Seafloor Elevation Change From 2004 to 2016 at Looe Key, Florida Keys

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center conducted research to quantify bathymetric changes at Looe Key near Big Pine Key, Florida (FL), within a 16.4 square-kilometer area between 2004 and 2016. USGS staff used light detection and ranging (lidar)-derived data acquired by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Joint Airborne Lidar Bathymetry Technical Center of eXpertise (JALBTCX) between December 1 and 31, 2004 (USACE-JALBTCX) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) between July 21 and November 21, 2016 (NOAA, 2017) to assess changes in seafloor elevation and structure that occurred during this time. An elevation change analysis between the 2004 USACE and 2016 NOAA lidar data was performed to quantify and map impacts to seafloor elevation and determine elevation and volume change statistics for ten habitat types found at Looe Key. Data were collected under Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary permit FKNMS-2016-068.