Aerial Survey Kelp Forest Canopy Data for Central California 1985-1991

Fifty-eight aerial surveys of kelp canopies were done in the study area (Monterey Breakwater to Cooper Point, California) from November 1985 - December 1991. Surveys were approximately monthly from 1985 - 1989, bimonthly in 1990, and quarterly in 1991. The spatial extent of the surveys was reduced incrementally over time (delineated as Zones A-C in Fig. 1). Aerial surveys were conducted by R. F. Van Wagenen of Ecoscan Resources Data (Watsonville, CA) at an altitude of 2500 meters with infrared- sensitive film and standardized to similar conditions of tidal range, sea state, and weather conditions (Graham et al. 1997), although metadata were not available. Aerial images were digitized and georeferenced to create ArcGIS raster files for analysis of spatial and temporal kelp canopy dynamics, including kelp patch persistence through time. This dataset was the product and subject of Michael D. Donnellan's Master's thesis at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories. Data description and methods are adapted from this document (Donnellan, M.S. Dissertation 2004).