Research Planning Map

As of October 1, 2026, the contents of the Research Planning Map have been migrated and integrated into the Northeast Ocean Data Portal and the Mid-Atlantic Ocean Data Portal.

As of this date, sharelinks and bookmarks from the Research Planning Map no longer function. Visit either https://www.northeastoceandata.org/research-planning or https://portal.midatlanticocean.org/data-catalog/Research-Planning to view current maps related to Research Planning.

Research Planning Data

Research Planning data are the locations (points, transects, areas) where wildlife and environment data are being collected offshore in U.S. Atlantic waters. These individual datasets will continue to be maintained and updated by RWSC Subcommittees and partners.

• The ArcGIS REST Endpoint for all Research Planning Data is: https://mgeldata.env.duke.edu/rest1/rest/services/RWSC
• Metadata and downloadable datasets for all Research Planning Data is available in a repo on RWSC’s GitHub page: https://github.com/RWSCollab/downloads

Research Planning data are always changing and may not represent all the ongoing research and data collection activities.

Submit data

We invite anyone conducting research or collecting environmental/wildlife data offshore to contribute to Research Planning data in the regional ocean data portals. We are only interested in the locations (points, transects, areas) where data collection is occurring. Use the templates below to submit certain kinds of data for aggregation and display on the map, or email us at [email protected].

• PAM deployments – download metadata template
• Acoustic telemetry receivers – download ACT-MATOS metadata templates

Additional Context

• Learn more about the original plan to build and maintain this tool and other components of the data landscape.
• View the recording of an RWSC public webinar that demonstrated how to use the first-generation Research Planning Map and why it was created. Note that the recording shows the now-retired platform and not the current data portals.
• Research Planning maps and data are not for navigational use.
• Entities and individuals share data and information with RWSC for display on the regional ocean data portals with the understanding that such information will be made publicly available and viewable.
• RWSC and the original data providers are not liable for errors in the data. While we have made every effort to ensure the quality of the data, we cannot guarantee the accuracy of these datasets.
• The burden for determining fitness for use of the data for any purpose lies entirely with users.