Coastal Land-Cover and Feature Datasets Derived from Landsat Satellite Imagery, Delaware Bay, New Jersey to Shinnecock Bay, New York

This data release serves as an archive of coastal land-cover and feature datasets derived from Landsat satellite imagery from Delaware Bay, New Jersey (NJ) to Shinnecock Bay, New York (NY). A total of 119 images acquired between 2008 and 2022 were analyzed to produce 143 thematic land-cover raster datasets. Water, bare earth (sand), and vegetated land-cover classes were mapped using (1) successive thresholding and masking of the modified normalized difference water index (mNDWI), the normalized difference bare land index (NBLI), and the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and (2) applying a rule-based classification modified from the workflow described by Bernier and others (2021). Vector shoreline and sand feature extents were extracted for each image by contouring the spectral indices using the calculated threshold values. These data support the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF)-funded project entitled “Monitoring Hurricane Sandy Beach and Marsh Resilience in New York and New Jersey” (NFWF project ID 2300.16.055110), for which the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center (SPCMSC) is using remotely-sensed data and targeted in-situ observations to monitor the post-restoration evolution of beaches, dunes, vegetative cover, and sediment budgets at seven post-Hurricane Sandy restoration sites in New York and New Jersey.

Bernier, J.C., Miselis, J.L., and Plant, N.G., 2021, Satellite-Derived Barrier Response and Recovery Following Natural and Anthropogenic Perturbations, Northern Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana: Remote Sensing, v. 13, article 3779, https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13183779.