The Estuarine Bathymetry Data Pages allow users to download the appropriate data sets for their specific project needs. They also provide substantial background information about the processing and source data in order to allow users to choose which files to download, and whether or not the data contained on this site is appropriate for their project. The basic parts of an Bathymetry data page are represented in the following example. Each of the parts is defined within a numbered table following the graphic.
Example: Estuarine Bathymetry Data Page - Indian River, FL
Explanation of Estuarine Bathymetry Data Page Elements:
| 1. | Estuary Name, State, and EDA (Estuarine Drainage Area) Identifier | 2. | Short paragraph about the source information used to create the bathymetry for that estuary. |
| 3. | Title Block for the Site. | 4. | Button used to download "BIG" 3 arc second DEM file. |
| 5. | Button used to download "BIG" 30m DEM file. | 6. | Button used to download images which show the original soundings printed over nautical charts for that estuary. This file is used to give the user an idea of the sounding density for specific areas of the estuary. |
| 7. | Button used to download Google Earth Visualization Files in kmz format. | 8. | Button used to download Estuary Footprint Shapefile. |
| 9. | Button used to view a more detailed description of the functionality of the five buttons. | 10. | Button used to view a table of bathymetry file sizes |
| 11. | Important Notes field. Updates the user of any important information pertaining to the specific estuary's files. | 12. | View of the selected estuary. These views are displayed at the best scale that allows the entire estuary to be seen within the area of the rectangular frame. |
| 13. | Legend for the estuary depths. All estuaries except for Monterey Bay (which exceeds -800m) are displayed with the same legend regardless of the actual range of depth values. | 14. | Geographic region title |
| 15. | Regional index - indicates the general location of the estuary within the entire regional area selected. |
In addition, users should also read the Notes field, shown as #11 on the Data Page example. This field alerts the user to any possible problems the user may encounter during use or download of the files.
Users are strongly encouraged to take a good look at the metadata for the DEM's before using them. The original surveys used to create the interpolated DEM grids for most estuaries span multiple decades. Most of the original data files were not used in their entirety for a number of reasons, which are explained in the metadata text file. One of the processes applied to the original data was a data optimizing process. In short, those points which were determined to add nothing to the triangulation process (i.e. continuous data values over fairly large areas), or which were thought to be erroneous were omitted prior to final TIN and gridding processes. Those users who would like an idea of the number of points contained in the original data set prior to the optimization process, can view the data printed over nautical chart backgrounds. These files are contained in a zipped downloadable file, and are referred to as "Sounding Capture" images. They are represented by #8 on the Data Page Example. Also included in the Sounding Capture zipped files is a legend which helps the user to compare the relative density of the original points from one section of an estuary to another. All the Sounding Capture images were saved at the same scale. Therefore, some estuaries may have more than one image within the zipped file. The legend is applicable to any of the Sounding Capture images.
