A tool called the Multipurpose Marine Cadastre provides baseline information needed for marine spatial planning efforts around the U.S., particularly those that involve finding the best location for renewable energy projects.
Users of this interactive tool can pick the ocean geography of their choosing and see information about:
– Jurisdictional boundaries and limits, including marine protected areas and federal fishery management areas;
– Federal georegulations, such as Clean Water Act Section 402 and the Endangered Species Act;
– Federal agency regions, such as the Environmental Protection Agency and National Park Service;
– Navigation and marine infrastructure, including oil and natural gas wells and transmission lines;
– Human use, such as proposed California hydrokinetic sites;
– Marine habitat and biodiversity, such as the Marine Mammal Protection Act; and
– Geology and seafloor, including undersea feature place names and bathymetric contours.
The tool features a map of the U.S. marked with the contiguous zone, exclusive economic zone, revenue sharing boundary, state seaward boundary, and territorial sea.
The Multipurpose Marine Cadastre allows users to perform measurements (distance and area) and draw boundaries using nautical miles, statute miles, and kilometers. Users can plot coordinates of latitude and longitude.
This geographic information system (GIS)-based tool was developed by the Minerals Management Service (now the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation, and Enforcement) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The tool is available at www.csc.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/tools/mmc/index.html.