{"id":1186,"date":"2021-05-03T20:35:02","date_gmt":"2021-05-03T20:35:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.marine.usf.edu\/comit\/?page_id=1186"},"modified":"2024-10-21T19:02:38","modified_gmt":"2024-10-21T19:02:38","slug":"fcmapoverview","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.marine.usf.edu\/comit\/fcmapoverview\/","title":{"rendered":"An Overview of FCMaP"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[et_pb_section fb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; admin_label=&#8221;Hero&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; use_background_color_gradient=&#8221;on&#8221; background_color_gradient_stops=&#8221;rgba(0,0,0,0.6) 0%|rgba(0,0,0,0.6) 100%&#8221; background_color_gradient_overlays_image=&#8221;on&#8221; background_color_gradient_start=&#8221;rgba(0,0,0,0.6)&#8221; background_color_gradient_end=&#8221;rgba(0,0,0,0.6)&#8221; background_image=&#8221;https:\/\/www.marine.usf.edu\/comit\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/FCMaP_Logo.png&#8221; background_position=&#8221;center_right&#8221; min_height=&#8221;331px&#8221; height=&#8221;293px&#8221; custom_padding=&#8221;110px|0px|3px|0px|false|false&#8221; animation_style=&#8221;zoom&#8221; animation_intensity_zoom=&#8221;4%&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_row _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; background_size=&#8221;initial&#8221; background_position=&#8221;top_left&#8221; background_repeat=&#8221;repeat&#8221; custom_margin=&#8221;-50px|auto|30px|auto|false|false&#8221; custom_margin_tablet=&#8221;&#8221; custom_margin_phone=&#8221;-84px||||false|false&#8221; custom_margin_last_edited=&#8221;on|phone&#8221; custom_padding=&#8221;|||&#8221; animation_style=&#8221;slide&#8221; animation_direction=&#8221;top&#8221; animation_intensity_slide=&#8221;3%&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;4_4&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; custom_padding=&#8221;|||&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; custom_padding__hover=&#8221;|||&#8221;][et_pb_text content_tablet=&#8221;<\/p>\n<h1><span style=%22font-size: x-large;%22>the Florida Coastal Mapping Program<\/span><\/h1>\n<p>&#8221; content_phone=&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2><span style=%22font-size: large; color: #ffffff;%22>The Florida Coastal <\/span><\/h2>\n<h2><span style=%22font-size: large; color: #ffffff;%22>Mapping Program<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>&#8221; content_last_edited=&#8221;on|phone&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; text_font=&#8221;||||||||&#8221; header_font=&#8221;Montserrat|700||on|||||&#8221; header_text_color=&#8221;#ffffff&#8221; header_font_size=&#8221;60px&#8221; header_line_height=&#8221;1.3em&#8221; header_2_font=&#8221;||||||||&#8221; background_size=&#8221;initial&#8221; background_position=&#8221;top_left&#8221; background_repeat=&#8221;repeat&#8221; custom_margin=&#8221;|||&#8221; animation_style=&#8221;fade&#8221; header_font_size_last_edited=&#8221;off|desktop&#8221; locked=&#8221;off&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;]<\/p>\n<h1>the Florida Coastal Mapping Program<\/h1>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; text_font=&#8221;Montserrat|500||on|||||&#8221; text_text_color=&#8221;#f7f7f7&#8243; text_font_size=&#8221;16px&#8221; text_letter_spacing=&#8221;3px&#8221; text_line_height=&#8221;1em&#8221; background_size=&#8221;initial&#8221; background_position=&#8221;top_left&#8221; background_repeat=&#8221;repeat&#8221; min_height=&#8221;29px&#8221; custom_margin=&#8221;22px|||||&#8221; animation_style=&#8221;slide&#8221; animation_direction=&#8221;bottom&#8221; locked=&#8221;off&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;]<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: small;\">A brief overview<\/span><\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; admin_label=&#8221;Fullwidth Image&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; custom_margin=&#8221;20px|||||&#8221; custom_padding=&#8221;56px|0px|0px|0px||&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_row _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; custom_padding=&#8221;||0px|||&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;4_4&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; custom_margin=&#8221;||3px|||&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;]<\/p>\n<h1>Mapping All of Florida\u2019s Seafloor Leaps Closer to Reality<br \/><o:p><\/o:p><\/h1>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_post_title title=&#8221;off&#8221; comments=&#8221;off&#8221; featured_image=&#8221;off&#8221; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][\/et_pb_post_title][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row use_custom_gutter=&#8221;on&#8221; gutter_width=&#8221;1&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; background_size=&#8221;initial&#8221; background_position=&#8221;top_left&#8221; background_repeat=&#8221;repeat&#8221; positioning=&#8221;none&#8221; custom_margin=&#8221;||||false|false&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;4_4&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; custom_padding=&#8221;|||&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; custom_padding__hover=&#8221;|||&#8221;][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.27.0&#8243; text_text_color=&#8221;#000000&#8243; text_font_size=&#8221;24px&#8221; link_text_color=&#8221;#47bc20&#8243; background_size=&#8221;initial&#8221; background_position=&#8221;top_left&#8221; background_repeat=&#8221;repeat&#8221; width=&#8221;100%&#8221; module_alignment=&#8221;center&#8221; min_height=&#8221;347px&#8221; custom_margin=&#8221;-1px|74px||-117px|false|false&#8221; custom_margin_tablet=&#8221;&#8221; custom_margin_phone=&#8221;|||-84px|false|false&#8221; custom_margin_last_edited=&#8221;on|desktop&#8221; custom_padding=&#8221;|0px||0px|false|false&#8221; custom_padding_tablet=&#8221;|30px||30px|false|false&#8221; custom_padding_phone=&#8221;|30px||30px|false|false&#8221; custom_padding_last_edited=&#8221;on|desktop&#8221; animation_style=&#8221;fade&#8221; animation_direction=&#8221;top&#8221; hover_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; inline_fonts=&#8221;ABeeZee&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; sticky_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243;]<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium; font-weight: normal; font-family: ABeeZee;\">After years of advocacy and hours of planning and coordination meetings on the part of numerous groups in Florida, there is reason to be hopeful that the state may receive a significant breakthrough in the quest to map its coastal waters (0 to 200 meters depth) by the end of this decade. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium; font-weight: normal; font-family: ABeeZee;\">An appropriations request (HB 3495) was filed with the Florida House of Representatives in early February of this year, prepared by a private survey company. Since then, it has received support from its assigned Infrastructure &amp; Tourism Appropriations Subcommittee who voted unanimously in favor of the request in mid-March.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium; font-weight: normal; font-family: ABeeZee;\">The $9.8 million dollar project now awaits its fate with the House Appropriations Committee before moving to the Senate. If approved, it would be assigned to the Florida Division of Emergency Management who would use a competitive proposal process to distribute the funds to private, state, academic, and federal groups to complete the mapping surveys.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium; font-weight: normal; font-family: ABeeZee;\">More recently, two additional pieces of legislation supporting coastal seafloor mapping (HB 7019 \/ SB 1954 and HB 7021\/ SB 2514) made it through the Florida Senate with significant bipartisan support. If these bills pass, the legislation would create the Resilient Florida Grant Program, along with an associated trust fund for continued operation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium; font-weight: normal; font-family: ABeeZee;\">This Resilient Florida Grant Program includes a $100 million project under the Florida Department of Environmental Protection for seafloor mapping in coastal and offshore zones, which would make a considerable dent in Florida\u2019s unmapped seafloor that currently comprises nearly 80% of the State\u2019s waters. At the time of this article\u2019s posting date, bills SB 1954 and SB 2514 have both been routed to SB 2500 for appropriations.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><strong><em>Mapping Florida\u2019s Waters Takes a Village<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium; font-weight: normal; font-family: ABeeZee;\">Making it this far with multiple funding bills on the table has not been an easy feat, but a consistent driving force championing seafloor mapping work for the last several years has been the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arcgis.com\/apps\/Cascade\/index.html?appid=498f1434b46d493eb3a642a2ad26a095&amp;folderid=d2a3dc9a00f84274b671bd21c6bd9283\">Florida Coastal Mapping Program<\/a> (FCMaP). FCMaP was formed in 2017 and was born out of a collaborative, grassroots effort among several state and federal entities.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_979\" style=\"width: 1034px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-979\" src=\"https:\/\/www.marine.usf.edu\/comit\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/FCMaP_Logo.png\" width=\"339\" height=\"339\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-979 size-large\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-979\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Florida Coastal Mapping Program (FCMaP) formed in 2017 and includes representation among several groups from the State, Federal, and Private sectors within Florida.<\/p><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium; font-weight: normal; font-family: ABeeZee;\"> The coalition was originally set up to have State and Federal co-chairs (United States Geological Survey [USGS], Florida Institute of Oceanography [FIO], and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection [FL-DEP]) overseeing a broader steering committee representing numerous State and Federal agencies, including the USF College of Marine Science (USFCMS), Florida Department of Transportation (FLDT), Florida Fish &amp; Wildlife Research Institute (FWRI), Florida Geological Survey (FGS), Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), and US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). FCMaP is currently undertaking a reformulation of its programmatic structure and in the future will have a program management team of the same participating agencies, but not in a hierarchical structure.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium; font-weight: normal; font-family: ABeeZee;\">FCMaP\u2019s mission is to collaborate and facilitate \u201chigh-resolution Florida coastal seafloor data, from the shore to the continental shelf\u201d by 2028. Cheryl Hapke, PhD, a research faculty member at the USF College of Marine Science, is the FCMaP program coordinator, a position that she\u2019s done tirelessly and enthusiastically since 2017, first with the USGS and now with USF.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium; font-weight: normal; font-family: ABeeZee;\">\u201cThough FCMaP was formed only about four years ago, the need for high-resolution seafloor maps of Florida\u2019s state and federal waters has been a priority of scientists and managers for decades so we had a lot to build off of, but there was a broad lack of coordination among State, Federal, academic, and private stakeholders,\u201d says Hapke.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium; font-weight: normal; font-family: ABeeZee;\">The diverse group of stakeholders at the helm of this effort highlights the importance of mapping Florida\u2019s waters; improved maps will provide key information for fisheries scientists to better understand habitat extents and distributions, result in better navigation maps, improve storm surge models during large storms and hurricanes, and can help determine optimal locations to mine for sand to renourish the State\u2019s many beaches. In brief, seafloor mapping has significant bearing on several different facets of Florida\u2019s economy and environment.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_979\" style=\"width: 1034px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-979\" src=\"https:\/\/www.marine.usf.edu\/comit\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/fcmap_prioritization-1024x690.png\" width=\"735\" height=\"495\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-979 size-large\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-979\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The results of the FCMaP stakeholder prioritization survey. This map displays the Mapping Priority Index values across the state&#8217;s waters. For more information, visit their <a href=\"https:\/\/fcmap-myfwc.hub.arcgis.com\/pages\/data\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">GIS portal<\/a>.<\/p><\/div>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium; font-weight: normal; font-family: ABeeZee;\">When FCMaP formed in 2017, they immediately completed a comprehensive inventory of all seafloor elevation (bathymetry) data that existed for Florida\u2019s waters. This then allowed FCMaP to complete a detailed gap analysis by the end of their first year that\u00a0was presented to their stakeholders during a workshop in January 2018. Thi<\/span><span style=\"font-family: ABeeZee; font-size: medium;\">s meeting was a milestone for FCMaP as it resulted in significant buy-in from their diverse stakeholder group and also provided them their assignment for the next year \u2013 a formal mapping prioritization survey and analysis. The prioritization was extensive and involved workshops throughout the state. It was completed in 2019 and the analysis wrapped up in 2020; FCMaP is now working on assimilating all of their data and knowledge into a strategic roadmap for mapping Florida\u2019s coastal seafloor priorities.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium; font-weight: normal; font-family: ABeeZee;\">Despite lack of financial support thus far, through in-kind contributions of time and resources by FCMaP\u2019s member institutions on this effort over the last few years, FCMaP has laid a solid foundation to hit the ground running when funds are available &#8211; further testament to the importance of its mission.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_979\" style=\"width: 1034px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-979\" src=\"https:\/\/www.marine.usf.edu\/comit\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/FCMaP_stakeholders.png\" width=\"450\" height=\"427\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-979 size-large\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-979\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The FCMaP\u2019s stakeholder group is diverse and reflects the immense environmental and economic benefits of mapping Florida\u2019s coastal and offshore areas.<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: large;\"><strong><em>Collaboration is Key to Success<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium; font-weight: normal; font-family: ABeeZee;\">In addition to the excitement around potential near-term funding from the State, FCMaP also has reason to look forward to new opportunities through collaboration with the Center for Ocean Mapping and Innovative Technologies (<a href=\"http:\/\/www.marine.usf.edu\/comit\">COMIT<\/a>); FCMaP coordinator Hapke is also a co-PI on the new Center which well-positions her as a liaison between the two entities.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium; font-weight: normal; font-family: ABeeZee;\">\u201cThere is a great opportunity for synergy between COMIT and FCMaP and that starts by making sure we don\u2019t duplicate efforts. The next layer of this is ingesting COMIT\u2019s findings on what survey approaches will help us map Florida\u2019s waters most efficiently to meet our 2028 goal and work with our stakeholder entities doing the mapping to employ those methods,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium; font-weight: normal; font-family: ABeeZee;\">Beginning in late-summer of 2021, COMIT will delve into its inaugural field-testing projects after delays due to COVID-19 restrictions. One of the Center\u2019s first experiments is using an unmanned surface vehicle, or UxV, equipped with a multibeam echosounder (MBES) to map shallow areas in Tampa Bay.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium; font-weight: normal; font-family: ABeeZee;\">The challenge is that this equipment is just recently becoming standard kit for the mapping community, and they\u2019ve not been extensively tested and used in Florida\u2019s waters \u2013 this is where COMIT comes in. The work done over the next year or so by the Center will provide important data and information for entities like FCMaP to learn about what equipment and platforms are most efficient for different water depths and environments throughout Florida and help ensure the state achieves full mapping coverage of Florida\u2019s seafloor by 2028.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium; font-weight: normal; font-family: ABeeZee;\">As well summarized by Hapke, \u201cIt\u2019s thrilling to finally see large seafloor mapping funding proposals making their way through the State legislature. My colleagues and I are anxious and ready to get started and to see what new and exciting things we uncover as we learn more about what\u2019s beneath Florida\u2019s waters.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><span style=\"font-size: medium; font-weight: normal; font-family: ABeeZee;\">For a more comprehensive review of FCMaP, including more detail on prioritization for mapping Florida\u2019s waters, please visit their <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arcgis.com\/apps\/Cascade\/index.html?appid=498f1434b46d493eb3a642a2ad26a095&amp;folderid=d2a3dc9a00f84274b671bd21c6bd9283\">website<\/a> and read their publication <a href=\"https:\/\/www.worldscientific.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1142\/9789811204487_0184?download=true\">here<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>the Florida Coastal Mapping ProgramA brief overviewMapping All of Florida\u2019s Seafloor Leaps Closer to RealityAfter years of advocacy and hours of planning and coordination meetings on the part of numerous groups in Florida, there is reason to be hopeful that the state may receive a significant breakthrough in the quest to map its coastal waters [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1186","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marine.usf.edu\/comit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1186","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marine.usf.edu\/comit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marine.usf.edu\/comit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marine.usf.edu\/comit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marine.usf.edu\/comit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1186"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/www.marine.usf.edu\/comit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1186\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3242,"href":"https:\/\/www.marine.usf.edu\/comit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1186\/revisions\/3242"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marine.usf.edu\/comit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1186"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}