Data to Support Analyses of Widening and Narrowing of Beach Segments in California

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Frequently anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?

Title:
Data to Support Analyses of Widening and Narrowing of Beach Segments in California
Abstract:
Shoreline position data from the CoastSat methodology were used to describe beach changes along the California coast during 1984-2024. This data release includes the results of the time-series analyses, including mean annual deseasonalized shoreline positions for 329 beach segments and total uncertainty in these measurements. These techniques were applied to 329 beach segments, which range in length between 200 and 9300 meters, and each representing the integration of data from multiple CoastSat transects. The original shoreline time-series that formed the basis of these data are can be found at: Vos, K., 2025, Time-series of shoreline change along the Pacific Rim (v1.5) [Data set]. Zenodo, doi: 10.5281/zenodo.4760144
Supplemental_Information:
Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.
  1. How might this data set be cited?
    Warrick, Jonathan A., 20250909, Data to Support Analyses of Widening and Narrowing of Beach Segments in California: data release DOI:10.5066/P139YRVP, U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Santa Cruz, California.

    Online Links:

    Other_Citation_Details:
    Suggested Citation: Warrick, J.A., 2025, Data to Support Analyses of Widening and Narrowing of Beach Segments in California: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P139YRVP.
  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?
    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -124.374
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -117.124
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 42.004
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 32.525
  3. What does it look like?
    https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/file/get/689cb749d4be02580cd27720?name=Beach_Segment_map.png&allowOpen=true (PNG)
    Map of the beach segments included in this dataset.
  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?
    Beginning_Date: 01-Jan-1984
    Ending_Date: 31-Dec-2024
    Currentness_Reference:
    The date range from which Landsat imagery were processed for shoreline analyses.
  5. What is the general form of this data set?
    Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: comma-delimited text
  6. How does the data set represent geographic features?
    1. How are geographic features stored in the data set?
      This is a Point data set. It contains the following vector data types (SDTS terminology):
      • Point (329)
    2. What coordinate system is used to represent geographic features?
      Horizontal positions are specified in geographic coordinates, that is, latitude and longitude. Latitudes are given to the nearest 0.00000001. Longitudes are given to the nearest 0.0000001. Latitude and longitude values are specified in Decimal degrees. The horizontal datum used is D_WGS_1984.
      The ellipsoid used is WGS_1984.
      The semi-major axis of the ellipsoid used is 6378137.0000.
      The flattening of the ellipsoid used is 1/298.2572.
  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?
    Beach_Segment_Shoreline_Positions_FINAL.csv
    Table containing attribute information associated with the dataset (Source: Producer defined)
    Beach_Segment
    There are 329 distinct beach segments in the CoastSat shoreline database for California, ranging from the California-Oregon border (section 1) to the U.S.-Mexico border (section 329). This attribute provides these CoastSat section numbers according to the data published in Vos (2025). (Source: CoastSat database, Vos (2025))
    Range of values
    Minimum:1
    Maximum:329
    Units:unitless
    Num_Transects
    The number of 100-m spaced CoastSat beach transects included in each beach segment (Source: CoastSat database, Vos (2025))
    Range of values
    Minimum:2
    Maximum:93
    Units:unitless
    Ttl_Segment_Length_m
    Length of the beach segment in meters (Source: CoastSat database, Vos (2025))
    Range of values
    Minimum:200.0
    Maximum:9300.0
    Units:meters
    Upcoast_CoastSat_Sec
    The section number of the CoastSat transect at the upcoast extent of the beach segment. (Source: CoastSat database, Vos (2025))
    Range of values
    Minimum:1
    Maximum:308
    Units:unitless
    Upcoast_CoastSat_Trans
    The transect number within the CoastSat section of the upcoast extent of the beach segment. (Source: CoastSat database, Vos (2025))
    Range of values
    Minimum:1
    Maximum:258
    Units:unitless
    Downcoast_CoastSat_Sec
    The section number of the CoastSat transect at the downcoast extent of the beach segment. (Source: CoastSat database, Vos (2025))
    Range of values
    Minimum:1
    Maximum:308
    Units:unitless
    Downcoast_CoastSat_Trans
    The tranecttransect number within the CoastSat section of the downcoast extent of the beach segment. (Source: CoastSat database, Vos (2025))
    Range of values
    Minimum:0
    Maximum:238
    Units:unitless
    Upcoast_Lat
    The latitude in decimal degrees of the CoastSat transect at the upcoast extent of the beach segment. (Source: CoastSat database, Vos (2025))
    Range of values
    Minimum:32.55072113
    Maximum:41.99065812
    Units:decimal degrees
    Upcoast_Lon
    The longitude in decimal degrees of the CoastSat transect at the upcoast extent of the beach segment. (Source: CoastSat database, Vos (2025))
    Range of values
    Minimum:-124.36354590
    Maximum:-117.12675500
    Units:decimal degrees
    Downcoast_Lat
    The latitude in decimal degrees of the CoastSat transect at the downcoast extent of the beach segment. (Source: CoastSat database, Vos (2025))
    Range of values
    Minimum:32.52579103
    Maximum:42.00398703
    Units:decimal degrees
    Downcoast_Lon
    The longitude in decimal degrees of the CoastSat transect at the downcoast extent of the beach segment. (Source: CoastSat database, Vos (2025))
    Range of values
    Minimum:-124.37430340
    Maximum:-117.12419180
    Units:decimal degrees
    Calif_Region
    The coastal region of the beach segment defined by geographic breaks at mouth of San Francisco Bay to Point Conception. (Source: CoastSat database, Vos (2025))
    ValueDefinition
    NorthernOregon border to mouth of San Francisco Bay
    CentralMouth of San Francisco Bay to Point Conception
    SouthernPoint Conception to Mexico border
    SoCalif_LittoralCell
    The southern California littoral cell of the beach segment. NaN = outside of southern California (Source: Producer defined)
    ValueDefinition
    1Santa Barbara Littoral Cell
    2Zuma Littoral Cell
    3Santa Monica Littoral Cell
    4San Pedro Littoral Cell
    5Laguna Littoral Cell
    6Oceanside Littoral Cell
    7Mission Littoral Cell
    8Silver Strand Littoral Cell
    Mean_ShorelinePosition_1984
    Mean annual shoreline position during wave year 1984. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-29.22
    Maximum:13.61
    Units:meters
    Mean_ShorelinePosition_1985
    Mean annual shoreline position during wave year 1985. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-11.34
    Maximum:20.83
    Units:meters
    Mean_ShorelinePosition_1986
    Mean annual shoreline position during wave year 1986. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-19.14
    Maximum:15.65
    Units:meters
    Mean_ShorelinePosition_1987
    Mean annual shoreline position during wave year 1987. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-23.04
    Maximum:33.08
    Units:meters
    Mean_ShorelinePosition_1988
    Mean annual shoreline position during wave year 1988. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-25.94
    Maximum:45.1
    Units:meters
    Mean_ShorelinePosition_1989
    Mean annual shoreline position during wave year 1989. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-31.36
    Maximum:62.7
    Units:meters
    Mean_ShorelinePosition_1990
    Mean annual shoreline position during wave year 1990. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-27.66
    Maximum:66.07
    Units:meters
    Mean_ShorelinePosition_1991
    Mean annual shoreline position during wave year 1991. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-39.36
    Maximum:58.67
    Units:meters
    Mean_ShorelinePosition_1992
    Mean annual shoreline position during wave year 1992. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-52.77
    Maximum:58.39
    Units:meters
    Mean_ShorelinePosition_1993
    Mean annual shoreline position during wave year 1993. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-35.77
    Maximum:69.07
    Units:meters
    Mean_ShorelinePosition_1994
    Mean annual shoreline position during wave year 1994. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-26.3
    Maximum:92.3
    Units:meters
    Mean_ShorelinePosition_1995
    Mean annual shoreline position during wave year 1995. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-46.29
    Maximum:140.64
    Units:meters
    Mean_ShorelinePosition_1996
    Mean annual shoreline position during wave year 1996. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-51.0
    Maximum:155.56
    Units:meters
    Mean_ShorelinePosition_1997
    Mean annual shoreline position during wave year 1997. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-36.31
    Maximum:159.58
    Units:meters
    Mean_ShorelinePosition_1998
    Mean annual shoreline position during wave year 1998. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-44.09
    Maximum:152.02
    Units:meters
    Mean_ShorelinePosition_1999
    Mean annual shoreline position during wave year 1999. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-40.68
    Maximum:161.35
    Units:meters
    Mean_ShorelinePosition_2000
    Mean annual shoreline position during wave year 2000. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-51.84
    Maximum:154.76
    Units:meters
    Mean_ShorelinePosition_2001
    Mean annual shoreline position during wave year 2001. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-55.93
    Maximum:162.83
    Units:meters
    Mean_ShorelinePosition_2002
    Mean annual shoreline position during wave year 2002. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-55.42
    Maximum:143.0
    Units:meters
    Mean_ShorelinePosition_2003
    Mean annual shoreline position during wave year 2003. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-58.44
    Maximum:138.51
    Units:meters
    Mean_ShorelinePosition_2004
    Mean annual shoreline position during wave year 2004. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-50.9
    Maximum:133.19
    Units:meters
    Mean_ShorelinePosition_2005
    Mean annual shoreline position during wave year 2005. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-48.86
    Maximum:132.42
    Units:meters
    Mean_ShorelinePosition_2006
    Mean annual shoreline position during wave year 2006. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-55.16
    Maximum:134.9
    Units:meters
    Mean_ShorelinePosition_2007
    Mean annual shoreline position during wave year 2007. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-51.32
    Maximum:130.52
    Units:meters
    Mean_ShorelinePosition_2008
    Mean annual shoreline position during wave year 2008. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-54.11
    Maximum:129.82
    Units:meters
    Mean_ShorelinePosition_2009
    Mean annual shoreline position during wave year 2009. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-57.43
    Maximum:131.54
    Units:meters
    Mean_ShorelinePosition_2010
    Mean annual shoreline position during wave year 2010. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-60.66
    Maximum:129.68
    Units:meters
    Mean_ShorelinePosition_2011
    Mean annual shoreline position during wave year 2011. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-59.77
    Maximum:132.18
    Units:meters
    Mean_ShorelinePosition_2012
    Mean annual shoreline position during wave year 2012. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-57.53
    Maximum:135.11
    Units:meters
    Mean_ShorelinePosition_2013
    Mean annual shoreline position during wave year 2013. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-56.52
    Maximum:136.43
    Units:meters
    Mean_ShorelinePosition_2014
    Mean annual shoreline position during wave year 2014. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-86.28
    Maximum:135.0
    Units:meters
    Mean_ShorelinePosition_2015
    Mean annual shoreline position during wave year 2015. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-55.78
    Maximum:129.31
    Units:meters
    Mean_ShorelinePosition_2016
    Mean annual shoreline position during wave year 2016. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-61.03
    Maximum:125.14
    Units:meters
    Mean_ShorelinePosition_2017
    Mean annual shoreline position during wave year 2017. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-64.93
    Maximum:119.24
    Units:meters
    Mean_ShorelinePosition_2018
    Mean annual shoreline position during wave year 2018. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-61.69
    Maximum:121.95
    Units:meters
    Mean_ShorelinePosition_2019
    Mean annual shoreline position during wave year 2019. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-62.56
    Maximum:122.06
    Units:meters
    Mean_ShorelinePosition_2020
    Mean annual shoreline position during wave year 2020. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-81.15
    Maximum:115.91
    Units:meters
    Mean_ShorelinePosition_2021
    Mean annual shoreline position during wave year 2021. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-99.35
    Maximum:104.55
    Units:meters
    Mean_ShorelinePosition_2022
    Mean annual shoreline position during wave year 2022. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-94.37
    Maximum:113.54
    Units:meters
    Mean_ShorelinePosition_2023
    Mean annual shoreline position during wave year 2023. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-107.14
    Maximum:100.0
    Units:meters
    Mean_ShorelinePosition_2024
    Mean annual shoreline position during wave year 2024 (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-104.63
    Maximum:94.75
    Units:meters
    TotalUncertainty_1sigma_1984
    The combination of the standard deviation of the monthly shoreline positions and the annual measurement accuracy of 2.9 meters, summed in quadrature. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:2.90
    Maximum:30.18
    Units:meters
    TotalUncertainty_1sigma_1985
    The combination of the standard deviation of the monthly shoreline positions and the annual measurement accuracy of 2.9 meters, summed in quadrature. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:2.90
    Maximum:45.77
    Units:meters
    TotalUncertainty_1sigma_1986
    The combination of the standard deviation of the monthly shoreline positions and the annual measurement accuracy of 2.9 meters, summed in quadrature. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:3.04
    Maximum:19.48
    Units:meters
    TotalUncertainty_1sigma_1987
    The combination of the standard deviation of the monthly shoreline positions and the annual measurement accuracy of 2.9 meters, summed in quadrature. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:2.90
    Maximum:35.88
    Units:meters
    TotalUncertainty_1sigma_1988
    The combination of the standard deviation of the monthly shoreline positions and the annual measurement accuracy of 2.9 meters, summed in quadrature. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:2.95
    Maximum:27.46
    Units:meters
    TotalUncertainty_1sigma_1989
    The combination of the standard deviation of the monthly shoreline positions and the annual measurement accuracy of 2.9 meters, summed in quadrature. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:3.16
    Maximum:35.09
    Units:meters
    TotalUncertainty_1sigma_1990
    The combination of the standard deviation of the monthly shoreline positions and the annual measurement accuracy of 2.9 meters, summed in quadrature. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:2.90
    Maximum:22.59
    Units:meters
    TotalUncertainty_1sigma_1991
    The combination of the standard deviation of the monthly shoreline positions and the annual measurement accuracy of 2.9 meters, summed in quadrature. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:2.90
    Maximum:23.15
    Units:meters
    TotalUncertainty_1sigma_1992
    The combination of the standard deviation of the monthly shoreline positions and the annual measurement accuracy of 2.9 meters, summed in quadrature. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:2.90
    Maximum:18.85
    Units:meters
    TotalUncertainty_1sigma_1993
    The combination of the standard deviation of the monthly shoreline positions and the annual measurement accuracy of 2.9 meters, summed in quadrature. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:3.12
    Maximum:40.59
    Units:meters
    TotalUncertainty_1sigma_1994
    The combination of the standard deviation of the monthly shoreline positions and the annual measurement accuracy of 2.9 meters, summed in quadrature. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:3.46
    Maximum:18.59
    Units:meters
    TotalUncertainty_1sigma_1995
    The combination of the standard deviation of the monthly shoreline positions and the annual measurement accuracy of 2.9 meters, summed in quadrature. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:2.90
    Maximum:26.71
    Units:meters
    TotalUncertainty_1sigma_1996
    The combination of the standard deviation of the monthly shoreline positions and the annual measurement accuracy of 2.9 meters, summed in quadrature. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:3.44
    Maximum:23.28
    Units:meters
    TotalUncertainty_1sigma_1997
    The combination of the standard deviation of the monthly shoreline positions and the annual measurement accuracy of 2.9 meters, summed in quadrature. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:3.61
    Maximum:26.79
    Units:meters
    TotalUncertainty_1sigma_1998
    The combination of the standard deviation of the monthly shoreline positions and the annual measurement accuracy of 2.9 meters, summed in quadrature. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:3.51
    Maximum:36.56
    Units:meters
    TotalUncertainty_1sigma_1999
    The combination of the standard deviation of the monthly shoreline positions and the annual measurement accuracy of 2.9 meters, summed in quadrature. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:3.43
    Maximum:25.24
    Units:meters
    TotalUncertainty_1sigma_2000
    The combination of the standard deviation of the monthly shoreline positions and the annual measurement accuracy of 2.9 meters, summed in quadrature. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:3.25
    Maximum:23.52
    Units:meters
    TotalUncertainty_1sigma_2001
    The combination of the standard deviation of the monthly shoreline positions and the annual measurement accuracy of 2.9 meters, summed in quadrature. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:3.21
    Maximum:14.24
    Units:meters
    TotalUncertainty_1sigma_2002
    The combination of the standard deviation of the monthly shoreline positions and the annual measurement accuracy of 2.9 meters, summed in quadrature. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:3.43
    Maximum:17.2
    Units:meters
    TotalUncertainty_1sigma_2003
    The combination of the standard deviation of the monthly shoreline positions and the annual measurement accuracy of 2.9 meters, summed in quadrature. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:3.31
    Maximum:20.28
    Units:meters
    TotalUncertainty_1sigma_2004
    The combination of the standard deviation of the monthly shoreline positions and the annual measurement accuracy of 2.9 meters, summed in quadrature. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:3.23
    Maximum:17.57
    Units:meters
    TotalUncertainty_1sigma_2005
    The combination of the standard deviation of the monthly shoreline positions and the annual measurement accuracy of 2.9 meters, summed in quadrature. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:3.11
    Maximum:21.67
    Units:meters
    TotalUncertainty_1sigma_2006
    The combination of the standard deviation of the monthly shoreline positions and the annual measurement accuracy of 2.9 meters, summed in quadrature. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:3.33
    Maximum:20.46
    Units:meters
    TotalUncertainty_1sigma_2007
    The combination of the standard deviation of the monthly shoreline positions and the annual measurement accuracy of 2.9 meters, summed in quadrature. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:3.37
    Maximum:16.48
    Units:meters
    TotalUncertainty_1sigma_2008
    The combination of the standard deviation of the monthly shoreline positions and the annual measurement accuracy of 2.9 meters, summed in quadrature. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:3.27
    Maximum:19.67
    Units:meters
    TotalUncertainty_1sigma_2009
    The combination of the standard deviation of the monthly shoreline positions and the annual measurement accuracy of 2.9 meters, summed in quadrature. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:3.39
    Maximum:37.99
    Units:meters
    TotalUncertainty_1sigma_2010
    The combination of the standard deviation of the monthly shoreline positions and the annual measurement accuracy of 2.9 meters, summed in quadrature. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:3.55
    Maximum:16.52
    Units:meters
    TotalUncertainty_1sigma_2011
    The combination of the standard deviation of the monthly shoreline positions and the annual measurement accuracy of 2.9 meters, summed in quadrature. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:3.24
    Maximum:14.99
    Units:meters
    TotalUncertainty_1sigma_2012
    The combination of the standard deviation of the monthly shoreline positions and the annual measurement accuracy of 2.9 meters, summed in quadrature. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:3.28
    Maximum:21.37
    Units:meters
    TotalUncertainty_1sigma_2013
    The combination of the standard deviation of the monthly shoreline positions and the annual measurement accuracy of 2.9 meters, summed in quadrature. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:3.29
    Maximum:16.32
    Units:meters
    TotalUncertainty_1sigma_2014
    The combination of the standard deviation of the monthly shoreline positions and the annual measurement accuracy of 2.9 meters, summed in quadrature. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:3.22
    Maximum:25.01
    Units:meters
    TotalUncertainty_1sigma_2015
    The combination of the standard deviation of the monthly shoreline positions and the annual measurement accuracy of 2.9 meters, summed in quadrature. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:3.41
    Maximum:32.7
    Units:meters
    TotalUncertainty_1sigma_2016
    The combination of the standard deviation of the monthly shoreline positions and the annual measurement accuracy of 2.9 meters, summed in quadrature. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:3.23
    Maximum:26.44
    Units:meters
    TotalUncertainty_1sigma_2017
    The combination of the standard deviation of the monthly shoreline positions and the annual measurement accuracy of 2.9 meters, summed in quadrature. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:3.33
    Maximum:31.81
    Units:meters
    TotalUncertainty_1sigma_2018
    The combination of the standard deviation of the monthly shoreline positions and the annual measurement accuracy of 2.9 meters, summed in quadrature. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:3.4
    Maximum:14.15
    Units:meters
    TotalUncertainty_1sigma_2019
    The combination of the standard deviation of the monthly shoreline positions and the annual measurement accuracy of 2.9 meters, summed in quadrature. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:3.42
    Maximum:35.26
    Units:meters
    TotalUncertainty_1sigma_2020
    The combination of the standard deviation of the monthly shoreline positions and the annual measurement accuracy of 2.9 meters, summed in quadrature. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:3.48
    Maximum:15.04
    Units:meters
    TotalUncertainty_1sigma_2021
    The combination of the standard deviation of the monthly shoreline positions and the annual measurement accuracy of 2.9 meters, summed in quadrature. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:3.2
    Maximum:23.64
    Units:meters
    TotalUncertainty_1sigma_2022
    The combination of the standard deviation of the monthly shoreline positions and the annual measurement accuracy of 2.9 meters, summed in quadrature. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:3.17
    Maximum:18.15
    Units:meters
    TotalUncertainty_1sigma_2023
    The combination of the standard deviation of the monthly shoreline positions and the annual measurement accuracy of 2.9 meters, summed in quadrature. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:3.7
    Maximum:28.96
    Units:meters
    TotalUncertainty_1sigma_2024
    The combination of the standard deviation of the monthly shoreline positions and the annual measurement accuracy of 2.9 meters, summed in quadrature. (Source: Producer defined)
    Range of values
    Minimum:3.07
    Maximum:17.88
    Units:meters
    Entity_and_Attribute_Overview:
    There is one header line in the csv file that provides the attribute labels.
    Entity_and_Attribute_Detail_Citation: U.S. Geological Survey

Who produced the data set?

  1. Who are the originators of the data set? (may include formal authors, digital compilers, and editors)
    • Jonathan A. Warrick
  2. Who also contributed to the data set?
  3. To whom should users address questions about the data?
    U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
    Attn: PCMSC Science Data Coordinator
    2885 Mission Street
    Santa Cruz, CA

    831-427-4747 (voice)
    pcmsc_data@usgs.gov

Why was the data set created?

Changes in shoreline positions result from combinations of littoral sediment supply and wave conditions that move sediment both along and across shore. The abundance of shoreline measurement from satellite-derived methodologies allows for detailed characterization of these shoreline change rates with time-series analyses. The results of these analyses provide information about the timing, extent and patterns of coastal erosion and accretion that result in the narrowing and widening of beaches. These data should be useful for science researchers, students, policy makers, and the general public. These data can be used with geographic information systems or other software to help identify the characteristics and patterns of change in the California shoreline.

How was the data set created?

  1. From what previous works were the data drawn?
    Vos (2025) (source 1 of 1)
    Vos, Kilian, 2025, Time-series of shoreline change along the Pacific Rim, v1.5: Zenodo, online.

    Online Links:

    Type_of_Source_Media: online database
    Source_Contribution:
    Time-series of coastal shoreline positions derived from remote sensing analyses of imagery from 1984-2022, version 1.5.
  2. How were the data generated, processed, and modified?
    Date: 11-Aug-2025 (process 1 of 4)
    The first processing step consisted of preprocessing of the raw CoastSat transect data derived from the version 1.5 database provided by Vos (2025). For each transect, we removed extreme outliers, if they occurred, using a standard Hampel filter run across 5 percent subsets of the data and removing all shoreline position values that were greater than 3 standard deviations from the local mean. Monthly mean time series of the shoreline positions were then calculated from these filtered values for each CoastSat transect over the range of January 1984 to December 2024. These monthly time series records were demeaned by calculating the average shoreline position of the entire monthly record and subtracting this value from each time series value. Data sources used in this process:
    • Vos (2025)
    Date: 11-Aug-2025 (process 2 of 4)
    The second processing step consisted of integrating the demeaned monthly shoreline positions from the CoastSat transects into 329 beach segments of the California coast. Each beach segment represents a unique geographical setting along the California study area, and the geographic bounds for these beach segments were defined by the locations of features including headlands, breakwaters and groins, harbors, river mouths, piers, changes in shoreline orientation, or changes in shoreline change trends. We excluded all transect segments that included shoreline position irregularities caused by land-cast shadows, offshore rocks, coastal structures such as piers, and the opening and closing of river mouth inlets. These removed transects are identical to those removed by the seasonal analyses of Warrick and others (2025). For each beach segment, mean monthly shoreline positions were calculated from the demeaned monthly shoreline positions for all transects within the segment. Data sources used in this process:
    • Vos (2025)
    Date: 11-Aug-2025 (process 3 of 4)
    The third processing step consisted of “deseasonalizing” the monthly shoreline position records for each beach segment. This followed the seasonal, trend decomposition with LOESS (STL) techniques proposed by Cleveland and others (1990) and implemented by Warrick and others (2025) to measure shoreline seasonal cycles for the California coast. First, a locally estimated scatterplot smoothing (LOESS) fit through the monthly shoreline time series was computed to determine the time-dependent trend of each beach segment. This LOESS low-pass fit used the parameterization of Warrick and others (2025), which included a single-pass of the standard second order polynomial fit with a tri-cube weight function and a LOESS bandwidth (or “smoothing factor”) of 4 years. The LOESS low-pass was subtracted from each monthly shoreline time-series, resulting in detrended monthly shoreline time-series for each beach segment. The regular seasonal cycles of the shoreline within each beach segment were calculated by averaging all of the detrended shoreline values for each month of the year, following Warrick and others (2025). To “deseasonalize” the original shoreline positions, these computed seasonal cycles were replicated year-after-year and subtracted from the mean monthly shoreline positions. Thus, the resulting deseasonalize records removed seasonal effects but presented long-term trends. Data sources used in this process:
    • Vos (2025)
    Date: 11-Aug-2025 (process 4 of 4)
    The fourth processing step consisted of calculating mean annual deseasonalized shoreline position time series for each beach segment. The wave year was defined as November 1 to October 31, and annual mean values of the deseasonalized monthly values were computed over each of these wave years (for example, wave year 2014 is equivalent to November 1, 2013, to October 31, 2014). The standard deviations for each wave year were also computed from the available monthly deseasonalized records, and the total uncertainty for each wave year was calculated as the quadrature sum of the computed standard deviation and the mean measurement uncertainty at the annual scale, which was computed to be 2.9 meters. Data sources used in this process:
    • Vos (2025)
  3. What similar or related data should the user be aware of?
    Vos, K., Splinter, K.D., Palomar-Vázquez, J., Pardo-Pascual, J.E., Almonacid-Caballer, J., Cabezas-Rabadán, C., Kras, E.C., Luijendijk, A.P., Kalkoen, F., L.P., Almeida., Pais, D., Klein, A.H.F., Mao, Y., Harris, D., B., Castelle, Buscombe, D., and Vitousek, S., 2023, Benchmarking satellite-derived shoreline mapping algorithms.

    Other_Citation_Details:
    Vos K., Splinter, K.D., Palomar-Vázquez, J., Pardo-Pascual, J.E., Almonacid-Caballer, J., Cabezas-Rabadán, C., Kras, E.C., Luijendijk, A.P., Kalkoen, F., Almeida., L.P., Pais, D., Klein, A.H.F., Mao, Y., Harris, D., Castelle B., Buscombe, D., and Vitousek, S., Benchmarking satellite-derived shoreline mapping algorithms. Communications Earth & Environment, 4:345. doi: 10.1038/s43247-023-01001-2.
    R.B., Cleveland, W.S., Cleveland, J.E., McRae, and I., Terpenning, 1990, STL: A seasonal-trend decomposition procedure based on LOESS.

    Other_Citation_Details:
    Cleveland R.B., Cleveland W.S., McRae J.E., Terpenning I., 1990, STL: A seasonal-trend decomposition procedure based on LOESS. Journal of Official Statistics, 6:3-73

How reliable are the data; what problems remain in the data set?

  1. How well have the observations been checked?
    Analyses of the raw CoastSat shoreline position data has been conducted by Vos and others (2023). This showed that horizontal root-mean-square errors (r.m.s.e.) for each derived shoreline position are between 7 and 14 meters, depending on location. The computation of annual metrics of shoreline position reduces the overall variance in shoreline time series due to averaging, thereby increasing measurement precision. Total uncertainty for each annual mean shoreline position measurement is computed as a combination of this measurement uncertainty and the annual standard deviation of the deseasonalized shoreline positions, which are summed in quadrature owing to the independence of these error terms.
  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?
    Coordinates for each beach segment were derived from upcoast and downcoast extents of the average shoreline positions of the CoastSat raw output along predetermined transects spaced 100-meters along the shoreline. These beach segments were used to extract relative shoreline position information from Landsat imagery, and they were not assessed for accuracy with any field measurements or other remotely sensed data.
  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?
  4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?
    The shoreline file is complete and contains all 329 beach segments compiled from the CoastSat database for the coast of California and did not have erroneous data from piers, cliff shadows, or offshore rocks. These data represented the mean annual shoreline patterns over the 1984-2024 record of interest.
  5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?
    Data were checked for logical consistency by querying the range of numerical values to ensure that they were within a reasonable range for each field. We performed outlier checks by plotting all numerical values on maps using the geospatial coordinates of each transect location in QGIS. Site coordinates were checked in QGIS.

How can someone get a copy of the data set?

Are there legal restrictions on access or use of the data?
Access_Constraints No access constraints
Use_Constraints USGS-authored or produced data and information are in the public domain from the U.S. Government and are freely redistributable with proper metadata and source attribution. These data are marked with a Creative Common CC0 1.0 Universal License. Please recognize and acknowledge the U.S. Geological Survey as the originator(s) of the dataset and in products derived from these data.
  1. Who distributes the data set? (Distributor 1 of 1)
    U.S. Geological Survey - ScienceBase
    Denver Federal Center, Building 810, Mail Stop 302
    Denver, CO

    1-888-275-8747 (voice)
    sciencebase@usgs.gov
  2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set? These data are available is csv format contained in a single file (Beach_Segment_Shoreline_Positions_FINAL.csv) and accompanied by CSDGM FGDC-compliant metadata
  3. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?
    Unless otherwise stated, all data, metadata and related materials are considered to satisfy the quality standards relative to the purpose for which the data were collected. Although these data and associated metadata have been reviewed for accuracy and completeness and approved for release by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), no warranty expressed or implied is made regarding the display or utility of the data on any other system or for general or scientific purposes, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty.
  4. How can I download or order the data?
  5. What hardware or software do I need in order to use the data set?
    These data can be viewed with any spreadsheet or text editing software.

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:
Last modified: 09-Sep-2025
Metadata author:
U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center
Attn: PCMSC Science Data Coordinator
2885 Mission Street
Santa Cruz, CA

831-427-4747 (voice)
pcmsc_data@usgs.gov
Metadata standard:
Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata (FGDC-STD-001-1998)
This page is <https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/catalog/pcmsc/DataReleases/ScienceBase/DR_P139YRVP/Beach_Segment_Shoreline_Positions_metadata.faq.html>
Generated by mp version 2.9.51 on Mon Sep 22 13:43:58 2025