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Marine Resources Committee Kelp Metadata
Project Overview
The Northwest Straits Commission (NWSC) and Marine Resources Committees (MRCs) launched a regional survey of bull kelp (Nereocystis) beds using a kayak-based survey protocol developed in 2014. The updated kelp survey protocol can be found here. Beginning in 2015, MRC volunteers piloted surveying select index bull kelp beds. Volunteers return each summer to survey the same beds at least once during peak kelp extent. Click here to watch a short summary video on the kayak-based survey project.
Kelp Perimeter Processing
MRCs submit GPS tracks of the bed perimeters along with copies of datasheets
and photos to the NWSC for post processing. The GPS tracks are reviews in
ArcGIS by the NWSC GIS specialist and cleaned up. Track cleanup includes
removing tracks where volunteers float and drift in a location while taking
photos, water temperature, and kelp bed depth measurements. Shoreline segments
are defined as boundaries perpendicular to the shoreline, where kelp within
those boundaries is surveyed (see protocols for more explanation). The reason
is kelp beds merge or split as part of natural seasonal variability. The
shoreline segments provide a defined zone for surveying kelp beds. The
shoreline segments are used for shortening beds that merge with kelp beds
outside the area of interest. In areas where the kelp bed is fringing and close
to rocky shorelines that are unsafe for volunteers, a standardized shoreline is
created for the inner kelp bed edge and volunteers only survey the outer edge.
Ancillary Kelp Survey Parameters
In addition to measuring the perimeter of kelp beds, additional environmental conditions are recorded as part of the surveys. The parameters include water temperature, the nearshore and offshore depth of the kelp bed, volunteer observations, and more. Post processing steps for ancillary data are taken to standardize the dataset. Water temperatures are recorded using multiple instruments and units. Measurements are converted to Celsius. When possible, duplicate measurements are encouraged, but are not always collected. Volunteers record the predicted tidal elevation during the survey along with measurements of the depth of the kelp beds. These values are corrected using the observed tidal height during the surveys for nearby stations. The presented tidal height is the observed tidal height in meters. That observed tidal height is used to correct the field depth measurements to be relative to the mean lower low water datum in meters.
Data Usage
The MRC kelp data are posted for the use of the public. If you would like to download and use the data in other materials or view the raw datasheets and datasets, please contact the NWSC and we can provide you with GIS files directly.
Contacts
Please contact the NWSC GIS Specialist (Suzanne Shull; sshull@padillabay.gov) or the Marine Program Manager (Dana Oster; oster@nwstraits.org) for questions or data inquires.