Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) Atlas: South Florida, July 1996 (NODC Accession 0006539)

This data set comprises the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps in Portable Document Format (.PDF) for the shoreline of South Florida (to encompass the coastal areas from the Dry Tortugas, the Florida Keys, Florida Bay, and Biscayne Bay north to Boca Raton, Florida). NOTE: The Ten Thousand Islands region, from Marco Island to Cape Sable, and other areas to the north, are included in the West Peninsular Florida Volume 2 atlas; these data are archived at the NODC under NODC Accession number 0006394).

ESI data characterize coastal environments and wildlife by their sensitivity to spilled oil. The ESI data include information for three main components: shoreline habitats; sensitive biological resources; and human-use resources. This Atlas was compiled from geographical and biological data with multiple dates, mostly from the 1990s; the intertidal habitats of South Florida were mapped during overflights conducted from 1991-1993. The dates for the original data and methodology are completely documented in within the included FGDC metadata file "METADATA.PDF" and document "INTRO.PDF".