North Carolina Dune and Beach Time Series Features

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Metadata:

Identification_Information
Data_Quality_Information
Spatial_Data_Organization_Information
Spatial_Reference_Information
Entity_and_Attribute_Information
Distribution_Information
Metadata_Reference_Information

Identification_Information:

Citation:

Citation_Information:

Originator: Alexander C. Seymour
Originator: Kara S. Doran
Publication_Date: 20260310
Title: North Carolina Dune and Beach Time Series Features
Edition: 1.0
Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: vector digital data
Larger_Work_Citation:

Citation_Information:

Originator: Alexander C. Seymour
Originator: Kara S. Doran
Publication_Date: 20260310
Title:

Coastal Dune Condition Codes and Time Series Features, North Carolina

Series_Information:

Series_Name: U.S. Geological Survey data release
Issue_Identification: doi:10.5066/P9WYA19U

Publication_Information:

Publication_Place: St. Petersburg, FL
Publisher:

U.S. Geological Survey - St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center

Online_Linkage: https://doi.org/10.5066/P9WYA19U

Description:

Abstract:

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) supports multiple efforts to understand and predict storm impacts to our nation's coastlines. The geospatial dataset (vector feature class) and comma-delimited American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) table describes a time series of modern foredune crest elevations and cross-shore positions across the North Carolina ocean-fronted coastline between September 1997 and October 2018. Beach width and slope statistics are additionally reported. Results are provided at an alongshore resolution of 500 meters (m) as a series of coincident points, with individual points describing dune and beach statistics derived from a particular topographic survey. Individual time series feature positions (points) represent the center of an alongshore “bin” and describe coastal topography statistics within 250 m alongshore on either side of the point. This data is intended as a companion to the dune condition codes provided in this same data release and are ideal for visualizing interannual changes in the dune crest and beach at individual locations. An ArcGIS Pro Map Package file is also included, which displays dune condition code and time series features with specific symbology and graphing schema that aid the user in interpreting and visualizing some of the most important attributes in the data. The methods used to generate this data followed the process outlined in “Decadal-scale characteristics of natural and anthropogenic dune morphology along North Carolina barrier islands (SE Atlantic coast)” by Seymour and others (2026).

Purpose:

To provide information on the changes in the elevation and position of coastal dunes over the last two decades, along with beach width and slope data along the North Carolina coast.

Time_Period_of_Content:

Time_Period_Information:

Range_of_Dates/Times:

Beginning_Date: 19970915
Ending_Date: 20181002

Currentness_Reference: ground condition

Status:

Progress: Complete
Maintenance_and_Update_Frequency: None planned

Spatial_Domain:

Bounding_Coordinates:

West_Bounding_Coordinate: -78.541634
East_Bounding_Coordinate: -75.460637
North_Bounding_Coordinate: 36.546124
South_Bounding_Coordinate: 33.844975

Keywords:

Theme:

Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: USGS Metadata Identifier
Theme_Keyword: USGS:dc333550-0566-40e9-bb86-cdef7f663fe4

Theme:

Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: ISO 19115 Topic Category
Theme_Keyword: geoscientificInformation
Theme_Keyword: oceans
Theme_Keyword: environment
Theme_Keyword: structure

Theme:

Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: USGS Thesaurus
Theme_Keyword: hazards
Theme_Keyword: marine geology
Theme_Keyword: ocean sciences
Theme_Keyword: coastal processes
Theme_Keyword: erosion
Theme_Keyword: floods
Theme_Keyword: geospatial datasets
Theme_Keyword: time series datasets

Theme:

Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: None
Theme_Keyword: U.S. Geological Survey
Theme_Keyword: USGS
Theme_Keyword: St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center
Theme_Keyword: SPCMSC
Theme_Keyword: Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program
Theme_Keyword: CMHRP

Place:

Place_Keyword_Thesaurus: Geographic Names Information System (GNIS)
Place_Keyword: North Carolina
Place_Keyword: Atlantic Ocean

Access_Constraints: None
Use_Constraints:

Public domain data from the U.S. Government are freely redistributable with proper metadata and source attribution. The U.S. Geological Survey requests to be acknowledged as originators of the data in future products or derivative research.

Point_of_Contact:

Contact_Information:

Contact_Organization_Primary:

Contact_Organization: U.S. Geological Survey
Contact_Person: Kara S. Doran

Contact_Address:

Address_Type: mailing and physical
Address: 600 4th Street South
City: Saint Petersburg
State_or_Province: FL
Postal_Code: 33701
Country: United States

Contact_Voice_Telephone: 727-502-8117
Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: 727-502-8001
Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: kdoran@usgs.gov

Native_Data_Set_Environment:

Windows 10 Enterprise 21H2 (Build 19044.1826); Esri ArcGIS Pro 2.7.1

Cross_Reference:

Citation_Information:

Originator: Alexander C. Seymour
Originator: Daniel J. Ciarletta
Originator: Kara S. Doran
Originator: Kai Parker
Originator: Margaret L. Palmsten
Publication_Date: 20260305
Title:

Decadal-scale characteristics of natural and anthropogenic dune morphology along North Carolina barrier islands (SE Atlantic coast)

Series_Information:

Series_Name: Journal of Coastal Research
Issue_Identification: Unknown

Online_Linkage: https://doi.org/10.2112/JCOASTRES-D-25-00053.1

Data_Quality_Information:

Logical_Consistency_Report: No formal accuracy assessment was conducted.
Completeness_Report:

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.

Positional_Accuracy:

Horizontal_Positional_Accuracy:

Horizontal_Positional_Accuracy_Report:

No formal accuracy assessment is included. Horizontal positions were projected to the World Geodetic System of 1984 (WGS 84) Universal Transverse Mercator Zone 18 North (UTM 18N) coordinate system.

Vertical_Positional_Accuracy:

Vertical_Positional_Accuracy_Report:

No formal accuracy assessment is included. Vertical positions were referenced to the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD88).

Lineage:

Process_Step:

Process_Description:

Methods for deriving this data are described in Seymour and others (2026). Additionally, after time series features were generated, an analyst manually removed select points that occurred in inlets where the elevation of shoals was contributing datapoints to the time series. This sometimes occurred after the erosive loss of the subaerial beach and resulted in inaccurate dune elevation and migration change trends. Additional points were removed that were calculated from transects that diverged from shore-normal orientations. Specifically, this could occur most often directly on cape headlands or on spits adjoined to cape headlands.

Process_Date: 20221013
Source_Produced_Citation_Abbreviation: NC_Time_Series_Features_GDB
Process_Contact:

Contact_Information:

Contact_Person_Primary:

Contact_Person: Alexander C. Seymour
Contact_Organization: U.S. Geological Survey

Contact_Position: Physical Scientist
Contact_Address:

Address_Type: mailing and physical
Address: 600 4th Street South
City: Saint Petersburg
State_or_Province: FL
Postal_Code: 33701
Country: United States

Contact_Voice_Telephone: 727-502-8122
Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: 727-502-8001
Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: aseymour@usgs.gov

Process_Step:

Process_Description:

The data included in this release is a point feature class of time series features stored in a file geodatabase (.gdb), along with a comma-delimited ASCII table (.csv) for users that do not have the ability to open and view Geographic Information Systems (GIS) file formats. The time series ASCII table was generated by inputting the geodatabase feature classes into the ‘Feature Class to ASCII’ ArcGIS Pro geoprocessing tool.

Source_Used_Citation_Abbreviation: NC_Time_Series_Features_GDB
Process_Date: 20221013
Source_Produced_Citation_Abbreviation: NC_Time_Series_Features_ASCII
Process_Contact:

Contact_Information:

Contact_Person_Primary:

Contact_Person: Alexander C. Seymour
Contact_Organization: U.S. Geological Survey

Contact_Position: Physical Scientist
Contact_Address:

Address_Type: mailing and physical
Address: 600 4th Street South
City: Saint Petersburg
State_or_Province: FL
Postal_Code: 33701
Country: United States

Contact_Voice_Telephone: 727-502-8122
Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: 727-502-8001
Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: aseymour@usgs.gov

Process_Step:

Process_Description:

To include additional visualizations of the feature class data, an ArcGIS Pro Map Package (.mpkx) was generated, which contains specific symbolization of the feature classes and charts that aid the user in interpreting and visualizing some of the most important attributes in the data. The geodatabase feature classes, both the time series feature described in this metadata record (NC_Time_Series_Features_GDB), and the dune condition code (NC_Dune_Condition_Codes_GDB, described in NC_Dune_Condition_Code_Metadata) were added to a new ArcGIS Pro map. interactively symbolizing the features appropriately, and creating scatterplot and bar plot graph schema for the feature classes. The Hybrid Reference Layer and World Imagery basemaps were also added to the map layout. For more information about these basemaps, refer to: Hybrid Reference Layer (https://www.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=30d6b8271e1849cd9c3042060001f425) and World Imagery (https://services.arcgisonline.com/ArcGIS/rest/services/World_Imagery/MapServer). The map and its associated schema were then exported to a Map Package by clicking the ‘New Map Package’ command in the ‘Share’ tab in ArcGIS Pro.

Source_Used_Citation_Abbreviation: NC_Dune_Condition_Codes_Time_Series.gdb
Source_Used_Citation_Abbreviation: NC_Time_Series_Features_GDB
Source_Used_Citation_Abbreviation: NC_Dune_Condition_Codes_GDB
Process_Date: 20221013
Source_Produced_Citation_Abbreviation: NC_Dune_Condition_Codes_Time_Series_Map_Pack.mpkx
Source_Produced_Citation_Abbreviation: NC_Dune_Condition_Codes_Time_Series.zip
Process_Contact:

Contact_Information:

Contact_Person_Primary:

Contact_Person: Alexander C. Seymour
Contact_Organization: U.S. Geological Survey

Contact_Position: Physical Scientist
Contact_Address:

Address_Type: mailing and physical
Address: 600 4th Street South
City: Saint Petersburg
State_or_Province: FL
Postal_Code: 33701
Country: United States

Contact_Voice_Telephone: 727-502-8122
Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: 727-502-8001
Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: aseymour@usgs.gov

Spatial_Data_Organization_Information:

Direct_Spatial_Reference_Method: Point
Point_and_Vector_Object_Information:

SDTS_Terms_Description:

SDTS_Point_and_Vector_Object_Type: Point
Point_and_Vector_Object_Count: 10172

Spatial_Reference_Information:

Horizontal_Coordinate_System_Definition:

Planar:

Grid_Coordinate_System:

Grid_Coordinate_System_Name: Universal Transverse Mercator
Universal_Transverse_Mercator:

UTM_Zone_Number: 18N
Transverse_Mercator:

Scale_Factor_at_Central_Meridian: 0.9996
Longitude_of_Central_Meridian: -75.0
Latitude_of_Projection_Origin: 0.0
False_Easting: 500000.0
False_Northing: 0.0

Planar_Coordinate_Information:

Planar_Coordinate_Encoding_Method: coordinate pair
Coordinate_Representation:

Abscissa_Resolution: 0.001
Ordinate_Resolution: 0.001

Planar_Distance_Units: meters

Geodetic_Model:

Horizontal_Datum_Name: WGS 1984
Ellipsoid_Name: WGS 1984
Semi-major_Axis: 6378137.0
Denominator_of_Flattening_Ratio: 298.257223563

Vertical_Coordinate_System_Definition:

Altitude_System_Definition:

Altitude_Datum_Name: North American Vertical Datum 1988
Altitude_Resolution: 0.01
Altitude_Distance_Units: meters
Altitude_Encoding_Method: Attribute values

Entity_and_Attribute_Information:

Detailed_Description:

Entity_Type:

Entity_Type_Label: NC_Time_Series_Features_GDB, NC_Time_Series_Features_ASCII.csv
Entity_Type_Definition:

File geodatabase feature class (.gdb) and comma-separated values file (.csv) of the time series features for North Carolina.

Entity_Type_Definition_Source: USGS

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: OBJECTID
Attribute_Definition: Internal feature number.
Attribute_Definition_Source: Esri
Attribute_Domain_Values:

Unrepresentable_Domain:

Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated.

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: Shape
Attribute_Definition:

Feature geometry. This attribute is only present in the feature class dataset.

Attribute_Definition_Source: Esri
Attribute_Domain_Values:

Unrepresentable_Domain: Vector type (Point M).

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: AlongshoreID
Attribute_Definition: Unique ID for the alongshore bin.
Attribute_Definition_Source: USGS
Attribute_Domain_Values:

Range_Domain:

Range_Domain_Minimum: 1
Range_Domain_Maximum: 1033

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: MeanDuneElevation
Attribute_Definition:

Average dune crest elevation within each alongshore bin, in meters NAVD88. Null values indicate an individual survey where there were too few dune crest elevation samples found within the 500 m bin to estimate a mean.