Estuarine Shoreline and Barrier-Island Sandline Change Assessment Dataset

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Frequently anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?

Title:
Estuarine Shoreline and Barrier-Island Sandline Change Assessment Dataset
Abstract:
The Barrier Island and Estuarine Wetland Physical Change Assessment Dataset was created to calibrate and test probability models of barrier island sandline and estuarine shoreline change for study areas in Virginia, Maryland, and New Jersey. The models examined the influence of hydrologic and physical variables related to storm-derived overwash and estuarine shoreline change. Variables were calculated using a transect-based method in a geographic information system (GIS) by creating shoreline-perpendicular lines at regular intervals along the oceanfront shoreline and extrapolating the features from geospatial data, including lidar, bathymetry and aerial imagery. In addition, the dataset provides storm-derived barrier island change for Hurricane Sandy, as well as linear rates of change for long-term sandline and estuarine shorelines.
  1. How might this data set be cited?
    Terrano, Joseph F., and Smith, Kathryn E., 20160602, Estuarine Shoreline and Barrier-Island Sandline Change Assessment Dataset: U.S. Geological Survey Data Release doi:10.5066/F71Z42HN, U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg, FL.

    Online Links:

  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?
    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -75.358892
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -73.920363
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 40.486781
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 37.857255
  3. What does it look like?
  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?
    Beginning_Date:
    Ending_Date: 05-Sep-2013
    Currentness_Reference:
    ground condition
  5. What is the general form of this data set?
    Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: Tabular 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):
      • Entity point (3459)
    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 0.0197519519. Longitudes are given to the nearest 0.0253592358. Latitude and longitude values are specified in Decimal degrees. The horizontal datum used is D North American 1983.
      The ellipsoid used is GRS 1980.
      The semi-major axis of the ellipsoid used is 6378137.0.
      The flattening of the ellipsoid used is 1/298.257222101.
  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?
    Assateague_Island_Model_Variables and New_Jersey_Model_Variables
    Excel Spreadsheets and CSV files, which include rate of change statistics, elevation, bathymetry, and wave data for Assateague Island MD/VA and study areas on the New Jersey Coast, from the 1849 to 2013 for a series of transects. (Source: USGS)
    OBJECTID
    Internal feature number. (Source: ESRI) Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated.
    StartX
    Starting longitude of each transect. (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-75.358892
    Maximum:-73.920363
    StartY
    Starting latitude of each transect. (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:37.857255
    Maximum:40.486780
    EndX
    End longitude of each transect. (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-75.520943
    Maximum:-74.153104
    EndY
    End latitude of each transect. (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:37.933219
    Maximum:40.458675
    Z_Min
    Minimum elevation of the island (in meters) for each transect. (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-1.750140
    Maximum:2.071121
    Z_Max
    Maximum elevation of the island (in meters) for each transect. (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:1.284293
    Maximum:48.962055
    Z_Mean
    Mean elevation of the island (in meters) for each transect. (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:0.343437
    Maximum:11.635452
    Bay_Waves_Mean
    Mean height of the waves (in meters) for the bay side of the island. (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:0.000522
    Maximum:0.408183
    Beach_Waves_Mean
    Mean height of the waves (in meters) for the beach side of the island. (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:0.097231
    Maximum:0.82
    Bay_Waves_Max
    Max height of the waves (in meters) for the bay side of the island. (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:0.023443
    Maximum:0.92
    Beach_Waves_Max
    Max height of the waves (in meters) for the beach side of the island. (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:0.12
    Maximum:2.07343
    Bathy_Min
    Minimum depth of the estuary (in meters) for each transect. (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-14.196183
    Maximum:1.191
    Bathy_Max
    Maximum depth of the estuary (in meters) for each transect. (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-3.598999
    Maximum:4.17474
    Bathy_Mean
    Mean depth of the estuary (in meters) for each transect. (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-6.8834
    Maximum:1.189635
    Island_Width
    Width of the barrier island in meters from the foreshore to the furthest point on the backshore. (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:97.034704
    Maximum:4287.821705
    Estuary_Width
    Width of the estuary (in meters) between the furthest point of the backshore Pre-Hurricane Sandy shoreline to the closest point on the mainland Pre-Hurricane Sandy shoreline, calculated for each transect. (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:17.4809189
    Maximum:11443.320871
    Frontshore_1800_2013_LRR
    Linear Regression Rate calculated for the Foreshore from the DSAS 1849 to 2013 analysis. (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-15.45
    Maximum:27.58
    Backshore_1800_2013_LRR
    Linear Regression Rate calculated for the backshore from the DSAS 1849 to 2013 analysis. (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-31.96
    Maximum:14.85
    Sandline_1989_2013_LRR
    Linear Regression Rate calculated for the sandline from the DSAS 1989 to 2013 analysis. (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-55.009304
    Maximum:118.347099
    Frontshore_HS_NSM
    Net Shoreline Movement (NSM) calculated by DSAS for the Pre/Post Hurricane Sandy foreshore rate of change analysis. (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-148.59
    Maximum:111.47
    Backshore_HS_NSM
    Net Shoreline Movement (NSM) calculated by DSAS for the Pre/Post Hurricane Sandy backshore rate of change analysis. (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-240.06
    Maximum:796.59
    Sandline_HS_NSM
    Net Shoreline Movement (NSM) calculated by DSAS for the Pre/Post Hurricane Sandy sandline rate of change analysis. (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-345.75
    Maximum:204.72
    Surge
    Storm surge water level (Source: NOAA)
    Range of values
    Minimum:1.340904
    Maximum:2.733743
    Setup
    Wave setup water level (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:0.063736
    Maximum:2.334207
    Runup
    Wave runup water level (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:1.635748
    Maximum:5.801105
    TWL
    SURGE + RUNUP (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:3.121699
    Maximum:7.220844

Who produced the data set?

  1. Who are the originators of the data set? (may include formal authors, digital compilers, and editors)
    • Joseph F. Terrano
    • Kathryn E. Smith
  2. Who also contributed to the data set?
    This project was funded by the USGS Coastal and Marine Geology Program. Acknowledgment of the U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, as a data source would be appreciated in products developed from these data, and such acknowledgment as is standard for citation and legal practices. Sharing of new data layers developed directly from these data would also be appreciated by the U.S. Geological Survey staff. Users should be aware that comparisons with other datasets for the same area from other time periods may be inaccurate due to inconsistencies resulting from changes in photointerpretation, mapping conventions, and digital processes over time. These data are not legal documents and are not to be used as such.
  3. To whom should users address questions about the data?
    U.S. Geological Survey Coastal and Marine Science Center
    Attn: Joseph F. Terrano
    Researcher 1
    600 4th Street South
    St. Petersburg, Florida
    US

    (727) 502-8047 (voice)
    (727) 502-8001 (FAX)
    jterrano@usgs.gov
    Hours_of_Service:
    Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Eastern Standard Time

Why was the data set created?

Shoreline rates of change are considered a crucial element in performing change analysis for erosion and accretion studies and for tracking shoreline movement over time. The Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS) is computer software that uses transects as a method to extract shoreline change rates from shorelines at a given interval across a baseline. For this long term analysis, transects were spaced out at a 50-m interval across the baseline and shoreline change rates were calculated for the long-term (1849-2013). The rates of change were joined to the transects to allow for a visual representation of these rates. The elevation, bathymetric depths, wave heights, surge, runup, and total water level (TWL) were calculated for each transect so that the rates of change corresponded with this new data.

How was the data set created?

  1. From what previous works were the data drawn?
    Estuarine Shoreline and Barrier-Island Sandline Change (source 1 of 1)
    Thieler, E.R., Himmelstoss, E.A., Zichichi, J.L., and Ergul, Ayhan, 20090101, The Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS) version 4.0 —an ArcGIS Extension for Calculating Shoreline Change.

    Online Links:

    Type_of_Source_Media: onine
    Source_Scale_Denominator: 1500
    Source_Contribution: DSAS was used to generate transects at a 50-m interval.
  2. How were the data generated, processed, and modified?
    Date: 01-Jan-2016 (process 1 of 6)
    Transects were generated at a 50-meter interval perpendicular to the baseline for both the Assateague Island MD/VA and the New Jersey study areas. The shorelines were split into two different analysis groups: (1) 1800s-2013 and (2) Pre/Post Hurricane Sandy. Rates of change were calculated for: (1) net shoreline movement (NSM) (2) linear regression rate (LRR) for the foreshore, backshore, and sandline and saved to a table, in the ArcGIS personal geodatabase format. The LRR was calculated for only the 1800s to 2013 datasets, while the NSM was calculated for only the Pre/Post Hurricane Sandy Datasets. The rate table generated by DSAS was then joined to the respective transect file so the rate values could be displayed on a map.
    Date: 01-Jan-2016 (process 2 of 6)
    Barrier width: the width (m) of the island from the beach shoreline to the bay-side shoreline. The width was determined by intersecting shoreline data digitized from the latest pre-Sandy ortho-rectified natural color imagery, provided by the National Agricultural Imagery Program (NAIP), with the DSAS transects. Imagery was collected in May 2012 and June 2011 for Virginia and Maryland, respectively. To obtain island width, transects were clipped by both the front and back shorelines in ArcGIS and the remaining length was tabulated. The corresponding field is Island_Wid. Barrier height: maximum vertical height (m) calculated from pre-Sandy lidar data collected in March 2010. Clipped transects from barrier width analyses were attributed with spatially coincident lidar elevation using the "Add Surface Information" tool in ArcGIS 3D Analyst extension, which added the Z_MAX, Z_MEAN, and Z_MIN properties to the transect attribute table. The corresponding fields are Z_Min, Z_Max, and Z_Mean.
    Date: 01-Dec-2015 (process 3 of 6)
    Estuary width: the width (m) of the estuary from the the back barrier shoreline to the closest land (mainland or other island) shoreline. The width was determined by intersecting shoreline data digitized from the latest pre-Sandy ortho-rectified natural color imagery from NAIP with the DSAS transects. Imagery was collected in May 2012 and June 2011 for Virginia and Maryland, respectively. To obtain estuary width, transects were clipped by both the back barrier and mainland (or nearby island) shorelines in ArcGIS and length tabulated. The corresponding field is Estuary_Width. Estuary depth: the maximum depth of the estuary (m). Data on estuarine bathymetry were obtained from the Ocean City digital elevation model (DEM) published by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The corresponding fields are Bathy_Min, Bathy_Max, and Bathy_Mean. Hurricane Sandy maximum wave height for ocean and estuary: maximum wave height (m) from Hurricane Sandy were calculated from hydrological models. Model output was imported into ArcGIS using the centroid coordinates for each model grid cell. A spatial join, with a distance of 500 meters, calculated the average maximum wave height for cells within 500 meters of each island transect. Corresponding fields are Bay_Waves_Mean, Bay_Waves_Max, Beach_Waves_Mean, and Beach_Waves_Max. Person who carried out this activity:
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Attn: Joseph Terrano
    600 4th Street South
    St. Petersburg, Florida
    US

    (727) 502-8047 (voice)
    (727) 502-8001 (FAX)
    jterrano@usgs.gov
    Hours_of_Service:
    Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Eastern Standard Time
    Date: 01-Jan-2016 (process 4 of 6)
    For hydrodynamic data (Surge, Setup, Runup, TWL): Water level was computed in Matlab (version R2013b) by adding storm surge from NOAAs Psurge model to wave setup and runup. The wave height and period for calculating wave runup and setup come from the Wavewatch III model. Hydrodynamic parameters were calculated in Matlab and exported into ArcGIS format. For details on modeling parameterization, see: Stockdon, H.F., Doran, K.J., Thompson, D.M., Sopkin, K.L., Plant, N.G., and Sallenger, A.H., 2012, National assessment of hurricane-induced coastal erosion hazards: Gulf of Mexico: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2012-1084, 51 p. http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2012/1084/
    Date: 01-Dec-2015 (process 5 of 6)
    The data from the various analyses were spatially joined into a new transect shapefile for each of the two study areas. As this file was generated inside of an ArcGIS personal geodatabase it was converted to an excel spreadsheet and any "NULL" values were changed to "-99999" for publication purposes. The final products are Excel and comma separated values (csv) files for Assateague Island and another for the New Jersey coast. Person who carried out this activity:
    USGS Staff
    U.S Geological Survey
    600 4th Street South
    Saint Petersburg, FL
    USA

    727-502-8000 (voice)
    (727) 502-8001 (FAX)
    Data sources used in this process:
    • Psurge
    • WW3
    Data sources produced in this process:
    • Hydrodynamics (SURGE, SETUP, RUNUP)
    Date: 13-Oct-2020 (process 6 of 6)
    Added keywords section with USGS persistent identifier as theme keyword. Person who carried out this activity:
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Attn: VeeAnn A. Cross
    Marine Geologist
    384 Woods Hole Road
    Woods Hole, MA

    508-548-8700 x2251 (voice)
    508-457-2310 (FAX)
    vatnipp@usgs.gov
  3. What similar or related data should the user be aware of?
    Thieler, E.R., Himmelstoss, E.A., Zichichi, J.L., and Ergul, Ayhan, 20090101, The Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS) version 4.0—an ArcGIS Extension for Calculating Shoreline Change.

    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?
  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?
  4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?
    Transects with errors or no data were displayed as "null" values, which represent a transect where no data were available. These "null" values are represented as blank boxes in the excel and csv files. These values should be checked and removed if using in any further analysis. The remaining transect start points with rates were used to aid in the final shoreline analysis results.
  5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?
    Transects were generated as a product of the DSAS program at a 50-m interval. These transects were checked to ensure an even distribution and coverage of the shoreline datasets.

How can someone get a copy of the data set?

Are there legal restrictions on access or use of the data?
Access_Constraints: None
Use_Constraints:
The U.S. Geological Survey requests to be acknowledged as originator of the data in future products or derivative research.
  1. Who distributes the data set? (Distributor 1 of 1)
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Attn: Joseph F. Terrano
    600 4th Street South
    St. Petersburg, Florida
    US

    (727) 502-8047 (voice)
    (727) 502-8001 (FAX)
    jterrano@usgs.gov
    Hours_of_Service:
    Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Eastern Standard Time
    Contact_Instructions: All of this report is available online.
  2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set? Assateague_Island_Model_Variables.csv and New_Jersey_Model_Variables.csv (also provided as .xlsx)
  3. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?
    This digital publication was prepared by an agency of the United States Government. Although these data have been processed successfully on a computer system at the U.S. Geological Survey, no warranty expressed or implied is made regarding the display or utility of the data on any other system, nor shall the act of distribution imply any such warranty. The U.S. Geological Survey shall not be held liable for improper or incorrect use of the data described and (or) contained herein. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof.
  4. How can I download or order the data?

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:
Last modified: 13-Oct-2020
Metadata author:
U.S. Geological Survey
Attn: Joseph F. Terrano
600 4th Street South
St. Petersburg, Florida
US

(727) 502-8047 (voice)
(727) 502-8001 (FAX)
jterrano@usgs.gov
Hours_of_Service:
Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Eastern Standard Time
Metadata standard:
FGDC Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata (FGDC-STD-001-1998)
This page is <https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/catalog/spcmsc/Estuarine_Shoreline_and_Barrier_Island_Sandline_Change_Assessment_Dataset.faq.html>
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