Visual resource management of the sea

Abstract

The scenic quality of the marine environment has become an important concern for the design and planning professions. Increased public use of the underwater environment has resulted from technological advancements in SCUBA, recreational submarines and through development of under-water restaurants and parks. This paper presents an approach to an underwater visual resource assessment with a case study example of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. Key seascape dimensions discussed are: water clarity, color, topographic relief, water depth, marine life and historic values. This assessment system provides a mechanism for the inclusion of scenic values in marine resource and planning inventories.

Parent Publication

• Proceedings of our national landscape: a conference on applied techniques for analysis and management of the visual resource [Incline Village, Nev., April 23-25, 1979]

Citation

Mills Jr., Louis V. 1979. Visual resource management of the sea. In: Elsner, Gary H., and Richard C. Smardon, technical coordinators. 1979. Proceedings of our national landscape: a conference on applied techniques for analysis and management of the visual resource [Incline Village, Nev., April 23-25, 1979]. Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-35. Berkeley, CA. Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Exp. Stn., Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture: p. 717-724