flowchart LR
%% nodes
ta[("<a href='https://docs.ropensci.org/taxize/articles/datasources.html'>taxonomic<br>authority</a>")]:::in
sd("species<br><b>distributions</b><br>(vector|raster)"):::in
sdm("species<br><b>distributions</b><br>(+taxaid)"):::out
sdmt("species<br><b>distributions</b><br>(aligned rasters)"):::out
sdmte("species<br><b>vulnerability</b><br>raster"):::out
ct("<b>topology</b><br>to share<br>"):::in
st[["species<br><b>sensitivities</b><br>(tables)"]]:::in
stm[["species<br><b>sensitivities</b><br>(+ taxaid)"]]:::out
stmc[["species<br><b>sensitivities</b><br>(equation ready)"]]:::out
eq[["<b>equation</b><br>of sensitivities per species"]]:::in
m[/"<b>match</b><br>taxa"/]:::fxn
t[/"<b>transform</b><br>to rasters"/]:::fxn
c[/"<b>clean</b><br>tables"/]:::fxn
e[/"<b>evaluate</b><br>rescale(∑eq<sub>sp</sub>)"/]:::fxn
%% edges
ta --> m
sd --> m
st --> m
m --> sdm
m --> stm
sdm --> t
ct --> t
t --> sdmt
stm --> c
c --> stmc
eq --> e
sdmt --> e
stmc --> e
e --> sdmte
%% Legend
in(input):::in
fxn[/process/]:::fxn
out(output):::out
subgraph Legend
in
fxn
out
end
%% styles
classDef in fill:lightblue
classDef out fill:lightgreen
classDef fxn fill:yellow
1 Introduction
This Marine Sensitivity (MS) project of BOEM seeks to assess the sensitivity of marine species to offshore energy development, whether oil & gas or wind. By combining the best available species distributions with known species sensitivities we can map out areas of the ocean that are most vulnerable to human activities. This information can be used to inform decisions about where to place energy infrastructure and/or implement mitigations to minimize impacts on the marine environment.
This is a process, not a product. Information is imperfect, especially given the large expanse of US waters. Distributions and abundance of species change, modified increasingly by climate change and human activities. Knowledge on species sensitivities continues to expand with more research. And finally the methods for both modeling and distributing all this information continue to improve. We aim to provide a transparent and reproducible process that can be regularly updated as new data and methods become available.