Introduction
Shifting Sands: Sandy ocean beaches are naturally unstable as waves, currents, and winds constantly shift the landscape. These ephemeral interfaces between land and water are often sites of intense development even though they are frequently subjected to natural hazards including flooding, storms, and coastal erosion.
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Beach erosion is a chronic problem along most open-ocean shores of the United States. As coastal populations continue to grow, and community infrastructures are threatened by erosion, there is increased demand for accurate information regarding past and present shoreline changes. There is also need for a comprehensive analysis of shoreline movement that is regionally consistent. To meet these national needs, the Coastal and Marine Geology Program of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is conducting an analysis of historical shoreline changes along open-ocean sandy shores of the conterminous United States and parts of Alaska and Hawaii. A primary goal of this work is to develop standardized methods for mapping and analyzing shoreline movement so that internally consistent updates can periodically be made to record shoreline erosion and accretion.
Products
Internet Map Servers
- National Assessment of Shoreline Change Web Mapping Application
The USGS Coastal and Marine Geology Program (CMGP) National Assessment of Shoreline Change Web Mapping Application provides a national map view of short- and long-term shoreline change evaluations, and historical and modern shorelines. This map includes data layers compiled in support of the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) National Assessment of Shoreline Change Program.
Open File Reports
- National Assessment of Shoreline Change: Historical Shoreline Change in the Hawaiian Islands - USGS Open File Report 2011-1051
This report summarizes the methods of analysis, interprets the results, provides explanations regarding long-term and short-term trends and rates of change, and describes how different coastal communities are responding to coastal erosion.
- The National Assessment of Shoreline Change: A GIS Compilation of Vector Shorelines and Associated Shoreline Change Data for the Sandy Shorelines of Kauai, Oahu, and Maui, Hawaii - USGS Open File Report 2011-1009
This data catalog complements Open File Report 2011-1051 and the Internet Map Server by offering downloadable data layers complete with FGDC compliant metadata.
- National Assessment of Shoreline Change: Historical Shoreline Change along the New England and Mid-Atlantic Coasts - USGS Open File Report 2010-1118
This report summarizes the methods of analysis, interprets the results, provides explanations regarding long-term and short-term trends and rates of change, and describes how different coastal communities are responding to coastal erosion.
- The National Assessment of Shoreline Change: A GIS Compilation of Vector Shorelines and Associated Shoreline Change Data for the New England and Mid-Atlantic Coasts - USGS Open File Report 2010-1119
This data catalog complements Open File Report 2010-1118 and the Internet Map Server by offering downloadable data layers complete with FGDC compliant metadata.
- National Assessment of Shoreline Change: Part 1, Historical Shoreline Changes and Associated Coastal Land Loss Along the U.S. Gulf of Mexico - USGS Open File Report 2004-1043
This report discusses historical shoreline change and coastal land loss along the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.
- National Assessment Of Shoreline Change: Part 2, Historical Shoreline Changes And Associated Coastal Land Loss Along The U.S. Southeast Atlantic Coast - USGS Open File Report 2005-1401
This report discusses historical shoreline change and coastal land loss along the U.S. Southeast Atlantic Coast.
- National Assessment of Shoreline Change: Part 3, Historical Shoreline Change and Associated Coastal Land Loss Along the Sandy Shorelines of the California Coast - USGS Open File Report 2006-1219
This report discusses historical shoreline change and coastal land loss along sandy shorelines of the California Coast.
- National Assessment of Shoreline Change: Part 4, Historical Coastal Cliff Retreat along the California Coast - USGS Open File Report 2007-1133
This report discusses historical shoreline change and coastal land loss along the coastal cliffs of the California Coast.
- The National Assessment of Shoreline Change: A GIS Compilation of Vector
Shorelines and Associated Shoreline Change Data for the U.S. Gulf of Mexico - USGS Open File Report 2004-1089
This data catalog complements Open File Report 2004-1043 and the Internet Map Server by offering downloadable data layers complete with FGDC compliant metadata.
- The National Assessment of Shoreline Change: A GIS Compilation of Vector Shorelines and Associated Shoreline Change Data for the U.S. Southeast Atlantic Coast - USGS Open File Report 2005-1326
This data catalog complements Open File Report 2005-1401 and the Internet Map Server by offering downloadable data layers complete with FGDC compliant metadata.
- The National Assessment of Shoreline Change: A GIS Compilation of Vector Shorelines and Associated Shoreline Change Data for the Sandy Shorelines of the California Coast - USGS Open File Report 2006-1251
This data catalog complements Open File Report 2006-1219 and the Internet Map Server by offering downloadable data layers complete with FGDC compliant metadata.
- The National Assessment of Shoreline Change: A GIS Compilation of Vector Cliff Edges and Associated Cliff Erosion Data for the California Coast - USGS Open File Report 2007-1112
This data catalog complements Open File Report 2007-1133 by offering downloadable data layers complete with FGDC compliant metadata.
- An overview of coastal land loss: with emphasis on the southeastern United States - USGS Open File Report 03-337
This report is an introduction to coastal land loss and the physical and anthropogenic factors that influence land loss.
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U.S. Department of the Interior |
U.S. Geological Survey
