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OCULINA EXPEDITION 2005 Characterizing a Deep Coral Ecosystem and Assessing the Effectiveness of the Oculina Experimental Closed Area MISSION DISPATCH 2 October 13, 2005 OHAPC - Gulf Stream, off the east coast Florida The Liberty Star left the Cape Canaveral Port Authority late last night and this morning we awoke several meters above deep water O. varicosa reefs. Scientists successfully completed three ROV dives within the OHAPC including dives at Chapman's reef, one of the few known areas left that supports substantial deep coral reefs. The information collected from cameras mounted on the ROV today will help to fill in critical gaps in the available scientific literature on the OHAPC. 
Scientist Profile:
Amanda Maness, a graduate of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy and now a graduate student at UNCW, is one of the scientists onboard and she already has spent a good deal of time at sea. Maness's goal is to find a way to have a sea going career and to advance ocean science research. As part of research for her Master's thesis, she is using the visual data collected during the ROV dives to classify the habitat types within the OHAPC. Specifically, Maness seeks a method for determining where live Oculina reef exists on the sea floor, enabling scientists and resource managers to gage the health of the reef over time. 
Technology:
Additionally, Maness aims to further characterize sea floor features (e.g. classification of ridges, mounds, and flats) identified in 2002 and 2005 multi-beam (sonar) surveys of the OHAPC. The multi-beam surveys conducted gathered information on the bathymetry and values of backscatter intensity (the signal reflected off the sea floor back to the sonar). The intensity of the backscatter differentiates between the different habitat types, i.e. live coral, dead coral rubble, hard bottom, or shell bottom. The ROV surveys give Maness actual video and photographs of the features identified in the sonar surveys. By matching the video and photographs to the features mapped in the sonar surveys, Maness can determine which backscatter intensity values match which habitat type. Habitat "fingerprinting" using backscatter intensity values would allow for faster mapping and habitat classification for large areas, such as the OHAPC. 
Application to Management and Science:
Maness's work is a continuation of SAFMC endeavor to further protect the OHAPC using the best scientific information available. Her efforts at habitat classification using sonar technology give scientists and managers an efficient method for gathering baseline knowledge of the current state of the reef. By looking for a signal that can be correlated to live coral we can better assess the health of the reef over time. Thus as ocean science becomes more expensive and the technology advances, the methods described above may provide for a more cost effective and efficient way to manage and protect these important deep water resources. TEACHER RESOURCE - Dive Data [ Excel Spreadsheet ] 
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