Final technical report - High resolution nearshore substrate mapping and persistence analysis with multi-spectral aerial imagery

The objective of this project was to create a very high spatial resolution (1-2m) intertidal and estuarine substrate distribution map data base covering all of the newly-created MPAs in the California North Central Coast region, and significant areas outside of the MPAs. This was accomplished using multispectral aerial imagery which was classified for substrate type using algorithms trained, in part, with field sample data collected specifically for this project. The region of coverage included the entire coastline between Pigeon Point and Pt. Arena (290 km) plus inland areas covering the estuarine, bay and river MPAs. Three remote sensing data sets were utilized to create the final substrate map products: 1) 4-band imagery collected in March, 2010 by Ocean Imaging Corp. with its DMSC-MKII sensor; 2) 4-band imagery collected in September, 2010 by Fugro EarthData with a Leica ADS-40 sensor; 3) Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) topographic data collected by Fugro in March, 2010.