ACCESS NUMBER: 31025 

STUDY TITLE: Development of Alabama GIS Data in Support of the MMS Gulf-wide 

Information System (G-WIS) 

REPORT TITLE: Development of Alabama GIS Data in Support of the MMS Gulf-wide 

Information System (G-WIS) 

CONTRACT NUMBER: 31025 

SPONSORING OCS REGION: Gulf of Mexico 

APPLICABLE PLANNING AREAS: Eastern and Central Gulf of Mexico 

FISCAL YEAR OF PROJECT FUNDING: 2000 

COMPLETION DATE OF REPORT: September 2000 

COST: FY 2000: $100,000 

PROJECT MANAGERS: B. Tew 

AFFILIATION: Geological Survey of Alabama 

ADDRESS: P.O. Box 869999, Tuscaloosa, AL 35486-6999 

PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS*: A. Lafferty, D. Irvin, H. Moore 

KEY WORDS: Eastern Gulf of Mexico; Alabama; Geographic Information System; GIS; 

biology; oil spill contingency planning; land use/land cover; human-use data; 

administrative boundaries; oil and gas 

BACKGROUND: The Alabama Coastal area is a region of dynamic and complex 

coastal and nearshore ecosystems and natural environments in which anthropogenic 

factors and pressures have become increasingly significant. Parts of coastal Alabama 

have been extensively impacted by rapid growth and development associated with 

urban and residential expansion, a flourishing tourism/resort industry along the Gulf of 

Mexico beaches, and both onshore and offshore oil and gas exploration and 

development activities, among other factors. Owing to the complexity and diversity of 

issues and problems related to the coastal area, its environmental sensitivity, and its 

importance to Alabama’s economic and social development, GSA has conducted 

numerous scientific investigations in the area, many of which have led to published 

reports of findings. 

In 1995, the GSA participated in mapping of shoreline types for use in oil spill 

contingency planning during the initial phases in the development of the MMS G-WIS. 

Limited financial resources at that time restricted data development and GIS compilation 

to identification and attribution of shoreline types. Therefore, additional GIS 

development is necessary to provide comprehensive data to support oil spill 
ACCESS NUMBER: 31025 

contingency planning and other environmental applications and analyses in the 

Alabama region. 

This data development program targeted the Alabama coastal counties (Mobile and 

Baldwin) and the offshore Alabama state waters area. The successful completion of this 

project will result in a more comprehensive GIS database for the Alabama coastal area 

that will enhance the ability of MMS, state resource agencies, and others to make 

informed decisions regarding the development of Alabama’s coastal and offshore 

resources in a safe, environmentally prudent manner. 

OBJECTIVES: (1) Identify the best available data/information resources for 

development or update of the data layers to be compiled; (2) Modify, compile, and 

integrate identified existing data into G-WIS specified digital format; (3) Develop new 

data sets, particularly up-to-date land use/land cover, as appropriate; and (4) Make all 

data developed as part of this project available to MMS, industry, and the public in 

various electronic formats and via various delivery mechanisms. 

DESCRIPTION: This data development program targeted the Alabama coastal 

counties (Mobile and Baldwin) and the offshore Alabama state waters area. Recent 

vintage (1995-1996) LandSat Thematic Mapper imagery (35m resolution) was classified 

to determine land use/land cover. This classification was based on a modified 

Anderson classification scheme developed at the USGS. Fieldwork included mapping 

land use seed sites onto enlarged paper copies of the imagery to serve as a check for 

the classification. The imagery was then classified using ERDAS Imagine® software. 

The raster image was then vectorized into an ArcInfo coverage. A coverage of all roads 

in the coastal counties (ROADS) based on the United States Geological Survey (USGS) 

Digital Line Graphs (DLGs) was created. A coverage (PLAC_NAM) of point features 

representing all place names on USGS Topographic maps was created from the USGS 

Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). A state oil and gas lease block 

boundary coverage (LEAS_ST) was created from a Chart of Submerged State Lands 

produced by the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR). 

USGS 7.5 minute topographic map index coverage (INDEX) was created to include all 

7.5 minute Topographic maps (Scale 1:24,000) in Mobile and Baldwin Counties A 

managed lands coverage (MGT) of public lands managed by state and federal agencies 

was created from available shapefiles from the DCNR State Lands Division, the USGS, 

and the United States Forest Service. The shapefiles were obtained in a variety of 

projections and generated at a variety of scales. The GSA converted all shapefiles to 

ArcInfo coverages and projected them all to a common projection. Each newly 

generated coverage was reviewed and the coverages were appended into a managed 

lands coverage. Because many of the managed lands boundaries are unavailable, it is 

unlikely that this coverage includes all managed lands in the coastal counties, but it 

does include a significant portion of the available data. Stream (STREAMS) and lakes 

(LAKES) coverages containing all linear and polygonal water-related features were 

created from USGS DLGs. All water bodies in the coverage that were labeled on the 

USGS 1:100,000 topographic maps were attributed with the name listed on the map. 

The point human-use features coverage (SOCECON) and associated attribute 

(SOC_DATA) and source (SOURCES) information was updated to include additional 
ACCESS NUMBER: 31025 

features (e.g., gas wells, gas platforms, factories, artificial reefs, etc.). The biologic data 

table (BIORES) and species table (SPECIES) were updated to remove Cepphus grille

(Black guillemot) because this bird is not found in Alabama based on information 

provided by the DCNR Marine Resources Division. While reviewing the biologic data 

with ADCNR Marine Resources Division, two mammal species present off the coast of 

Alabama, the Bottlenose dolphin and the West Indian manatee, were identified as 

absent from the database. Although, no systematic study of these marine mammals 

has been completed, some systematic and anecdotal information is available. A marine 

mammal (M_MAMMAL) polygon coverage to indicate marine mammal presence in the 

Alabama waters was created and associated SEASONAL, BIORES, BREED, 

SPECIES, and SOURCES tables were updated to include the marine mammal data. 

Data for these marine mammals were entered into the database in a generic fashion to 

include a presence in all Alabama coastal waters. All other biologic data coverages 

were reviewed by biologists with the DCNR Marine Resources Division and found to be 

acceptable. All data sets were compiled in accordance with the Gulf-Wide Information 

System Database Specification Manual and the Gulf-Wide Information System Data 

Dictionary. All data sets were documented with metadata developed according to the 

Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) Content Standard for Digital Geospatial 

Metadata (CSDGM). 

SIGNIFICANT CONCLUSIONS: Sixteen GIS datasets and tables were created or 

updated during this project. Although these data sets include all available data, some of 

the data sets may not be complete compared to ground conditions because systematic 

study and compilation of data for the coastal area has not been completed. 

STUDY RESULTS: Sixteen GIS datasets and tables were created or updated during 

this project. These data sets result in a more comprehensive GIS database for the 

Alabama coastal area.

STUDY PRODUCTS: The following ArcInfo coverages, look-up tables and FGDC 

compliant metadata records for all coverages were provided to MMS on CD-ROM: 

BIORES 

BREED 

INDEX 

LAKES 

LAND_USE 

LEAS_ST 

MGT 

M_MAMMAL 

PLAC_NAM 

ROADS 

SEASONAL 

SOCECON 

SOC_DATA 

SOURCES 

SPECIES 

STREAMS 

*P.I.'s affiliation may be different than that listed for Project Manager.