Northampton County --- Virginia Coast Reserve - Long Term Ecological
Research (VCR/LTER) Digital Geospatial Metadata



1.  Identification Information

   1.1  Citation

      8.1 Originator:  Virginia Coast Reserve - Long Term Ecological
      Research (VCR/LTER) in cooperation with Northampton County,
      Virginia.

      8.2  Publication Date:  1990winter

      8.4  Title: Plant Associations on the Virginia Barrier Islands

      8.5  Edition (version):  1.0

      8.6  Geospatial Data Presentation Form:  view

      8.8  Publication Information

         8.8.1  Publication Place: Charlottesville, VA.

         8.8.2 Publisher:  Virginia Coast Reserve - Long Term
	 Ecological Research (VCR/LTER)

      8.9 Other Citation Details: Virginia Department of Environmental
      Quality grant DEQ-??????? with computational support from NSF
      support grants BSR-8702333-06 and DEB-9211772.

   1.2  Description

      1.2.1  Abstract: Vegetation maps (1;20000 scale) and descriptions 
      of plant associations were compiled for 16 barrier and marsh islands 
      on the seaward margin of the Delmarva Peninsula (USA): Metompkin, 
      Cedar, Parramore, Revel, Cresent, Chimney Pole Marsh, Hog, Rogue, 
      Cobb, Little Cobb, Wreck, Ship Shoal, Godwin, Myrtle, Mink and Smith. 
      These maps were based on photointerpretation of false-color infrared 
      aerial photography taken in 1974.  Extensive ground-truthing revealed 
      26 mapping units based on botanical, topographic and edaphic attributes.
      Each unit represents a distinctive plant association, ecotone or 
      non-vegetated surface.  Most associations exhibit relatively low plant 
      species diversity, high consistancy in species composition and strong 
      dominance by one or a few plant species.  Variation among communities 
      reflects the effects of location, topography, edaphic factors, consumer
      influence and disturbance history.  With periodic resurvey, these maps
      will be useful for describing site-specific vegetation dynamics and 
      succession on this rapidly-changing landscape.   

      The islands which are not part of Northampton County have not been 
      prepared for this document and image set, but may be obtained from the
      VCR-LTER. 

      1.2.2  Purpose: Environmental management and the study of barrier 
      island dynamics. 

   1.3  Time Period of Content  

      9.3 Range of Dates

         9.3.1  Beginning Date:  19740604 (NASA photography flight date)

         9.3.2  Ending Date:  1990 (Publication in VA Journal of Science)

      1.3.1  Currentness Reference:  publication date

   1.4  Status

      1.4.1  Progress:  Complete

      1.4.2  Maintenance and Update Frequency:  None planned

   1.5  Spatial Domain

      1.5.1  Bounding Coordinates

         1.5.1.1  West Bounding Coordinate (longitude):  -76.2

         1.5.1.2  East Bounding Coordinate  (longitude):  -75.6

         1.5.1.3  North Bounding Coordinate (latitude):  37.6

         1.5.1.4  South Bounding Coordinate (latitude):  37.1

   1.6  Keywords

      1.6.1  Theme

         1.6.1.1  Theme Keyword Thesaurus: None

         1.6.1.2  Theme Keyword: barrier island

         1.6.1.2  Theme Keyword: Delmarva Peninsula

         1.6.1.2  Theme Keyword: landscape

         1.6.1.2  Theme Keyword: plant association

         1.6.1.2  Theme Keyword: succession

         1.6.1.2  Theme Keyword: vegetation


      1.6.2  Place

         1.6.2.1  Place Keyword Thesaurus: None

         1.6.2.2  Place Keyword:  Northampton County

         1.6.2.2  Place Keyword:  Virginia

         1.6.2.2  Place Keyword:  Delmarva Peninsula

         1.6.2.2  Place Keyword:  Virginia Barrier Islands


   1.7  Access Constraints:  None.

   1.8 Use Constraints:  This is one piece of a GIS database presently
   being developed for Northampton County's planning purposes.  If you
   use VCR/LTER-generated data in a publication, please acknowledge
   the VCR/LTER in addition to the originator, and cite support from
   the above listed NSF grants.  We would also like to receive a copy
   of your publication(s), sent to the contact below.

   1.9  Point of Contact

      10.2  Contact Organization Primary

         10.1.2 Contact Organization:  Virginia Coast Reserve - Long
	 Term Ecological Research (VCR/LTER)

      10.3  Contact Position:  Data Manager

      10.4  Contact Address

         10.4.1  Address Type:  mailing and physical address

         10.4.2 Address:  LTER, Dept. Environmental Sciences, Clark
	 Hall, University of Virginia

         10.4.3  City:  Charlottesville

         10.4.4  State or Province:  VA

         10.4.5  Postal Code:  22903

         10.4.6  Country:  USA

      10.5  Contact Voice Telephone:  (804) 924-8999

      10.8 Contact Electronic Mail Address:  jporter@lternet.edu or
      jhp7e@virginia.edu

   1.10  Browse Graphic

      1.10.1  Browse Graphic File Names: hogt.gif
                                         cobbt.gif
                                         wreckt.gif
                                         shipst.gif
                                         myrtlet.gif
                                         smitht.gif
      1.10.2  Browse Graphic Description: Thumbnail view of each of the 
              Northampton County islands surveyed. 
      1.10.3  Browse Graphic File Type:  GIF

      1.10.1  Browse Graphic File Names: hog.gif
                                         cobb.gif
                                         wreck.gif
                                         ships.gif
                                         myrtle.gif
                                         smith.gif

      1.10.2  Browse Graphic Description: View of each of the Northampton 
              County islands surveyed. 

      1.10.3  Browse Graphic File Type:  GIF

   1.11 Data Set Credit:  Primary compilation by Cheryl A. McCaffrey
   (7425 Earlwood Road NE Newberg, Oregon 97132) and Raymond D. Dueser 
   (Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia,
   Charlottesville, VA 22903 USA. 
   Addition help provided by John H. Porter also at the University of 
   Virginia. The Northampton County section presented here was compiled 
   by Anne L. Halpin at UVA for the Northampton County GIS project.  

   1.13 Native Data Set Environment: ARC/INFO 6.1 running under SunOS
   4.1 on a SUN SPARC station 1.



2.  Data Quality Information

   2.1  Attribute Accuracy

      2.1.1  Attribute Accuracy Report: Vegetation maps were prepared from
      1:20000-scale false-color aerial infrared transparencies (cf. Holman
      1974). The photography  was flown by the National Aeronautics and 
      Space Administration, Wallops Island, Virginia during the late morning 
      of June 4, 1974, at 2-2.5 hours before low tide (Roll W 2710101, 
      frames 83-127). 
          Field maps at 1:6500 scale were prepared by magnifying the 
      transparencies using a reflecting projector.  Blueprints of these 
      overlays were field checked in 43 days between early March and late 
      July, 1975.

   2.3  Completeness Report: Barrier islands for Northampton County are 
   included in this set.

   2.4  Positional Accuracy

      2.4.1  Horizontal Positional Accuracy

         2.4.1.1  Horizontal Positional Accuracy Report: These islands
         are centered on latitude 37.5 degrees north and 75.33 degrees
         west.

         Geographical UTM coordinates are based on NAD-27 from USGS Quad
         sheets. Due to lack of ground reference points on most maps,
         geographical accuracy is on the order of +- 100 m.

      2.4.2  Vertical Positional Accuracy

         2.4.2.1  Vertical Positional Accuracy Report: none

   2.5  Lineage

      2.5.1  Source Information (repeat this section as often as needed)

         2.5.1.1  Source Citation

            8.1  Originator: Cheryl A. McCaffrey and Raymond D. Dueser

            8.2  Publication Date:  winter 1990

            8.4  Title: Plant Associations on the Virginia Barrier Islands

            8.5  Edition (version): 1

            8.6 Geospatial Data Presentation Form: view

            8.8  Publication Information

               8.8.1  Publication Place: Richmond, Virginia 23173

               8.8.2  Publisher:  The Virginia Academy of Science

            8.9  Citation: McCaffrey, C.A. and R.D. Dueser. 1990.
            Plant Associations on the Virginia Barrier Islands. Va. J.
            Sci. 41(4A): 282-299.

         2.5.1.3 Type of Source Media: journal paper and online views


      2.5.2  Process Step

         2.5.2.1  Process Description: Digital versions of the maps 
         included in that article were digitized by John Porter and 
         Raymond Dueser.The ARC/INFO export files in this directory 
         were produced by ARC INFO version 6.1.
	 Geographical UTM coordinates are based on NAD-27 from USGS Quad
	 sheets. Due to lack of ground reference points on most maps,
	 geographical accuracy is on the order of +- 100 m.

         Maps were hand-drawn in 1975 using 1:20,000 scale aerial photography
         in 1974 by Cheryl McCaffrey.

         Maps were originally digitized into a 2-m raster format with ERDAS and
	 then later converted to a vector format in ARC INFO and corrected for
	 digitizing and thematic errors. For this reason, most lines have
	 stairstepping. An exception is Myrtle and Mink Islands which were
	 digitized directly into ARC/INFO vector format.

         2.5.2.6  Process Contact (processor)

            10.2  Contact Organization Primary

               10.1.2 Contact Organization:  Virginia Coast Reserve -
	       Long Term Ecological Research (VCR/LTER)

               10.1.1  Contact Person:  John H. Porter

            10.4  Contact Address

               10.4.1  Address Type:  mailing and physical address

               10.4.2 Address:  LTER, Dept. Environmental Sciences,
	       Clark Hall, University of Virginia

               10.4.3  City:  Charlottesville

               10.4.4  State or Province:  VA

               10.4.5  Postal Code:  22903

               10.4.6  Country:  USA

            10.8  Contact Electronic Mail Address:  jhp7e@virginia.edu

2.5.2  Process Step
         2.5.2.1 Process Description: A final version was converted to
	 State Plane, NAD83 projection and EXPORTed (compression NONE)
         for use on a PC.(Some descriptive attribute information is not
	 readily interchangable.) Another version was converted to
         UTM, NAD83 projection for use on a UNIX system and EXPORTed
	 (compression FULL)

     2.5.2.2 Source Used Citation Abbreviation: none
     2.5.2.3  Process Date (completed): 19950322
         2.5.2.5 Source Produced Citation Abbreviation: none
         2.5.2.6  Process Contact (processor): Anne L. Halpin
            10.2  Contact Organization Primary
               10.1.2 Contact Organization:  Virginia Coast Reserve -
	       Long Term Ecological Research (VCR/LTER)
               10.1.1  Contact Person:  Anne L. Halpin
            10.4  Contact Address
               10.4.1  Address Type:  mailing and physical address
               10.4.2  Address:  LTER, Dept. Environmental Sciences,
	       Clark Hall, University of Virginia
               10.4.3  City:  Charlottesville
               10.4.4  State or Province:  VA
               10.4.5  Postal Code:  22903
               10.4.6  Country:  USA
            10.8  Contact Electronic Mail Address:  alh5w@virginia.edu
							    
3.  Spatial Data Organization Information

   3.2  Direct Spatial Reference Method :  Vector

   3.3  Point and Vector Object Information 

      3.3.1 SDTS Terms Descriptions: line and polygon coverages with
      associated attributes.

         3.3.1.1 SDTS Point and Vector Object Type:  (choose one)
	 Point; Network chain, planar graph; GT-polygon composed of
	 chains

         3.3.1.2  Vector Object Count:
                   hog   - 156 Polygons   
                   cobb  -  74    "
                   wreck -  34    "
                   ships -  41    "
	           myrtle-  45    "
	           smith - 167    "
	
4.  Spatial Reference Information

   4.1 Horizontal Coordinate System Definition *(choose Geographic or
   Planar, PLUS Geodetic Model)

      4.1.2 Planar

         4.1.2.2  Grid Coordinate System Name

            4.1.2.2.1 Grid Coordinate System Name:  State Plane
	    Coordinate System 1983

            4.1.2.2.4  State Plane Coordinate System (SPSC)

               4.1.2.2.4.1 SPCS Zone Identifier:  Virginia, south zone
	       : -4502 NOS, 5576 USGS

         4.1.2.4  Planar Coordinate Information

            4.1.2.4.1  Planar Coordinate Encoding Method:  coordinate pair

            4.1.2.4.4  Planar Distance Units:  international feet

      4.1.4  Geodetic Model

         4.1.4.1  Hoizontal Datum Name:  North American Datum of 1983

         4.1.4.2  Ellipsoid Name:  Clarke 1866


5.  Entity and Attribute Information

   5.1  Detailed Description

      5.1.1  Entity Type

         5.1.1.1  Entity Type Label: GRID-CODE

         5.1.1.2  Entity Type Definition: Polygon label with two attributes
         defining 26 classes used to identify vegetation zones based on
         botanical, topographic and edaphic qualities.

         VEG-CLASS is a brief descriptive name

         VEG-CODE is an abbreviation for the VEG-CLASS which may be used
         for easier reference while working with this coverage than the 
         longer VEG-CLASS names.

         Refer to the journal publication by the authors for a more complete
         definition of each vegetation catagory.

         5.1.1.3  Entity Type Definition Source (authority): C.A. McCaffrey
         and R.D. Dueser

      5.1.2  Attributes

Codes for vegetation classes are:

  GRID-CODE VEG_CODE VEG_CLASS
        0        w        Water/background
	1        A        Foredune Grassland
        2        G        Dense Grassland
        3        AG       Beachgrass Dunes/ Dense Grassland Dunes
	4        g        Sparse Grassland
        5        Ag       Foredune - Sparse Grassland Complex
        6        At       Open Dunes - Thicket Complex
	7        B        Beach
	8        T        Tall Thicket
	9        AT       Open Dunes - Thicket Complex
       10        t        Low Thicket
       11        J        Juniper Thicket
       12        P        Pine Forest
       13        H        Hardwood Forest
       14        PH       Pine-Hardwood Forest Complex
       15        m        Low Salt Marsh
       16        Mm       Upper Low Salt Marsh
       17        M        Brackish Marsh
       18        s        Salt Flat
       19        F        Fresh Marsh
       20        w        Open Water
       21        dr       Drift
       22        b        Submerged Sand
       23        uw       Underwater Flora (or Fauna)
       24        peat     "Peat" Outcrops
       25        wf       Wash Flat
       26        mf       Mud Flat
		      
6.  Distribution Information

   6.1  Distributor

      10.2  Contact Organization Primary

         10.1.2 Contact Organization:  Virginia Coast Reserve - Long
	 Term Ecological Research (VCR/LTER)

      10.3  Contact Position:  Data Manager

      10.4  Contact Address

         10.4.1  Address Type:  mailing and physical address

         10.4.2 Address:  LTER, Dept. Environmental Sciences, Clark
	 Hall, University of Virginia

         10.4.3  City:  Charlottesville

         10.4.4  State or Province:  VA

         10.4.5  Postal Code:  22903

         10.4.6  Country:  USA

      10.5  Contact Voice Telephone:  (804) 924-8999

      10.8 Contact Electronic Mail Address:  jporter@lternet.edu or
      jhp7e@virginia.edu

   6.3  Distribution Liability: None

   6.4 Standard Order Process

      6.4.2  Digital Form

         6.4.2.1  Digital Transfer Information 

            6.4.2.1.1  Format Name:  ARCE 

            6.4.2.1.6  File Decompression Technique:

            6.4.2.1.7  Transfer Size (MB):

         6.4.2.2  Digital Transfer Option

            6.4.2.2.2  Offline Option

               6.4.2.2.2.1 Offline Media:  For information about
	       available offline media and how to obtain them, please
	       first obtain the permission of Northampton County
	       before contacting the above distribution contact party.

      6.4.3 Fees:  A fee may be assessed for non-digital and offline
      digital formats of the dataset(s) covering reasonable costs
      entailed in the distribution of the data.  Any additional fees
      are the prerogative of Northampton County alone.



7.  Metadata Reference Information

   7.1  Metadata Date:  19950310

   7.4 Metadata Contact

      10.2  Contact Organization Primary

         10.1.2 Contact Organization:  Virginia Coast Reserve - Long
	 Term Ecological Research (VCR/LTER)

      10.3  Contact Position:  Data Manager

      10.4  Contact Address

         10.4.1  Address Type:  mailing and physical address

         10.4.2 Address:  LTER, Dept. Environmental Sciences, Clark
	 Hall, University of Virginia

         10.4.3  City:  Charlottesville

         10.4.4  State or Province:  VA

         10.4.5  Postal Code:  22903

         10.4.6  Country:  USA

      10.5  Contact Voice Telephone:  (804) 924-8999

      10.8 Contact Electronic Mail Address:  jporter@lternet.edu or
      jhp7e@virginia.edu

   7.5 Metadata Standard Name:  FGDC Content Standards for Digital
   Geospatial Metadata

   7.6  Metadata Standard Version:  19940608