MAPPING THE HABITATS OF THE BARNEGAT BAY WATERSHED

The Center for Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis has generated a combined upland, wetland and benthic habitats of the Barnegat Bay watershed map for the Data Synthesis Project.  This map was developed through the interpretation and analysis of a variety of sources including Landsat Thematic Mapper satellite imagery, aerial photography, land use/land cover and state/national wetland digital data.

The primary data set for the upland/watershed map was a series of Landsat Thematic Mapper satellite images from 1994 and 1995 (Nov. 4, 1994 image shown at left). The benthic aquatic habitat maps were developed from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's National Wetland Inventory, several submerged aquatic vegetation survey maps, and bathymetry derived from the NOAA nautical chart for Barnegat Bay.  The benthic aquatic and upland/watershed habitat maps were combined to create one seamless habitat map for the entire Barnegat Bay ecosystem.

The complex nature of the map which consists of thirty-eight habitat / land cover categories led the Center for Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis to develop a web-based "Habitat Tour".  The tour gives internet users a chance to gain a better understaning of individual Barnegat Bay habitats through the use of class distribution maps, species lists and ground photography. Habitat Tour