Project Output Data

The Coastal Marsh Project
Marsh Health Index Study Areas

The Coastal Marsh Project: NASA & University of Maryland: 1998

Data Information

The Coastal Marsh Project used two data sets to produce a model of coastal marsh vulnerability to degradation: National Wetlands Inventory GIS files and Landsat Thematic Mapper satellite images. Reference layers produced by ESRI, Inc. were also used for the final product.

Output data on this site are available, below, in ARC/INFO (Unix, rev.7.x) or ArcView (rev. 3.x) GIS formats. Secondary processed data sets (NWI and Erdas GIS files) are not available. Samples of these data files for the state of Maryland are available here.

Data Products

Please click on an individual listing to download:
STATE Marsh Surface
Condition Index
ArcView Files		 Marsh Health Index
ARC/INFO Files		 JPEG Samples
CONNECTICUT ctmarshs.tar.gz 0.49mb ctmarsha.tar.gz 0.89mb sample maps
DELAWARE demarshs.tar.gz 3.3mb demarsha.tar.gz 6.6mb sample maps
FLORIDA flmarshs.tar.gz 1.1mb flmarsha.tar.gz 1.8mb sample maps
GEORGIA gamarshs.tar.gz 12.1mb gamarsha.tar.gz 19.3mb sample maps
MARYLAND mdmarshs.tar.gz 13.4mb mdmarsha.tar.gz 29.2mb sample maps
MASSACHUSETTS mamarshs.tar.gz 0.9mb mamarsha.tar.gz 1.8mb sample maps
NEW JERSEY njmarshs.tar.gz 8.4mb njmarsha.tar.gz 17.1mb sample maps
NEW YORK nymarshs.tar.gz 3.3mb nymarsha.tar.gz 7.5mb sample maps
NORTH CAROLINA ncmarshs.tar.gz 9.7mb ncmarsha.tar.gz 18.8mb sample maps
RHODE ISLAND rimarshs.tar.gz 0.3mb rimarsha.tar.gz 0.44mb sample maps
SOUTH CAROLINA scmarshs.tar.gz 18.7mb scmarsha.tar.gz 31.6mb sample maps
VIRGINIA vamarshs.tar.gz 12.6mb vamarsha.tar.gz 27mb sample maps

GIS File Specifications

ARC/INFO Geographic Informations Systems and PCI Image Processing software packages were used to process the data through the model and output in GIS format. The final output products, containing the Marsh Surface Condition Index, are available in ARC/INFO and ArcView formats. GIS users should be aware that output data are stored in UTM coordinates, with meter map units, a NAD27 datum, and a Clarke 1866 spheroid. All data processing occurred on Unix workstations.

FTP File Specifications

All ArcView and ARC/INFO files were compressed using gzip. If the file's '.gz' extension is lost in the downloading process, the user must rename the file to include a '.gz' extension. After downloading, these files must be uncompressed using 'gunzip' (available on Unix, Windows and Macintosh platforms) as follows:

  • gunzip filename.gz

All ArcView and ARC/INFO files were archived using 'tar'. After downloading, these files must be un-archived using 'tar' commands, as follows (where'xx' = state initials):

  • tar xvf xxmarshs
    • OR
  • tar xvf xxmarsha

Each ArcView zipped file contains the following individual files
(where'xx' = state initials):

  • xxmarsh.shp, xxmarsh.shx, xxmarsh.dbf = Project output polygons
  • xxbndl.shp, xxbndl.shx, xxbndl.dbf = State boundary lines
  • xxbndp.shp, xxbndp.shx, xxbndp.dbf = State boundary polygons
  • xxrds.shp, xxrds.shx, ssrds.dbf = Major roads
  • xxstudy.shp, xxstudy.shx, xxstudy.dbf = Study Area line
  • xxmarsh.apr = ArcView Project file - ready to display shapefiles with legends
  • marsh.avl = output layer legend
  • bnd.avl = boundary layer legend
  • study.avl = study area layer legend
  • rds.avl = roads layer legend
  • marsh_shp.met = metadata for CMP output data layer
  • reference_shp.met = metadata for reference data layers
  • README.shp = instructions

Each ARC/INFO zipped file contains the following individual files
(where 'xx' = state initials):

  • xxmarsh.e00 = Project output polygons
  • xxbndl.e00 = State Boundary lines
  • xxbndp.e00 = State Boundary polygons
  • xxrds.e00 = Major roads
  • xxstudy.e00 = Study Area line
  • xxmarsh.aml = AML file - ready to display coverages and legends
  • marsh.key = output layer key file
  • lines.key = reference layers keyfile
  • marsh.lut.e00 = output layer LUT file
  • marsh_arc.met = metadata for CMP output data layer
  • reference_arc.met = metadata for reference data layers
  • README.arc = instructions