NCCOS assessment: Predicting deep-sea coral habitats within the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, Hawaii (NCEI Accession 0244006)

This dataset contains geospatial data from spatial predictive models that were developed for 22 deep-sea coral and sponge (DSCS) taxa within the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (PMNM) from depths of 100-3,500 m. It includes raster datasets at 360 x 360 m spatial resolution depicting the predicted probability of occurrence for each of these taxa and a raster dataset at 360 x 360 m spatial resolution depicting the predicted taxonomic richness. These predictions provide a baseline for the potential distribution of these vulnerable and ecologically significant communities in the northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI), and will support management planning, permitting, exploration and sanctuary designation efforts by the Monument. The data collection also includes raster datasets at 360 x 360 m spatial resolution depicting each of the 44 spatial environmental predictor variables considered for fitting the models.