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National Assessment of Shoreline Change: A GIS compilation of updated vector shorelines and associated shoreline change data for the north coast of Alaska, U.S. Canadian border to Icy Cape

September 15, 2017

Beaches are a dynamic interface between water and land and are frequently subjected to a range of natural hazards, which include flooding, storm effects, and coastal erosion. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is conducting a national assessment of coastal change hazards across the Nation. One component of this research effort, the National Assessment of Shoreline Change Project, documents changes in shoreline position as a proxy for coastal change. Shoreline position is one of the most commonly monitored indicators of environmental change and it is an easily understood feature marking the location of a beach through time.

A principal component of the USGS national assessment of shoreline change has been to develop a consistent methodology for calculating shoreline change rates and reporting results that may be periodically updated when additional data or improved techniques are available. Results have been organized and presented by coastal regions and include analyses and descriptive reports for the U.S. Gulf of Mexico coast, Southeast Atlantic coast, California coast, New England and Mid-Atlantic coasts, parts of the Hawaii coast, and the Pacific Northwest.

This data release is an update to the North coast of Alaska assessment (Gibbs and Richmond, 2015; https://dx.doi.org/10.3133/ofr20151048) and data (Gibbs and others, 2015; https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2015/1030/). It includes revised rate-of-change calculations based on additional shoreline position data and improved rate metrics.

All data can be viewed on the National Assessment of Coastal Change Hazards Portal at https://marine.usgs.gov/coastalchangehazardsportal/

Publication Year 2017
Title National Assessment of Shoreline Change: A GIS compilation of updated vector shorelines and associated shoreline change data for the north coast of Alaska, U.S. Canadian border to Icy Cape
DOI 10.5066/F72Z13N1
Authors Ann E Gibbs, Karin A. Ohman, Ryan Coppersmith, Bruce M. Richmond
Product Type Data Release
Record Source USGS Digital Object Identifier Catalog
USGS Organization Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center