National Assessment of Hurricane-Induced Coastal Erosion Hazards: Mid-Atlantic Coast

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Frequently anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?

Title:
National Assessment of Hurricane-Induced Coastal Erosion Hazards: Mid-Atlantic Coast
Abstract:
These data sets contain information on the probabilities of hurricane-induced erosion (collision, inundation and overwash) for each 1-km section of the Mid-Atlantic coast for category 1-4 hurricanes. The analysis is based on a storm-impact scaling model that uses observations of beach morphology combined with sophisticated hydrodynamic models to predict how the coast will respond to the direct landfall of category 1-4 hurricanes. Hurricane-induced water levels, due to both surge and waves, are compared to beach and dune elevations to determine the probabilities of three types of coastal change: collision (dune erosion), overwash, and inundation. Data on dune morphology (dune crest and toe elevation) and hydrodynamics (storm surge, wave setup and runup) are also included in this data set. As new beach morphology observations and storm predictions become available, this analysis will be updated to describe how coastal vulnerability to storms will vary in the future. The data presented here include the dune morphology observations, as derived from lidar surveys.
  1. How might this data set be cited?
    Doran, Kara S., Stockdon, Hilary F., Thompson, David M., Sopkin, Kristin L., and Plant, Nathaniel G., 20130610, National Assessment of Hurricane-Induced Coastal Erosion Hazards: Mid-Atlantic Coast.

    Online Links:

    This is part of the following larger work.

    U.S. Geological Survey, 2013, Coastal Change Hazards: Hurricanes and Extreme Storms.

    Online Links:

  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?
    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -75.988563
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -71.750841
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 41.153914
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 36.547882
  3. What does it look like?
  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?
    Calendar_Date: 10-Jun-2013
    Currentness_Reference:
    Publication date
  5. What is the general form of this data set?
    Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: vector digital data
  6. How does the data set represent geographic features?
    1. How are geographic features stored in the data set?
      This is a Vector data set. It contains the following vector data types (SDTS terminology):
      • GT-polygon composed of chains (666)
    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 8.9831528411952133e-009. Longitudes are given to the nearest 8.9831528411952133e-009. 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 1/298.257223563.
  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?
    MA_erosion_hazards
    Probabilities of hurricane-induced coastal erosion, dune morphology, and hurricane hydrodynamic data (Source: USGS)
    FID
    Internal feature number. (Source: ESRI) Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated.
    Shape
    Feature geometry. (Source: ESRI) Coordinates defining the features.
    DHIGH
    Elevation of dune crest in meters NAVD88. (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:1.10
    Maximum:17.51
    Units:meters NAVD88
    DLOW
    Elevation of the dune toe in meters NAVD88. (Source: USGS)
    ValueDefinition
    -999Null value
    Range of values
    Minimum:0.93
    Maximum:4.68
    Units:meters NAVD88
    DHIrms
    Root mean squared error of dune crest elevation measurements (square meters). (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:0.00
    Maximum:7.99
    Units:square meters
    DLOrms
    Root mean square error of dune toe elevation measurements (square meters). (Source: USGS)
    ValueDefinition
    -999Nulll value
    Range of values
    Minimum:0
    Maximum:1.52
    Units:square meters
    SURGE1
    Storm surge water level for a category 1 storm. (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:0.84
    Maximum:3.49
    Units:meters NAVD88
    SURGE2
    Storm surge water level for a category 2 storm. (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:1.53
    Maximum:5.39
    Units:meters NAVD88
    SURGE3
    Storm surge water level for a category 3 storm. (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:2.41
    Maximum:7.28
    Units:meters NAVD88
    SURGE4
    Storm surge water level surge for a category 4 storm. (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:3.55
    Maximum:8.99
    Units:meters NAVD88
    RUNUP1
    Wave runup water level for a category 1 storm. (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:0.95
    Maximum:5.53
    Units:meters NAVD88
    RUNUP2
    Wave runup water level for a category 2 storm. (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:1.06
    Maximum:6.26
    Units:meters NAVD88
    RUNUP3
    Wave runup water level for a category 3 storm. (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:1.19
    Maximum:7.11
    Units:meters NAVD88
    RUNUP4
    Wave runup water level for a category 4 storm. (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:1.31
    Maximum:7.91
    Units:meters NAVD88
    SETUP1
    Wave setup water level for a category 1 storm. (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:0
    Maximum:2.34
    Units:meters NAVD88
    SETUP2
    Wave setup water level for a category 2 storm. (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:0
    Maximum:2.65
    Units:meters NAVD88
    SETUP3
    Wave setup water level for a category 3 storm. (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:0
    Maximum:3.01
    Units:meters NAVD88
    SETUP4
    Wave setup water level for a category 4 storm. (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:0
    Maximum:3.35
    Units:meters NAVD88
    PCOL1
    Probability of collision from category 1 storm (Source: USGS)
    ValueDefinition
    -999Null value
    Range of values
    Minimum:0
    Maximum:100.0
    Units:percent
    PCOL2
    Probability of collision from category 2 storm (Source: USGS)
    ValueDefinition
    -999Null value
    Range of values
    Minimum:0
    Maximum:100.0
    Units:percent
    PCOL3
    Probability of collision from category 3 storm (Source: USGS)
    ValueDefinition
    -999Null value
    Range of values
    Minimum:0
    Maximum:100.0
    Units:percent
    PCOL4
    Probability of collision from category 4 storm (Source: USGS)
    ValueDefinition
    -999Null value
    Range of values
    Minimum:0
    Maximum:100.0
    Units:percent
    POVW1
    Probability of overwash from category 1 storm (Source: USGS)
    ValueDefinition
    -999Null value
    Range of values
    Minimum:0
    Maximum:100.0
    Units:percent
    POVW2
    Probability of overwash from category 2 storm (Source: USGS)
    ValueDefinition
    -999Null value
    Range of values
    Minimum:0
    Maximum:100.0
    Units:percent
    PVW3
    Probability of overwash from category 3 storm (Source: USGS)
    ValueDefinition
    -999Null value
    Range of values
    Minimum:0
    Maximum:100.0
    Units:percent
    POVW4
    Probability of overwash from category 4 storm (Source: USGS)
    ValueDefinition
    -999Null value
    Range of values
    Minimum:0
    Maximum:100.0
    Units:percent
    PIND1
    Probability of inundation from category 1 storm (Source: USGS)
    ValueDefinition
    -999Null value
    Range of values
    Minimum:0
    Maximum:100.0
    Units:percent
    PIND2
    Probability of inundation from category 2 storm (Source: USGS)
    ValueDefinition
    -999Null value
    Range of values
    Minimum:0
    Maximum:100.0
    Units:percent
    PIND3
    Probability of inundation from category 3 storm (Source: USGS)
    ValueDefinition
    -999Null value
    Range of values
    Minimum:0
    Maximum:100.0
    Units:percent
    PIND4
    Probability of inundation from category 4 storm (Source: USGS)
    ValueDefinition
    -999Null value
    Range of values
    Minimum:0
    Maximum:100.0
    Units:percent
    MEAN1
    Mean water level (Setup + Surge) for a category 1 storm (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:1.29
    Maximum:4.31
    Units:meters NAVD88
    MEAN2
    Mean water level (Setup + Surge) for a category 2 storm (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:2.30
    Maximum:6.01
    Units:meters NAVD88
    MEAN3
    Mean water level (Setup + Surge) for a category 3 storm (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:3.19
    Maximum:7.95
    Units:meters NAVD88
    MEAN4
    Mean water level (Setup + Surge) for a category 4 storm (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:4.10
    Maximum:9.69
    Units:meters NAVD88
    EXTREME1
    Extreme water level (Runup + Surge) for a category 1 storm (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:2.80
    Maximum:7.50
    Units:meters NAVD88
    EXTREME2
    Extreme water level (Runup + Surge) for a category 2 storm (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:3.88
    Maximum:9.00
    Units:meters NAVD88
    EXTREME3
    Extreme water level (Runup + Surge) for a category 3 storm (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:4.83
    Maximum:10.58
    Units:meters NAVD88
    EXTREME4
    Extreme water level (Runup + Surge) for a category 4 storm (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:5.82
    Maximum:12.11
    Units:meters NAVD88

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
    • Hilary F. Stockdon
    • David M. Thompson
    • Kristin L. Sopkin
    • Nathaniel G. Plant
  2. Who also contributed to the data set?
    The predicted elevations of combined high tide and storm surge for category 1-4 hurricanes were extracted from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) SLOSH (Sea, Lake, and Overland Surges from Hurricanes) model, which has been employed by NOAA in inundation risk studies and operational storm surge forecasting. Wave runup and setup conditions were generated using SWAN software developed by Delft University of Technology (TU Delft).
  3. To whom should users address questions about the data?
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Attn: Hilary Stockdon
    600 4th Street South
    Saint Petersburg, FL
    UNITED STATES

    727-803-8747 (voice)
    727-803-2030 (FAX)
    hstockdon@usgs.gov

Why was the data set created?

To provide data on the probability of hurricane-induced coastal erosion hazards for the Mid-Atlantic coast.

How was the data set created?

  1. From what previous works were the data drawn?
    MOM (source 1 of 8)
    National Hurricane Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 20100910, Storm Surge Maximum of the Maximum.

    Online Links:

    Type_of_Source_Media: Online digital data
    Source_Contribution:
    Data provides a worst case snapshot for a particular hurricane category under "perfect" storm conditions and was used to estimate water level under hurricane categories.
    SWAN (source 2 of 8)
    Delft University of Technology, 20110622, Simulating WAves Nearshore (SWAN) model.

    Online Links:

    Type_of_Source_Media: Computer program
    Source_Contribution:
    Model that was used to estimate wave setup and runup conditions for different hurricane categories.
    USGS EAARL (source 3 of 8)
    USGS, 2011, EAARL Coastal Topography-Virginia, Post-NorIda, 2009: U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 638: Data series 2011-638.

    Online Links:

    Type_of_Source_Media: Online digital data
    Source_Contribution:
    A lidar survey that was used to estimate dune morphology variables.
    USACE CHARTS (source 4 of 8)
    U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Unpublished material, 2010 USACE Lidar: Maryland.

    Online Links:

    Type_of_Source_Media: Online digital data
    Source_Contribution:
    A lidar survey that was used to estimate dune morphology variables.
    USACE CHARTS (source 5 of 8)
    U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Unpublished material, 2010 USACE lidar: Virginia.

    Online Links:

    Type_of_Source_Media: Online digital data
    Source_Contribution:
    A lidar survey that was used to estimate dune morphology variables.
    USACE CHARTS (source 6 of 8)
    U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Unpublished material, 2010 USACE lidar: Delaware.

    Online Links:

    Type_of_Source_Media: Online digital data
    Source_Contribution:
    A lidar survey that was used to estimate dune morphology variables.
    USACE CHARTS (source 7 of 8)
    U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Unpublished material, 2010 USACE lidar: New Jersey.

    Online Links:

    Type_of_Source_Media: Online digital data
    Source_Contribution:
    A lidar survey that was used to estimate dune morphology variables.
    USACE CHARTS (source 8 of 8)
    U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 20120501, 2010 USACE lidar: New York.

    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: 2013 (process 1 of 4)
    For dune morphology data: Elevation data from lidar surveys were interpolated in MATLAB to a gridded domain that was rotated parallel to the shoreline and had a resolution of 10 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 morphology data are extracted from the elevation grid in MATLAB. Dune morphology data are then summarized to 1 km sections. Sections with greater than 75 percent of data missing are flagged with the invalid number of -999. The 1-kilometer smoothed dune crest, toe and root mean square (RMS) error for each were written to line shapefiles using Matlab's shapewrite.m script. Person who carried out this activity:
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Attn: Kara S. Doran
    600 4th Street South
    Saint Petersburg, FL
    UNITED STATES

    727-803-8747 (voice)
    727-803-2030 (FAX)
    kdoran@usgs.gov
    Data sources used in this process:
    • USGS EAARL
    • USACE CHARTS
    Data sources produced in this process:
    • Dune morphology (DHIGH, DLOW, DHIrms, DLOrms)
    Date: 2013 (process 2 of 4)
    For hydrodynamic data: Water level is computed in Matlab by adding storm surge from NOAAs SLOSH model to wave setup and runup. The wave height and period for calculating wave runup and setup come from the SWAN 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/ Person who carried out this activity:
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Attn: Kara S. Doran
    600 4th Street South
    Saint Petersburg, FL
    UNITED STATES

    727-803-8747 (voice)
    727-803-2030 (FAX)
    kdoran@usgs.gov
    Data sources used in this process:
    • MOM
    • SWAN
    Data sources produced in this process:
    • Hydrodynamics (SURGE, SETUP, RUNUP, MEAN, EXTREME)
    Date: 2013 (process 3 of 4)
    Probabilities of coastal erosion hazards are based on estimating the likelihood that the beach system will experience erosion and deposition patterns consistent with collision, overwash, or inundation regimes. The regimes are calculated by using values of dune morphology and mean and extreme water levels for each 1 km section, such that probability of collision occurs when extreme water levels reach the dune toe; overwash when extreme water levels reach the dune crest; and inundation when mean water levels reach the dune crest. Probabilities were calculated in MATLAB and exported in 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/ Person who carried out this activity:
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Attn: Kara S. Doran
    600 4th Street South
    Saint Petersburg, FL
    UNITED STATES

    727-803-8747 (voice)
    727-803-2030 (FAX)
    kdoran@usgs.gov
    Data sources used in this process:
    • Dune morphology
    • Hydrodynamics
    Data sources produced in this process:
    • Probabilities (PCOL, POVW, PIND)
    Date: 13-Oct-2020 (process 4 of 4)
    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?

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 was not estimated.
  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?
    Vertical accuracy for hydrodynamic measurements (surge, setup, and runup) is dependent on input data. SLOSH model accuracy is estimated to +/- 20 percent of the calculated value. Modeled wave heights were compared to observed wave heights at several buoys located at different water depths throughout the Southeast Atlantic and simulated wave heights were representative of maximum possible wave heights for each hurricane category. No other accuracy checks were performed.
    Vertical accuracy for dune morphology (dune crest and toe elevation) data is dependent on the positional accuracy of the lidar data. Estimated accuracy of lidar surveys are +/- 15 centimeters. However, vertical accuracies may vary based on the type of terrain (for example, inaccuracies may increase as slope increases or with the presence of extremely dense vegetation) and the accuracy of the GPS and aircraft-attitude measurements.
  4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?
    These data include dune morhology, and hurricane hydrodynamic data used to generate probabilities of hurricane-induced erosion. Elevation data from lidar surveys are not included. Measurements are collected approximately every 10-meters and summarized to 1-km segments.Category 5 hurricane conditions are not provided by the NOAA SLOSH model for domains north of North Carolina. As a result, only water levels and probabilities for categories 1-4 storms are provided in this dataset.
  5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?
    No additional checks for consistency were performed on this data.

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 originators of the data in future products or derivative research.
  1. Who distributes the data set? (Distributor 1 of 1)
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Attn: Kara S. Doran
    600 4th Street Sourth
    Saint Petersburg, FL

    727-803-8747 (voice)
    727-8032030 (FAX)
    kdoran@usgs.gov
    Contact_Instructions: All of this report is available on-line.
  2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set?
  3. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?
    Although these data have been processed successfully on a computer system at the 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. The USGS shall not be held liable for improper or incorrect use of the data described and/or contained herein. 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: 22-Sep-2021
Metadata author:
U.S. Geological Survey
Attn: Kara S. Doran
600 4th Street South
Saint Petersburg, FL
UNITED STATES

727-803-8747 (voice)
727-803-2030 (FAX)
kdoran@usgs.gov
Metadata standard:
FGDC Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata (FGDC-STD-001-1998)
This page is <https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/catalog/spcmsc/OFR20131131_MA_erosion_hazards_metadata.faq.html>
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