Structure Types

Fourteen distinct and non-overlapping geomorphological structure types were identified that could be mapped by visual interpretation of the IKONOS imagery. Habitats or features that cover areas smaller than the MMU were not considered. For example, sand halos surrounding patch reefs are too small to be mapped independently. Structure refers only to predominate physical structural composition of the feature and does not address location (e.g., on the shelf or in the lagoon). The structure types are defined in a collapsible hierarchy ranging from four major classes (coral reef and hardbottom, unconsolidated sediment, other delineations, and unknown), to thirteen detailed classes (sand, mud, spur and groove, individual and aggregated patch reef, aggregate reef, scattered coral/rock in unconsolidated sediment, pavement, rock/boulder (volcanic and carbonate), reef rubble, pavement with sand channels, artificial, and unknown).