OPR-T381-RA-22 Mariana Islands Western Pacific Ocean NOAA Ship Rainier (S221) H13584 14 Sarigan Island and Zealandia Bank Northern Mariana Islands United States 10000 2022 Hector L. Casanova, CAPT/NOAA Navigable Area 2022-01-07 2022-05-17 2022-08-23 Multibeam Echo Sounder Multibeam Echo Sounder Backscatter meters UTC Pacific Hydrographic Branch Any revisions to the Descriptive Report (DR) applied during office processing are shown in red italic text. The DR is maintained as a field unit product, therefore all information and recommendations within this report are considered preliminary unless otherwise noted. The final disposition of survey data is represented in the NOAA nautical chart products. All pertinent records for this survey are archived at the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) and can be retrieved via https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/. Products created during office processing were generated in NAD83(MA11) UTM 55N, MLLW. All references to other horizontal or vertical datums in this report are applicable to the processed hydrographic data provided by the field unit. CC0-1.0 (NOAA Field Units) CC0-1.0 https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/ https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/legalcode These data were produced by NOAA and are in the public domain within the United States. NOAA waives any potential copyright and related rights in these data worldwide through the Creative Commons Zero 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication (CC0). NOAA This survey is referred to as H13584, "Sarigan Island and Zealandia Bank" (sheet 14) within the Project Instructions. The assigned survey area encompassed an estimated 1,470 square nautical miles, centered approximately 70 nautical miles north of Saipan Island in the Western Pacific Ocean. 17.080063 145.524627 15.850089222222222 146.229318 H13584 assigned survey limits. file:///M:/OPRT381RA22/Surveys/H13584/01_HDR/Reports/Descriptive_Report/SupportFiles/H13584_Assigned_Survey_Limits.jpg The originally assigned survey limits extended into areas with depths greater than RAINIER could efficiently acquire quality multibeam data. Therefore we requested, and the Operations Branch approved, that we survey to the 1,500 meter depth contour and not beyond. See Supplemental Records for more information. This project's requirement to coordinate hydrographic operations with reef diving priorities, imposed significant limitations on the amount of MBES data we could acquire for this survey. Although we could not survey as extensively as hoped, we did acquire 237 square nautical miles of bathymetric data for this survey. Acquired H13584 survey coverage. Note pink colored surface indicates 1,500-meter depths or greater. file:///M:/OPRT381RA22/Surveys/H13584/01_HDR/Reports/Descriptive_Report/SupportFiles/H13584_Survey_Coverage_1500m.jpg The ecosystem surrounding the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) is experiencing stress imposed by climate change and other environmental factors. This survey is part of extensive hydrographic project intended to map the bathymetry and habitat around the CNMI in support of nautical charting and habitat mapping. With the collaboration and partnership of the National Centers for Coastal and Ocean Science (NCCOS), the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP), and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), this survey will also study the health of coral reef systems, ocean chemistry, and fisheries habitat. This team has developed a strategy to map the waters from nearshore to depths greater than 1000 meters. Within these waters, the ship's crew and visiting scientists will map bathymetry and backscatter and characterize habitat, while concurrently performing coral reef assessment dives and collecting other oceanographic observations. Data collected during this mission are pivotal to long-term biological and oceanographic monitoring of coral reef ecosystems around the CNMI. Data from this survey will add to information collected during prior monitoring and mapping projects. Oceanographic and ecological time series data will allow scientists to evaluate potential changes in environmental conditions and coral reef health in the Mariana Archipelago. This will enable federal and state resource managers to more effectively conserve the coral reef ecosystems of the CNMI, and to manage ecosystems services. Data collected during this survey also support monitoring components of the CRCP Coral Reef Ecosystem Integrated Observing System. The entire survey is adequate to supersede previous data. We used Pydro QC Tools (v3.7.0) Grid QA to analyze H13584 multibeam echosounder (MBES) data density. Analysis of the submitted H13584 finalized variable-resolution (VR) surface showed that 97% of grid nodes met HSSD density requirements. Grid QA results determined that a lower than expected percentage of H13584 nodes met full coverage resolution requirements as explained below. For project OPR-T381-RA-22 Resolution Requirements graphs produced by Pydro’s Grid QA tool have been showing relatively low percentages of grid nodes meeting full coverage resolution requirements. The likely cause of this issue is RAINIER’s use of 64m grids in depths greater than 1000m to maintain a reasonable data density. Since the Grid QA tool was written to match the HSRR specifications with a maximum 32m grid in all waters greater than 640m, RAINIER grids created using the 64m increase in resolution will always fail the resolution requirements check in areas exceeding 1000m. This will of course decrease the percentage of grid nodes meeting coverage resolution requirements. For surveys with a large percentage of area greater than 1000m in depth, this reduction can be significant. The OCS QC tools team has been made aware of this issue and are working on a solution for this deviation from the specifications. See the Supplemental Records of the sheet submission for more information. Pydro derived plot showing HSSD density compliance of H13584 finalized variable resolution MBES data. file:///M:/OPRT381RA22/Surveys/H13584/01_HDR/Reports/Descriptive_Report/SupportFiles/H13584_MB_VR_MLLW_Final.QAv6.density.png Pydro derived plot showing Grid QA results of H13584 full coverage resolution requirements. file:///M:/OPRT381RA22/Surveys/H13584/01_HDR/Reports/Descriptive_Report/SupportFiles/H13584_MB_VR_MLLW_Final.QAv6.pct_res.full_cov.png All waters Complete Coverage (Refer to HSSD Section 5.2.2.3) Survey coverage was in accordance with the requirements listed above and in the HSSD. H13584 MBES coverage. file:///M:/OPRT381RA22/Surveys/H13584/01_HDR/Reports/Descriptive_Report/SupportFiles/H13584_Survey_Coverage.jpg S221 0.0 435.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 52.2 0.0 2803 0.0 19.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 454.2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 52.2 0.0 11.4 0 0 4 0 237.8 2022-05-17 2022-05-18 2022-05-26 2022-05-27 2022-06-18 2022-06-29 2022-08-05 2022-08-09 2022-08-20 2022-08-21 2022-08-22 2022-08-23 Refer to the Data Acquisition and Processing Report (DAPR) for a complete description of data acquisition and processing systems, survey vessels, quality control procedures and data processing methods. Additional information to supplement sounding and survey data, and any deviations from the DAPR are discussed in the following sections. S221 70.4 4.7 2803 8.8 1.1 NOAA Ship RAINIER (S221) surveying Mariana Islands with survey launch 2803 alongside, dive boat astern. file:///M:/OPRT381RA22/Surveys/H13584/01_HDR/Reports/Descriptive_Report/SupportFiles/S221_Farallon_de_Parjaros_Island.jpg All data for H13584 were acquired by NOAA Ship RAINIER and survey launch 2803. The vessels acquired depth soundings, backscatter imagery and sound speed profiles. Positioning and Attitude System Applanix POS MV 320 v5 MBES Kongsberg Maritime EM 710 MBES Kongsberg Maritime EM 2040 Sound Speed System ODIM Brooke Ocean MVP200 Conductivity, Temperature, and Depth Sensor Sea-Bird Scientific SBE 19plus Sound Speed System Teledyne RESON SVP 70 Sound Speed System Lockheed Martin Sippican Deep Blue XBT RAINIER (S221) acquired 52.2 nautical miles (11.4% of mainscheme) of MBES crosslines across all depth ranges, water masses and boat days that were operationally practical, in order to evaluate the internal consistency of H13584 sonar data. We performed crossline analysis using the Compare Grids function within Pydro Explorer on Caris variable-resolution surfaces of H13584 mainscheme only and crossline only data. Results showed that 99.5+% of grid nodes met allowable uncertainties as shown in the Pydro generated plots below. H13584 crossline only surface overlaid on mainscheme tracklines. file:///M:/OPRT381RA22/Surveys/H13584/01_HDR/Reports/Descriptive_Report/SupportFiles/H13584_XLs.jpg Pydro derived plot showing node percentage pass value of H13584 mainscheme to crossline MBES data. file:///M:/OPRT381RA22/Surveys/H13584/01_HDR/Reports/Descriptive_Report/SupportFiles/H13584_VR_MS_Only-H13584_VR_XL_Only_fracAllowErr_Freq.png Pydro derived plot showing absolute difference statistics of H13584 mainscheme to crossline MBES data. file:///M:/OPRT381RA22/Surveys/H13584/01_HDR/Reports/Descriptive_Report/SupportFiles/H13584_VR_MS_Only-H13584_VR_XL_Only_depth_delta.png ERS via VDATUM 0.0 0.11 S221 1 4 0.05 2803 3 0.05 Total Propagated Uncertainty (TPU) values for survey H13584 were derived from a combination of fixed values for equipment and vessel characteristics, as well as from field assigned values for sound speed uncertainties. Tidal uncertainty was provided in metadata for the NOAA vertical datum transformation model used for this survey. In addition to the usual a priori estimates of uncertainty, real-time and post-processed uncertainty sources were also incorporated into the depth estimates of this survey. Real-time uncertainties for position, navigation and vessel motion data from Applanix POS MV were applied during acquisition and initially in post-processing. POSPac SBET and RMS files were subsequently applied in Caris HIPS to supersede POS MV uncertainties associated with GPS height and position. Uncertainty values of the submitted finalized grids were calculated in Caris using "Greater of the Two" of uncertainty and standard deviation (scaled to 95%). Grid QA v6 within Pydro QC Tools was used to analyze H13584 TVU compliance. H13584 met HSSD requirements in 99% percent of grid nodes as shown in the histogram plot below. Pydro derived plot showing TVU compliance of H13584 finalized multi-resolution MBES data. file:///M:/OPRT381RA22/Surveys/H13584/01_HDR/Reports/Descriptive_Report/SupportFiles/H13584_MB_VR_MLLW_Final.QAv6.tvu_qc.png H13584 junctions with two contemporary surveys that were assigned as part of the same project, OPR-T381-RA-22: H13586 to the west and H13585 to the southeast. H13584 junction surveys. file:///M:/OPRT381RA22/Surveys/H13584/01_HDR/Reports/Descriptive_Report/SupportFiles/H13584_Junctions.jpg H13586 10000 2022 RAINIER W We performed the comparison between H13584 and H13586 on finalized, variable-resolution surfaces from both surveys using the Compare Grids program within Pydro Explorer. Results of the comparison showed that 99.5% of grid nodes in the common area met NOAA allowable error standards as shown in the figure below. H13584 / H13586 junction. file:///M:/OPRT381RA22/Surveys/H13584/01_HDR/Reports/Descriptive_Report/SupportFiles/H13584_H13586_Junction.jpg Pydro derived plot showing H13584 / H13586 VR surface comparison statistics. file:///M:/OPRT381RA22/Surveys/H13584/01_HDR/Reports/Descriptive_Report/SupportFiles/H13584_MB_VR_MLLW_Final-H13586_MB_VR_MLLW_Final_fracAllowErr_Freq.png H13585 10000 2022 RAINIER SE No data were acquired on survey H13585 because access to the area was prohibited by the U.S. Navy which uses Farallon de Medinilla Island for live fire military exercises. Sonar system quality control checks were conducted as detailed in the quality control section of the DAPR. None Exist There were no conditions or deficiencies that affected equipment operational effectiveness. None Exist There were no other factors that affected corrections to soundings. We acquired thirty-seven sound speed profiles ("casts") for this survey at discrete locations within the assigned area at least once every four hours, when significant changes to surface sound speed were observed, or when shifting operations to a new area. We applied the majority of sound speed profiles to H13584 MBES data using a master concatenated .SVP file and the "Nearest distance within Time (4 hours) profile selection method. We found that in a small number of cases, Caris was using shallow water launch casts to sound speed correct deep water ship data. We corrected this issue by applying ship-only casts to ship MBES data. H13584 sound speed cast locations. file:///M:/OPRT381RA22/Surveys/H13584/01_HDR/Reports/Descriptive_Report/SupportFiles/H13584_SS_Casts.jpg All equipment and survey methods were used as detailed in the DAPR. All data reduction procedures conform to those detailed in the DAPR. All sounding systems were calibrated as detailed in the DAPR. Raw backscatter data were acquired as .all files logged during MBES operations and subsequently processed by RAINIER personnel. The .GSF files created during processing, and backscatter mosaic data has been delivered with this report. Backscatter processing procedures are described in the DAPR. H13584 multibeam acoustic backscatter overview. file:///M:/OPRT381RA22/Surveys/H13584/01_HDR/Reports/Descriptive_Report/SupportFiles/H13584_MBAB.jpg N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A NOAA Profile 2022v2 H13584_MB_VR_MLLW CARIS VR Surface (CUBE) Variable Resolution 5.7 2438.3 NOAA_VR Complete MBES H13584_MB_VR_MLLW_Final CARIS VR Surface (CUBE) Variable Resolution 5.7 2438.3 NOAA_VR Complete MBES The submitted H13584 surfaces were generated using NOAA recommended parameters for depth-based (Ranges) Caris variable-resolution bathymetric grids. Following correspondence with the Project Manager, we generated the submitted surfaces with an updated Range/Resolution file, NOAA_DepthRanges_CompleteCoverage_2022_RA, that includes 64-meter grids for depths exceeding 1,000 meters. See Supplemental Records for more information. We used Pydro Flier finder tool with default settings as a quality control check of submitted H13584 grid data. We examined each potential flier identified by the program, rejected errant soundings, then re-ran the process until we were satisfied that all remaining fliers identified were false-positives and represent actual seafloor topography. Additional information discussing the vertical or horizontal control for this survey can be found in the accompanying DAPR. Mean Lower Low Water ERS via VDATUM OPR_T381-RA-22_GuamCNMI_EC_ERTDM2021_NAD83(MA11)-MLLW OPR_T381-RA-22_GuamCNMI_EC_ERTDM2021_NAD83(MA11)-MHW All submitted H13584 MBES data were vertically referenced to the ellipsoid. VDATUM models included with the Project Instructions were used for referencing H13584 data to MLLW and MHW. North American Datum 1983 (MA11) Projected UTM 55 Precise Positioning-Real time Extended (PP-RTX) processing methods were used in Applanix POSPac MMS (v8.5) software for post-processing horizontal correction of submitted H13584 MBES data. The Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) was used for real-time horizontal control during data acquisition. US5SP08M 45602 9 2020-09-30 2020-09-30 US2SP01M 931650 19 2021-09-07 2021-09-07 Two charted shoal areas reported in 1963 and 1975 were located outside the area of H13584 survey coverage and not addressed. Refer to the H13584 Final Feature File (FFF) submitted with this report for information regarding unverified charted features. We identified no new features with navigational significance withing the H13584 survey area. No channels exist for this survey. There are no designated anchorages, precautionary areas, safety fairways, traffic separation schemes, pilot boarding areas, or channel and range lines within the survey limits. No Aids to navigation (ATONs) exist for this survey. No Maritime Boundary Points were assigned for this survey. No bottom samples were required for this survey. No overhead features exist for this survey. No submarine features exist for this survey. No platforms exist for this survey. No ferry routes or terminals exist for this survey. No abnormal seafloor or environmental conditions exist for this survey. No present or planned construction or dredging exist within the survey limits. We recommend that the remaining assigned H13584 survey area be completed when practical. No new ENC scales are recommended for this area. As Chief of Party, field operations for this hydrographic survey were conducted under my direct supervision, with frequent personal checks of progress and adequacy. I have reviewed the attached survey data and reports. All field sheets, this Descriptive Report, and all accompanying records and data are approved. All records are forwarded for final review and processing to the Processing Branch. The survey data meets or exceeds requirements as set forth in the NOS Hydrographic Surveys Specifications and Deliverables, Field Procedures Manual, Letter Instructions, and all HSD Technical Directives. These data are adequate to supersede charted data in their common areas. This survey is complete and no additional work is required with the exception of deficiencies noted in the Descriptive Report. Hector L. Casanova, CAPT/NOAA Chief of Party 2022-10-03 Collin H. Walker, LT/NOAA Field Operations Officer 2022-10-03 James B. Jacobson Chief Survey Technician 2022-10-03 Michael R. Fulton Sheet Manager 2022-10-03