By: Carlyn Scott, Science Communications Manager
Mapping the ocean floor is an important but difficult task. Storms, winds, currents, tides, and even excrement from manatees can pose a challenge to crews making seafloor maps. Nonetheless, groups across Florida are overcoming these challenges together.
The Florida Coastal Mapping Program (FCMaP) is a collaborative initiative aimed at improving seafloor maps around Florida via facilitating discussions around collection of high-resolution coastal data. Based at USF’s Florida Institute of Oceanography (FIO), the program raises awareness and brings together groups mapping Florida’s coastline.
At FCMaP’s annual summit on March 12 and 13, collaborators from across state and federal agencies, research and academic institutions, and private industry presented their latest efforts and developed best practices for the collection of modern high-resolution bathymetry (seafloor) data collected via lidar and multibeam sonar.
“The goal of this program and meeting is to figure out the most effective way that we can work together across agencies to collect the best data that will inform our understanding of Florida’s sea floor,” said Cheryl Hapke, a coastal geologist and research professor at the USF College of Marine Science (CMS), who serves as the chair of FCMaP’s Science and Technical Advisory Council. “The more data and better data we have, the more we can improve critical needs such as coastal resiliency.”
IMAGE ABOVE: FCMaP leadership presented on the program’s success. Pictured left to right: Nicole Raineault, Cheryl Hapke, Kristin Erickson. Image credit: Sherryl Gilbert.
FCMaP was born out of the need for accurate maps of Florida’s coastline, which provide valuable data for marine habitat monitoring, restoration projects, and coastal resiliency.
“The economy of Florida is so incredibly dependent on our coastlines – from fishing to aquaculture and marine navigation,” Hapke said. “It is the common denominator of our state and the more we learn about this area the better we can manage it.”
Motivated by the fact that just 27 percent of Florida’s coastline had been mapped in 2017, professionals in the mapping community initiated FCMaP’s vision of collaboration.
By 2023, through funding from the state’s Florida Seafloor Mapping Initiative (FSMI), almost 100 percent of nearshore regions have been mapped through this initiative.
The group met in March to continue its coordinated efforts across Florida’s coast, bringing together collaborative ideas, troubleshooting methods, and shared resources to efficiently map the ocean.
“FCMaP has provided value to the state by conducting mapping prioritizations with the many people who benefit from and use coastal mapping data,” said Nicole Raineault, associate director of research and technology at FIO. “Recently, our annual summit has allowed us to bring awareness of the state’s remarkable investment in achieving a map of Florida’s coastal seafloor.”
Plans for the program will include developing research around the bathymetry data collected and how to best utilize maps of Florida’s coast. Stay tuned for what’s next.