl/ctp/cm_vs.htm

Source_Scale_Denominator: 10,000

Type_of_Source_Media: online, vector

Source_Time_Period_of_Content:

Time_Period_Information:

Single_Date_Time:

Calendar_Date: 2003

Source_Currentness_Reference: publication date

Source_Citation_Abbreviation: VECSHORE

Source_Contribution:

For the northern portion of the EEZ: CARIS LOTS has a tool called the "Envelope of Arcs," which requires a vector low water line input in order to create the boundaries and determine contributing baseline points. Since there is a 1 to 1 relationship between the nautical chart and the extracted low water line, the Extracted Vector Shoreline product was used as input to the "Envelope of Arcs" tool to make the job of designating baseline points and determining the boundary more efficient. In some instances, not enough information was provided with the Extracted Vector Shoreline; therefore, some low water lines were delineated through heads-up digitizing in the CARIS environment.

Source_Information:

Source_Citation:

Citation_Information:

Originator: Government Printing Office (GPO)

Publication_Date: 19950823

Title:

Federal Register Notice- "Exclusive Economic Zone and Maritime Boundaries: Notice of Limits"

Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: document

Publication_Information:

Publication_Place: Washington, D.C.

Publisher: GPO

Other_Citation_Details:

112 points were taken from the Caribbean Sea portion of the Federal Register Notice.

Online_Linkage:

http://www.gpoaccess.gov/fr/search.html

Source_Scale_Denominator: 40,000

Type_of_Source_Media: online

Source_Time_Period_of_Content:

Time_Period_Information:

Single_Date_Time:

Calendar_Date: 19950823

Source_Currentness_Reference: publication date

Source_Citation_Abbreviation: FEDREG

Source_Contribution:

The Federal Register Notice was used to gather the east, west, and south extents of the EEZ.

Process_Step:

Process_Description:

For the northern portion the EEZ: For each chart extent, a separate mapping file was created in LOTS. The projection parameters for each mapping file were defined to be the same as each chart in the Caribbean Sea. The x/y resolution of the mapping files were set to .01 nautical miles. Because new topographic data and projection parameters were applied to each of these charts prior to publication, internally created Coastal Maps were used as raster nautical chart backdrops.

Source_Used_Citation_Abbreviation: COASTMAP

Process_Date: 200308 through 200312

Source_Produced_Citation_Abbreviation: PROJMAP

Process_Step:

Process_Description:

For the northern portion of the EEZ: The appropriate Extracted Vector Shoreline shapefiles were added to each CARIS mapping file. The x/y resolution for each mapping file was set to .01 nautical miles, and there was a mapping file for every chart extent. After loading the vector shoreline shapefile into the mapping file, some cleaning was performed to ensure that only the seaward-most low water mark was represented in the mapping file.

Source_Used_Citation_Abbreviation: VECSHORE

Process_Date: 200308 through 200312

Source_Produced_Citation_Abbreviation: CLEANSHORE

Process_Step:

Process_Description:

For the northern portion the EEZ: In the LOTS environment, the "Envelope of Arcs from Normal Points" tool was applied to each cleaned low water line(s) and any additional points from the hydrographic survey. The calculations were performed on each island of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands in each mapping file representing the largest scale nautical chart of the area of focus. As input to the "Envelope of Arcs" tool, OCS selected the boundary distance in nautical miles and designated the attributes for the baseline points. This tool generated the contributing baseline points and the boundary limit using a wagon-wheel filtering process of rolling a circle with a diameter specified by the boundary distance and choosing the seaward-most points along the low water line.

The resulting boundaries were attributed in CARIS and exported using the "Output as a Text File" tool. The line was exported as a series of points .1 nautical miles apart in decimal degrees. This point file was parsed to be tab delimited.

Source_Used_Citation_Abbreviation: COASTMAP, VECSHORE

Process_Date: 200312 through 200401

Source_Produced_Citation_Abbreviation: BASEBOUNDS

Process_Step:

Process_Description:

For the text file-- The tab delimited text file of the northern extent of the EEZ was appended to a tab delimited text file of Federal Register coordinates. The Federal Register coordinates were taken from the online notice, parsed, and converted to decimal degrees. Coordinates 52 to 112 were converted from Puerto Rico datum to WGS84 using NIMA's GEOTRANS software. The new WGS84 coordinates were appended to Federal Register coordinates 1 through 51 to create a uniform Federal Register dataset in the same datum.

For the shapefile-- The text file of uniform Federal Register coordinates was imported into ArcView 3.2 and converted to a shapefile. The shapefile was imported into CARIS LOTS using the Import SHP utility. The points were connected in LOTS using the "Join Nearest Points" and "Line to Geodesic" tools. The new Federal Register line was cut and joined to the northern 200 NM line generated using the Envelope of Arcs tools in LOTS. The resulting single EEZ line was exported from LOTS using the Import SHP utility in reverse. The polyline was exported as WGS84 and was attributed in ArcView 3.2.

Source_Used_Citation_Abbreviation: COASTMAP, VECSHORE

Process_Date: 200401

Source_Produced_Citation_Abbreviation: OUTPUTINFO

Spatial_Data_Organization_Information:

Direct_Spatial_Reference_Method: Vector

Point_and_Vector_Object_Information:

SDTS_Terms_Description:

SDTS_Point_and_Vector_Object_Type: Link

Point_and_Vector_Object_Count: 1

Spatial_Reference_Information:

Horizontal_Coordinate_System_Definition:

Geographic:

Latitude_Resolution: .01

Longitude_Resolution: .01

Geographic_Coordinate_Units: Decimal degrees

Geodetic_Model:

Horizontal_Datum_Name: North American Datum of 1983

Ellipsoid_Name: World Geodetic System 1984

Semi_major_Axis: 6,378,137

Denominator_of_Flattening_Ratio: 298.25722210088

Entity_and_Attribute_Information:

Detailed_Description:

Entity_Type:

Entity_Type_Label: Maritime Limits

Entity_Type_Definition: Shapefile Attribute Table

Entity_Type_Definition_Source: None

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: Limit

Attribute_Definition: Limit identifier

Attribute_Definition_Source: Office of Coast Survey

Attribute_Domain_Values:

Enumerated_Domain:

Enumerated_Domain_Value: Three Nautical Mile Line

Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition: Three Nautical Mile Line (old Territorial Sea)

Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source: Office of Coast Survey

Attribute_Domain_Values:

Enumerated_Domain:

Enumerated_Domain_Value: Territorial Sea

Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition: Territorial Sea

Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source: Office of Coast Survey

Attribute_Domain_Values:

Enumerated_Domain:

Enumerated_Domain_Value: Contiguous Zone

Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition: Contiguous Zone

Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source: Office of Coast Survey

Attribute_Domain_Values:

Enumerated_Domain:

Enumerated_Domain_Value: Exclusive Economic Zone

Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition: Exclusive Economic Zone

Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source: Office of Coast Survey

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: Location

Attribute_Definition: Identifier of feature within a state

Attribute_Definition_Source: Office of Coast Survey

Attribute_Domain_Values:

Unrepresentable_Domain:

Contains free text for location descriptions as a subset of the state, for example "St. Croix" of the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: State

Attribute_Definition: Identifier of the state(s) or territory from which the limit is drawn

Attribute_Definition_Source: Office of Coast Survey

Attribute_Domain_Values:

Unrepresentable_Domain: Contains free text of the state(s) name.

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: Apprvdate

Attribute_Definition:

Approval date of baseline points by the ad hoc Committee on the U.S. Baseline

Attribute_Definition_Source: Office of Coast Survey

Attribute_Domain_Values:

Unrepresentable_Domain:

Date Field formatted as YYYYMMDD for the date on which the limits were approved by the U.S. Baseline Committee, chaired by the Department of State.

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: SourceDocNum

Attribute_Definition: Source document number from which the boundaries are projected.

Attribute_Definition_Source: Office of Coast Survey

Attribute_Domain_Values:

Unrepresentable_Domain:

Text Field. May represent a NOAA chart number, hydrosurvey number, or an identifier for any other source document.

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: SourceDocDate

Attribute_Definition: Publication date of source document

Attribute_Definition_Source: Office of Coast Survey

Attribute_Domain_Values:

Unrepresentable_Domain:

Date Field formatted as YYYYMMDD for the publication date of the source document.

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: SourceDocProj

Attribute_Definition: Projection of the SourceDocNum.

Attribute_Definition_Source: Office of Coast Survey

Attribute_Domain_Values:

Unrepresentable_Domain:

Text description of the projection used when determining the boundaries.

Distribution_Information:

Distributor:

Contact_Information:

Contact_Organization_Primary:

Contact_Organization:

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Ocean Service (NOS), Office of Coast Survey (OCS)

Contact_Position: Chief Geographer

Contact_Address:

Address_Type: mailing and physical address

Address: 1315 East-West Highway

City: Silver Spring

State_or_Province: Maryland

Postal_Code: 20910

Country: USA

Contact_Voice_Telephone: (301) 713-2780, x137

Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: (301) 713-4501

Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: Curtis.Loy@noaa.gov

Hours_of_Service: Monday - Friday, 0900 EST - 1700 EST

Resource_Description: Downloadable Data

Distribution_Liability:

Users must assume responsibility to determine the appropriate use of this data set. The digital maritime boundaries limits are not to be used for a LEGAL definition. The legal definition still remains the depiction on NOAA's nautical charts. Please contact the Chief Geographer for more detailed information if required.

Standard_Order_Process:

Digital_Form:

Digital_Transfer_Information:

Format_Name: COORD (tab-delimited text)

Format_Version_Date: 20031203

Format_Information_Content:

The tab-delimited text file contains the coordinates used to create the EEZ polyline shapefile. The coordinates are labeled with the appropriate source document information. The numbers in the ID field directly corelate to the numbers used in the Federal Register. All coordinates are NAD83/WGS84.

File_Decompression_Technique: The files were compressed using WinZip.

Digital_Transfer_Option:

Online_Option:

Computer_Contact_Information:

Network_Address:

Network_Resource_Name:

http://nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/csdl/eez.htm

Digital_Form:

Digital_Transfer_Information:

Format_Name: SHP (ESRI polyline shapefile)

Format_Version_Date: 20031203

Digital_Transfer_Option:

Online_Option:

Computer_Contact_Information:

Network_Address:

Network_Resource_Name:

http://nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/csdl/eez.htm

Fees: None

Metadata_Reference_Information:

Metadata_Date: 20031113

Metadata_Contact:

Contact_Information:

Contact_Organization_Primary:

Contact_Organization:

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Ocean Service (NOS), Office of Coast Survey (OCS)

Contact_Position: Physical Scientist

Contact_Address:

Address_Type: Mailing and physical address

Address: 1315 East-West Highway

City: Silver Spring

State_or_Province: Maryland

Postal_Code: 20910

Country: USA

Contact_Voice_Telephone: (301) 713-2645 X140

Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: (301) 713-4501

Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: Meredith.Westington@noaa.gov

Hours_of_Service: Monday - Friday, 0900 EST - 1700 EST

Metadata_Standard_Name: FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata

Metadata_Standard_Version: FGDC-STD-001-1998

Metadata_Time_Convention: local time