Goals of this task include developing and improving coastal-change assessments and supporting long-term planning and decision making to ensure sustainable coastal economies, infrastructure, and ecosystems.
Chronic erosion is widespread along most open-ocean coastlines of the U.S. and is an increasing threat to growing coastal populations and associated infrastructure. Long-term coastal change can also impact natural coastal processes and affect sensitive coastal ecosystems. Understanding how the coast has changed in the past and what factors have influenced those changes guides our understanding of what may happen in the future.
As part of the National Assessment of Coastal Change Hazards project, the USGS conducts studies of coastal change to better understand long-term coastal evolution and its response to factors such as the cumulative impact of storms, sea-level rise, changes in sediment supply, and human alterations over time periods spanning many decades. Goals of this project include developing and improving coastal-change assessments and supporting long-term planning and decision making to ensure sustainable coastal economies, infrastructure, and ecosystems.
Objectives
- Develop methodology to produce and update nationally-consistent long-term coastal-change analyses that integrate historical data from sources such as maps and photographs with modern data sources such as lidar and satellites.
- Produce a publically-available database of historical shoreline positions that is regularly updated as new data become available.
- Identify and understand the processes that affect long-term coastal change including geomorphology, human impacts, the cumulative impact of storms, and sea level rise.
Below are research tasks and science projects associated with this project.
National Assessment of Coastal Change Hazards
Integration of Processes over Different Spatial and Temporal Scales
National Assessment of Coastal Vulnerability to Sea Level Rise
Video Remote Sensing of Coastal Processes
Below are publications associated with this research.
National assessment of shoreline change—Summary statistics for updated vector shorelines and associated shoreline change data for the north coast of Alaska, U.S.-Canadian Border to Icy Cape
National assessment of shoreline change—Summary statistics for updated vector shorelines and associated shoreline change data for the Gulf of Mexico and Southeast Atlantic coasts
National Assessment of Shoreline Change; historical shoreline change along the New England and Mid-Atlantic coasts
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
The National Assessment of Shoreline Change: A GIS compilation of vector cliff edges and associated cliff erosion data for the California coast
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
The National Assessment of Shoreline Change: A GIS compilation of vector shorelines and associated shoreline change data for the U.S. southeast Atlantic coast
National Assessment Of Shoreline Change: Part 2, Historical Shoreline Changes And Associated Coastal Land Loss Along The U.S. Southeast Atlantic Coast
National Assessment of Shoreline Change: Part 1, Historical Shoreline Changes and Associated Coastal Land Loss Along the U.S. Gulf of Mexico
The National Assessment of Shoreline Change: A GIS Compilation of Vector Shorelines and Associated Shoreline Change Data for the U.S. Gulf of Mexico
- Overview
Goals of this task include developing and improving coastal-change assessments and supporting long-term planning and decision making to ensure sustainable coastal economies, infrastructure, and ecosystems.
Oblique aerial photograph looking to the southwest along the southern end of Cedar Island, Virginia. This area is experiencing long-term erosion rates greater than -3.0 meters per year. (Public domain.) Chronic erosion is widespread along most open-ocean coastlines of the U.S. and is an increasing threat to growing coastal populations and associated infrastructure. Long-term coastal change can also impact natural coastal processes and affect sensitive coastal ecosystems. Understanding how the coast has changed in the past and what factors have influenced those changes guides our understanding of what may happen in the future.
As part of the National Assessment of Coastal Change Hazards project, the USGS conducts studies of coastal change to better understand long-term coastal evolution and its response to factors such as the cumulative impact of storms, sea-level rise, changes in sediment supply, and human alterations over time periods spanning many decades. Goals of this project include developing and improving coastal-change assessments and supporting long-term planning and decision making to ensure sustainable coastal economies, infrastructure, and ecosystems.
Objectives
- Develop methodology to produce and update nationally-consistent long-term coastal-change analyses that integrate historical data from sources such as maps and photographs with modern data sources such as lidar and satellites.
- Produce a publically-available database of historical shoreline positions that is regularly updated as new data become available.
- Identify and understand the processes that affect long-term coastal change including geomorphology, human impacts, the cumulative impact of storms, and sea level rise.
Long-term shoreline change rates for several of the Virginia Barrier Islands (left) and the historic shoreline position data used to calculate the rates (right) as viewed in the Coastal Change Hazards portal. (Public domain.) - Science
Below are research tasks and science projects associated with this project.
National Assessment of Coastal Change Hazards
Research to identify areas that are most vulnerable to coastal change hazards including beach and dune erosion, long-term shoreline change, and sea-level rise.Integration of Processes over Different Spatial and Temporal Scales
This research uses state-of-the-art observations, numerical models, and model-data assimilation techniques to better understand their cumulative effect on coastal change.National Assessment of Coastal Vulnerability to Sea Level Rise
The original national coastal vulnerability index (CVI) assessment was motivated by expected accelerated sea-level rise (SLR) and the uncertainty in the response of the coastline to SLR. This research was conducted between 1999 and 2001, and is currently being updated using new data sources and methodology. This original study was part of the National Assessment of Coastal Change Hazards project.Video Remote Sensing of Coastal Processes
Video observations of the coast are used to monitor a range of coastal processes, for example changes in the shoreline position, both seasonally and due to long-term effects such as sea-level rise, and instances of beach and dune erosion during extreme storm events. - Publications
Below are publications associated with this research.
National assessment of shoreline change—Summary statistics for updated vector shorelines and associated shoreline change data for the north coast of Alaska, U.S.-Canadian Border to Icy Cape
Long-term rates of shoreline change for the north coast of Alaska, from the U.S.-Canadian border to the Icy Cape region of northern Alaska, have been updated as part of the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Assessment of Shoreline Change Project. Short-term shoreline change rates are reported for the first time. Additional shoreline position data were used to compute rates where the previous rate-National assessment of shoreline change—Summary statistics for updated vector shorelines and associated shoreline change data for the Gulf of Mexico and Southeast Atlantic coasts
Long-term rates of shoreline change for the Gulf of Mexico and Southeast Atlantic regions of the United States have been updated as part of the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Assessment of Shoreline Change project. Additional shoreline position data were used to compute rates where the previous rate-of-change assessment only included four shoreline positions at a given location. The long-term sNational Assessment of Shoreline Change; historical shoreline change along the New England and Mid-Atlantic coasts
Beach erosion is a chronic problem along many 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 trends and rates of shoreline movement. There is also a need for a comprehensive analysis of shoreline movement that is consistent from oneThe national assessment of shoreline change: A GIS compilation of vector shorelines and associated shoreline change data for the New England and Mid-Atlantic Coasts
Sandy ocean beaches are a popular recreational destination, often surrounded by communities containing valuable real estate. Development is on the rise despite the fact that coastal infrastructure is subjected to flooding and erosion. As a result, there is an increased demand for accurate information regarding past and present shoreline changes. The U.S. Geological Survey's National Assessment ofThe National Assessment of Shoreline Change: A GIS compilation of vector cliff edges and associated cliff erosion data for the California coast
The U.S. Geological Survey has generated a comprehensive data clearinghouse of digital vector cliff edges and associated rates of cliff retreat along the open-ocean California coast. These data, which are presented herein, were compiled as part of the U.S. Geological Survey's National Assessment of Shoreline Change Project. Cliff erosion is a chronic problem along many coastlines of the United StThe National Assessment of Shoreline Change: A GIS compilation of vector shorelines and associated shoreline change data for the sandy shorelines of the California coast
Introduction The Coastal and Marine Geology Program of the U.S. Geological Survey has generated a comprehensive data clearinghouse of digital vector shorelines and shoreline change rates for the sandy shoreline along the California open coast. These data, which are presented herein, were compiled as part of the U.S. Geological Survey's National Assessment of Shoreline Change Project. Beach eThe National Assessment of Shoreline Change: A GIS compilation of vector shorelines and associated shoreline change data for the U.S. southeast Atlantic coast
The Coastal and Marine Geology Program of the U.S. Geological Survey has generated a comprehensive database of digital vector shorelines and shoreline change rates for the U.S. Southeast Atlantic Coast (Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina). These data, which are presented herein, were compiled as part of the U.S. Geological Survey's National Assessment of Shoreline Change Project. BeaNational Assessment Of Shoreline Change: Part 2, Historical Shoreline Changes And Associated Coastal Land Loss Along The U.S. Southeast Atlantic Coast
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 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 trends and rates of shoreline movement. There is also a need for a comprehensive analysis of shoreline movement that iNational Assessment of Shoreline Change: Part 1, Historical Shoreline Changes and Associated Coastal Land Loss Along the U.S. Gulf of Mexico
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 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 trends and rates of shoreline movement. There is also a need for a comprehensive analysis of shoreline movement that iThe National Assessment of Shoreline Change: A GIS Compilation of Vector Shorelines and Associated Shoreline Change Data for the U.S. Gulf of Mexico
Introduction The Coastal and Marine Geology Program of the U.S. Geological Survey has generated a comprehensive database of digital vector shorelines and shoreline change rates for the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. These data, which are presented herein, were compiled as part of the U.S. Geological Survey's National Assessment of Shoreline Change Project. Beach erosion is a chronic problem along most op