Deep-sea corals and sponges provide essential fish habitat throughout US national waters, but these unseen habitats are increasingly subject to degradation from multiple threats creating an urgent need for the data required to manage these species. NOAA’s Deep-Sea Coral Research and Technology Program is sponsoring a 4 year initiative, Southeast Deep Coral Initiative (SEDCI), to explore and document deep-sea coral and sponge ecosystems in the
southeastern US SEDCI relies heavily on shared online GIS products to facilitate expedition planning and communicate data. A geodatabase was developed to display known coral and sponge locations, ROV dives, managed area boundaries, and multibeam maps. The online platforms effectively crowdsources expedition planning and can fast track delivery of data to resource managers. This presentation will demonstrate the online GIS tools and illustrate its utility in the planning of upcoming telepresence expeditions in the Caribbean Sea and Southeast US.
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