2019 Mississippi USACE Lidar-Derived Dune Crest, Toe and Shoreline

Metadata also available as - [Outline] - [Parseable text] - [XML]

Frequently anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?

Title:
2019 Mississippi USACE Lidar-Derived Dune Crest, Toe and Shoreline
Abstract:
The storm-induced Coastal Change Hazards component of the Technical Capabilities and Applications project focuses on understanding the magnitude and variability of extreme storm impacts on sandy beaches. Light detection and ranging (lidar)-derived beach morphologic features such as dune crest, toe, and shoreline help define the vulnerability of the beach to storm impacts. This dataset defines the elevation and position of the seaward-most dune crest and toe and the mean high-water shoreline derived from the 2019 United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Mississippi lidar survey. Beach width is included and is defined as the distance between the dune toe and shoreline along a cross-shore profile. The beach slope is calculated using this beach width and the elevation of the shoreline and dune toe.
  1. How might this data set be cited?
    Doran, Kara S., Birchler, Justin J., and Pardun, Joshua M., 20260115, 2019 Mississippi USACE Lidar-Derived Dune Crest, Toe and Shoreline:.

    This is part of the following larger work.

    Doran, Kara S., Long, Joseph W., Birchler, Justin J., Brenner, Owen T., Hardy, Matthew W., Morgan, Karen L.M., Stockdon, Hilary F., and Torres, Miguel Loubriel, 20170805, Lidar-derived Beach Morphology (Dune Crest, Dune Toe, and Shoreline) for U.S. Sandy Coastlines: U.S. Geological Survey data release doi:10.5066/F7GF0S0Z, U.S. Geological Survey - St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, St. Petersburg, Florida.

    Online Links:

  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?
    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -89.148766
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -88.406500
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 30.249748
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 30.198561
  3. What does it look like?
  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?
    Beginning_Date: 05-Nov-2019
    Ending_Date: 10-Nov-2019
    Currentness_Reference:
    ground condition
  5. What is the general form of this data set?
    Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: tabular digital data
  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 (20187)
    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 0.0197843295. Longitudes are given to the nearest 0.0229959585. 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 6378137.0.
      The flattening of the ellipsoid used is 1/298.2572235.
      Vertical_Coordinate_System_Definition:
      Altitude_System_Definition:
      Altitude_Datum_Name: North American Vertical Datum of 1988
      Altitude_Resolution: 0.0001
      Altitude_Distance_Units: meter
      Altitude_Encoding_Method: Attribute values
  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?
    2019-379-DD_morphology.csv
    Dune crest, toe and shoreline, beach width and mean beach slope. See the accompanying data dictionary (Data dictionary for lidar.docx) for more details about the numbering system for the state, segment, and profile fields. (Source: USGS)
    state
    State segment file identification (ID) number. (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:4
    Maximum:4
    segment
    Segment ID number. (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:1
    Maximum:27
    profile
    Grid row number corresponding to a cross-shore profile location. (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:1
    Maximum:770
    lon
    Feature location longitude (WGS84). (Source: USGS)
    ValueDefinition
    999Null value
    Range of values
    Minimum:-89.148766
    Maximum:-88.406500
    Units:decimal degrees
    lat
    Feature location latitude (WGS84). (Source: USGS)
    ValueDefinition
    999Null value
    Range of values
    Minimum:30.198561
    Maximum:30.249748
    Units:decimal degrees
    x
    Cross-shore feature location. (Source: USGS)
    ValueDefinition
    999Null value
    Range of values
    Minimum:-1900.7919
    Maximum:384.3214
    Units:meters
    z
    Feature elevation (NAVD88). For shorelines, it is the mean high-water elevation. (Source: USGS)
    ValueDefinition
    999Null value
    Range of values
    Minimum:0.23
    Maximum:7.8398
    Units:meters
    x_err
    95% confidence interval for the cross-shore shoreline position (NAVD88). (Source: USGS)
    ValueDefinition
    999Null value
    Range of values
    Minimum:0.0001
    Maximum:1.8460
    Units:meters
    z_err
    Root mean squared vertical error of dune crest or toe (NAVD88). (Source: USGS)
    ValueDefinition
    999Null value
    Range of values
    Minimum:0.0074
    Maximum:1.4793
    Units:meters
    beach_width
    Distance between dune toe and shoreline (NAVD88). (Source: USGS)
    ValueDefinition
    999Null value
    Range of values
    Minimum:4.8232
    Maximum:519.1147
    Units:meters
    slope
    Mean beach slope calculated between dune toe and shoreline (NAVD88). (Source: USGS)
    ValueDefinition
    999Null value
    Range of values
    Minimum:0.0026
    Maximum:0.2137
    Units:radians
    feature_type
    An identifier for the type of feature in the table entry. (Source: USGS)
    ValueDefinition
    DCDune Crest
    DTDune Toe
    SLShoreline
    Entity_and_Attribute_Overview:
    The detailed attribute descriptions for the state, segment, and profile fields are included in an accompanying data dictionary (Data dictionary for lidar.docx). These metadata are not complete without this file.
    Entity_and_Attribute_Detail_Citation:
    The entity and attribute information were generated by the individual and/or agency identified as the originator of the dataset. Please review the rest of the metadata record for additional details and information.

Who produced the data set?

  1. Who are the originators of the data set? (may include formal authors, digital compilers, and editors)
    • Kara S. Doran
    • Justin J. Birchler
    • Joshua M. Pardun
  2. Who also contributed to the data set?
  3. To whom should users address questions about the data?
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Attn: Kara S. Doran
    600 4th Street South
    Saint Petersburg, FL
    UNITED STATES

    727-502-8117 (voice)
    727-502-8001 (FAX)
    kdoran@usgs.gov

Why was the data set created?

To provide data on the morphology of U.S. sandy beaches. Data were collected during U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) field activity number (FAN) 2019-379-DD; additional survey details are available on the Coastal and Marine Geoscience Data Systems (CMGDS), at https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/services/activity.php?fan=2019-379-DD.

How was the data set created?

  1. From what previous works were the data drawn?
    2019-379-DD (source 1 of 1)
    United States Army Corps of Engineers, 20200124, 2019 USACE NCMP Topobathy Lidar: Gulf Coast (MS).

    Online Links:

    Type_of_Source_Media: Online digital data
    Source_Contribution:
    A lidar survey that was used to estimate dune morphology variables.
  2. How were the data generated, processed, and modified?
    Date: 15-Jan-2026 (process 1 of 1)
    Elevation data points from the lidar survey were interpolated in MATLAB 2024b to a gridded domain (segment) that was rotated parallel to the shoreline and had a resolution of 10 meters (m) in the longshore direction and 2.5 m in the cross-shore direction. The interpolation method applies spatial filtering with a Hanning window that is twice as wide as the grid resolution. Dune crest, toe and shoreline are extracted from the elevation grid in MATLAB every 10 m alongshore (each grid row is a profile). For details on feature extraction see: Stockdon and others (2012). The dataset was then converted to a comma-separated values file (.csv) for publication in this data release (Doran and others, 2017). Data sources used in this process:
    • 2019-379-DD
    Data sources produced in this process:
    • 2019-379-DD_morphology.csv
  3. What similar or related data should the user be aware of?
    Stockdon, H.F., Doran, K.J., Thompson, D.M., Sopkin, K.L., Plant, N.G., and Sallenger, A.H., 20120501, National Assessment of Hurricane-Induced Coastal Erosion Hazards: Gulf of Mexico: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2012-1084, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

    Online Links:

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

  1. How well have the observations been checked?
  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?
    Horizontal accuracy is estimated for shorelines only by calculating the 95% confidence interval of the regression line through the shoreline position and is dependent on foreshore slope, scatter in the lidar data points, and specified lidar point uncertainty. Horizontal coordinates were projected to the World Geodetic System of 1984 (WGS84) coordinate system with a resolution of 10 meters (m) in the longshore direction and 2.5 m in the cross-shore direction.
  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?
    Vertical accuracy is determined for each dune crest and toe value based upon the scatter of data in the lidar grid cell. Vertical coordinates were projected to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD88) coordinates system with a resolution of 10 centimeters.
  4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?
    This dataset is considered complete for the information presented as described in the abstract section. Users are advised to read the rest of the metadata record carefully for additional details.
  5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?
    Morphologic features were reviewed for quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) in ArcGIS Pro and edited in MATLAB, as needed. Gaps and anomalies in the data result from data coverage or QA/QC procedures, which are detailed in Stockdon and others (2012).

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. Please see 'Distribution Information' for details.
Use_Constraints These data are marked with a Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal License. These data are in the public domain and do not have any use constraints. Users are advised to read the dataset's metadata thoroughly to understand appropriate use and data limitations.
  1. Who distributes the data set? (Distributor 1 of 1)
    U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center
    Attn: USGS SPCMSC Data Management
    600 4th Street South
    Saint Petersburg, FL

    727-502-8000 (voice)
    gs-g-spcmsc_data_inquiries@usgs.gov
  2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set? 2019-379-DD_morphology.csv
  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 for other purposes, nor on all computer systems, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.
  4. How can I download or order the data?

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:
Last modified: 15-Jan-2026
Metadata author:
U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center
Attn: USGS SPCMSC Data Management
600 4th Street South
Saint Petersburg, FL

727-502-8000 (voice)
gs-g-spcmsc_data_inquiries@usgs.gov
Metadata standard:
Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata (FGDC-STD-001-1998)
This page is <https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/catalog/spcmsc/2019-379-DD_morphology_metadata.faq.html>
Generated by mp version 2.9.51 on Tue Jan 20 12:02:37 2026