<descriptor thcode="62"><thesaurus thcode="62" name="Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard" scope="Categories of ecosystems for coastal, estuarine, and marine environments." creator="FGDC" rights="public domain" date="2017-05-10" codetype="alpha" prefix="cmecs" uri="https://www2.usgs.gov/science/CMECS" tblname="cmecs" root_code="root" contact="pschweitzer"><category><term thcode="25" code="16" name="hierarchical" parent="11" scope="Substantive broader-narrower relationships exist among the terms."/><term thcode="25" code="16" name="hierarchical" parent="11" scope="Substantive broader-narrower relationships exist among the terms."/></category><altlabel><altlabel>CMECS</altlabel><altlabel>CMECS</altlabel><altlabel>Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard (CMECS)</altlabel><altlabel>Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard (CMECS)</altlabel></altlabel></thesaurus><term thcode="62" code="AS-C000" name="Aquatic Setting" parent="root"/><bt><term thcode="62" code="root" name="CMECS" scope="Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard: Category terms encompassing waters from the head of tide or inland incursion of ocean salinity to the splash zone of the coasts to the deepest portions of the oceans and the deep waters of the Great Lakes."/></bt><nt><term thcode="62" code="AS-002" name="Estuarine" parent="AS-C000" scope="System: The Estuarine System is defined by salinity and geomorphology. ..."/><term thcode="62" code="AS-003" name="Lacustrine" parent="AS-C000" scope="System: The CMECS Lacustrine System includes (a) all deepwater areas of the Great Lakes and (b) shoreline areas of the Great Lakes with less than 30 percent areal coverage by trees, shrubs, and persistent emergents. ..."/><term thcode="62" code="AS-001" name="Marine" parent="AS-C000" scope="System: The Marine System is defined by salinity, which is typically about 35, although salinity can measure as low as 0.5 during the period of average annual low flow near fresh outflows. ..."/></nt></descriptor>