Comparing Vessel Traffic Data for Marine Spatial Planning in the US Central Atlantic

Abstract

In recent years, marine spatial planning (MSP) has become an important tool used by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and NOAA's National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) to reduce spatial conflict among ocean users during the siting of offshore wind lease areas. Current MSP site suitability modeling uses terrestrial-based Automatic Information System (AIS) vessel transit count data to account for vessel traffic, but this data has gaps and lacks reliability as distance from receivers increases. This project examines these vessel traffic data limitations in the US Central Atlantic region, and compares terrestrial AIS, satellite AIS and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) vessel traffic data through a MSP lens. The advantages, drawbacks and gaps in each type of vessel traffic data are investigated, exploring the potential roles for each in MSP.