Coastal Vulnerability in National Park Units
These Open-File Reports are part of a joint effort by the U.S. Geological Survey and the National Park Service to map the coastal vulnerability of coastal park units.
One of the most important and practical issues in coastal geology is determining the physical response of coastal environments to water-level changes. In 2001, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in partnership with the NPS Geologic Resources Division, began conducting vulnerability assessments and creating map products to assist NPS in managing coastal resources. In this project USGS implemented a vulnerability classification ranking system based on the contributions and interactions of six variables: geomorphology, historic shoreline change rates, regional coastal slope, rate of relative sea-level or lake-level change, mean significant wave height, and mean tidal range. A primary goal of this project was to select park units that represented the geologic diversity of our national parks and test the applicability of the Coastal Vulnerability Index. This cooperative project applied the CVI methodology to coastlines that from a resource preservation perspective may experience undesirable coastal change, such as loss of land, infrastructure, or natural and cultural resources as a result of sea-level or lake-level change in the future.
These Open-File Reports are part of a joint effort by the U.S. Geological Survey and the National Park Service to map the coastal vulnerability of coastal park units.
One of the most important and practical issues in coastal geology is determining the physical response of coastal environments to water-level changes. In 2001, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in partnership with the NPS Geologic Resources Division, began conducting vulnerability assessments and creating map products to assist NPS in managing coastal resources. In this project USGS implemented a vulnerability classification ranking system based on the contributions and interactions of six variables: geomorphology, historic shoreline change rates, regional coastal slope, rate of relative sea-level or lake-level change, mean significant wave height, and mean tidal range. A primary goal of this project was to select park units that represented the geologic diversity of our national parks and test the applicability of the Coastal Vulnerability Index. This cooperative project applied the CVI methodology to coastlines that from a resource preservation perspective may experience undesirable coastal change, such as loss of land, infrastructure, or natural and cultural resources as a result of sea-level or lake-level change in the future.