Atlantic and Gulf coast sandy coastline topo-bathy profile and characteristic database: Revised version

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Frequently anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?

Title:
Atlantic and Gulf coast sandy coastline topo-bathy profile and characteristic database: Revised version
Abstract:
Seamless topographic-bathymetric (topo-bathy) profiles and their derived morphologic characteristics were developed for sandy coastlines along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States. As such, the rocky coasts of Maine, the coral reefs in southern Florida and the Keys, and the marsh coasts in the Mississippi Delta and the Florida Big Bend region and are not included in this dataset. Topographic light detection and ranging (lidar) data (dune crest, dune toe, and shorelines) from Doran and others (2017) were stitched together with bathymetric data (nearshore slope) from the Continuously Updated Digital Elevation Model (CUDEM, 2014) to generate the seamless topo-bathy profiles. The topo-bathy profiles are published as a database in the Hierarchical Data Format version 5 (HDF5) which contain cross-shore distance coordinates, Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) coordinate system Easting and Northing coordinates, and various morphologic characteristics are provided here. A total of 3,872 topo-bathy profiles are included in the HDF5 database file. These data were originally published in Mickey and Passeri (2022a). Data were withdrawn from its original publication and corrected in this data release. Please see the Version_History.txt file for more information. For further information regarding generation of these seamless topo-bathy profiles, refer to Mickey and Passeri (2022b).
  1. How might this data set be cited?
    Mickey, Rangley C., and Passeri, Davina L., 20250924, Atlantic and Gulf coast sandy coastline topo-bathy profile and characteristic database: Revised version:.

    This is part of the following larger work.

    Mickey, Rangley C., and Passeri, Davina L., 20250924, Atlantic and Gulf Coast Sandy Coastline Topo-Bathy Profile and Characteristic Database: U.S. Geological Survey data release doi:10.5066/P13DMPHA, 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: -96.4410000000000
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -69.9290000000000
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 42.7966000000000
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 25.6667000000000
  3. What does it look like?
  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?
    Beginning_Date: 2011
    Ending_Date: 2020
    Currentness_Reference:
    ground condition
  5. What is the general form of this data set?
    Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: HDF5
  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.
    2. What coordinate system is used to represent geographic features?
      Grid_Coordinate_System_Name: Universal Transverse Mercator
      Universal_Transverse_Mercator:
      UTM_Zone_Number: 14-19
      Transverse_Mercator:
      Scale_Factor_at_Central_Meridian: 0.9996
      Longitude_of_Central_Meridian: -87.0
      Latitude_of_Projection_Origin: 0.0
      False_Easting: 500000.0
      False_Northing: 0.0
      Planar coordinates are encoded using row and column
      Abscissae (x-coordinates) are specified to the nearest 2.3
      Ordinates (y-coordinates) are specified to the nearest 2.3
      Planar coordinates are specified in meters
      The horizontal datum used is North American Datum of 1983.
      The ellipsoid used is Geodectic Reference System 80.
      The semi-major axis of the ellipsoid used is 6378137.0.
      The flattening of the ellipsoid used is 1/298.257222101.
      Vertical_Coordinate_System_Definition:
      Altitude_System_Definition:
      Altitude_Datum_Name: North American Vertical Datum of 1988
      Altitude_Resolution: 0.01
      Altitude_Distance_Units: meters
      Altitude_Encoding_Method: Attribute values
      Depth_System_Definition:
      Depth_Datum_Name: Mean Sea Level
      Depth_Resolution: 0.01
      Depth_Distance_Units: meters
      Depth_Encoding_Method: Attribute values
  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?
    Profile_Data.h5
    HDF5 database file containing 3,872 topo-bathy profiles of U.S. sandy coastlines. Each profile contains the following attributes: cross-shore coordinates, UTM Easting and Northing coordinates, UTM zone, flag for defining which part of profile is from lidar or CUDEM, Total Water Level (TWL) shoreline location (latitude and longitude), topographic lidar retrieval date, cross-shore elevation, datum of shoreline elevation, foredune crest elevation, foredune toe elevation, foredune width, relative height of foredune, foredune volume, beach width, beach volume, beach slope, and nearshore slope. Each profile in the database file is named as "ID_" with a unique, whole number following the underscore. The numbering is in numerical order, starting from 1. (Source: USGS)
    lon
    Longitude of the Total Water Level shoreline location (SPCMSC, 2022). (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-96.4410000000000
    Maximum:-69.9290000000000
    Units:decimal degrees
    lat
    Latitude of the Total Water Level shoreline location (SPCMSC, 2022). (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:25.6667000000000
    Maximum:42.7966000000000
    Units:decimal degrees
    date
    Survey date of the topographic lidar data (Doran and others, 2017). (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:2011
    Maximum:2020
    Units:year
    Xshore
    Cross-shore distance coordinate of the topo-bathy profile. (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:0
    Maximum:393800.400379783
    Units:meters
    Elevation
    Cross-shore elevation and depth of the topo-bathy profile. (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:-22
    Maximum:89
    Units:meters
    UTM_X
    Cross-shore UTM Easting coordinates of the topo-bathy profile. (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:209448.214496298
    Maximum:809575.690679299
    Units:meters
    UTM_Y
    Cross-shore UTM Northing coordinates of the topo-bathy profile. (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:2464482.61013486
    Maximum:4878112.71387319
    Units:meters
    zdatum
    Elevation of shoreline. (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:0.07
    Maximum:1.22
    Units:meters
    Dhigh
    Elevation of foredune crest. (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:0.8
    Maximum:56
    Units:meters
    Dlow
    Elevation of foredune toe. (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:0.4
    Maximum:26
    Units:meters
    DuneWidth
    Foredune width, measured as distance between the fore dune toe and crest, with the fore dune volume calculated as the sediment volume over the derived fore dune width. (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:2.5
    Maximum:278
    Units:meters
    DuneRelHeight
    Relative elevation of foredune (Dlow to Dhigh). (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:0.004
    Maximum:52
    Units:meters
    DuneVolume
    Foredune volume, calculated as the sediment volume over the derived fore dune width. (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:2
    Maximum:3029
    Units:cubic meters
    BeachWidth
    Beach width, measured as the distance between shoreline location and fore dune toe location. (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:3
    Maximum:920
    Units:meters
    BeachVolume
    Beach volume, calculated as the volume of sediment over the derived beach width. (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:3
    Maximum:9227
    Units:cubic meters
    BeachSlope
    Slope of the beach, measured as the ratio of the elevation of dune toe above the shoreline elevation over the horizontal distance between shoreline and the fore dune toe (Doran and others, 2017). (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:0.0008
    Maximum:0.6
    Units:unitless
    NearshoreSlope
    Slope of the nearshore, measured as the ratio of the depth of closure over the horizontal distance between the depth of closure (from Brutsche and others, 2016) and the shoreline. (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:0.0001
    Maximum:0.08
    UTM_zone
    Cross-shore UTM Zone for coordinates of the topo-bathy profile. (Source: USGS)
    Range of values
    Minimum:14
    Maximum:19
    Flag
    Cross-shore flag to indicate if data is either from the lidar or CUDEM bathymetric datasets. (Source: USGS)
    ValueDefinition
    1Lidar data from Doran and others (2017).
    2Bathymetric data from CUDEM (2014).

Who produced the data set?

  1. Who are the originators of the data set? (may include formal authors, digital compilers, and editors)
    • Mickey, Rangley C.
    • Passeri, Davina L.
  2. Who also contributed to the data set?
  3. To whom should users address questions about the data?
    Rangley C Mickey
    Southeast Region: ST. PETE COASTAL & MARINE SC
    Physical Scientist
    600 4Th Street South
    St. Petersburg, FL
    US

    703-648-6674 (voice)
    rmickey@usgs.gov

Why was the data set created?

These data were generated to provide a database of current morphologic profiles and their associated morphologic characteristics for use across multi-disciplinary studies of sandy coastlines along the Atlantic and Gulf U.S. coasts.

How was the data set created?

  1. From what previous works were the data drawn?
    Lidar topography (source 1 of 3)
    Doran, Kara S., Long, Joseph W., Birchler, Justin J., Brenner, Owen T., Hardy, Matthew W., Morgan, Karen L.M., Stockdon, Hilary F., and Loubriel Torres, Miguel, 20170805, Lidar-derived Beach Morphology (Dune Crest, Dune Toe, and Shoreline) for U.S. Sandy Coastlines: U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg, FL.

    Online Links:

    Type_of_Source_Media: data download
    Source_Contribution: Topographic data used for the topo-bathy profile generation
    CUDEM (source 2 of 3)
    Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) at the University of Colorado, Boulder, 2014, Continuously Updated Digital Elevation Model (CUDEM) - 1/9 Arc-Second Resolution Bathymetric-Topographic Tiles: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Boulder, CO.

    Online Links:

    Type_of_Source_Media: data download
    Source_Contribution: Bathymetric data used for the topo-bathy profile generation
    Depth of Closure (source 3 of 3)
    Brutsche, Katherine E., Rosati, James, Pollock, Cheryl E., and McFall, Brian C., 201603, Calculating Depth of Closure Using WIS Hindcast data: U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center [Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory], Vicksburg, MS.

    Online Links:

    Type_of_Source_Media: Journal
    Source_Contribution:
    Depth of closure values along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts for calculation of nearshore slope
  2. How were the data generated, processed, and modified?
    Date: 2022 (process 1 of 4)
    The CUDEM topo-bathy data were interpolated to the extended lidar topographic profile coordinates. The original topographic lidar profiles from Doran and others (2017) were then stitched to the CUDEM interpolated profile at the shoreline datum elevation provided for each lidar-derived profile. For profiles where the lidar shoreline datum elevation and the corresponding CUDEM shoreline datum elevation did not match in the cross-shore position, the CUDEM bathymetry was shifted shoreward or landward – based on the difference in cross-shore position of the lidar datum elevation. This methodology assumes that while this shifting of bathymetry does not represent the actual morphology and position associated with the lidar topography at that survey date, the stitching of these two temporally different datasets provides a reasonable representation of topo-bathy morphology for 1-dimensional morphologic modeling. The data were processed using MATLAB R2016b. Person who carried out this activity:
    Rangley C Mickey
    Southeast Region: ST. PETE COASTAL & MARINE SC
    Physical Scientist
    600 4Th Street South
    St. Petersburg, FL
    US

    703-648-6674 (voice)
    rmickey@usgs.gov
    Data sources used in this process:
    • CUDEM
    • Lidar topography
    Date: 2022 (process 2 of 4)
    The fore dune crest and toe elevations and locations, along with shoreline position and elevation were extracted from the lidar datasets published in Doran and others (2017). In some cases, the fore dune crest or toe may not have been previously extracted and were therefore extracted from the lidar profile following methods provided in Stockdon and others (2012). Beach width (m) was measured as the distance between shoreline location and fore dune toe location. Beach volume (cubic meters) was calculated as the volume of sediment over the derived beach width (m). Fore dune width (m) was measured as the distance (m) between the fore dune toe and crest. The fore dune volume (cubic meters) was calculated as the sediment volume (cubic meters) over the derived fore dune width (m). Nearshore slope was measured as the ratio of the depth of closure (m) over the horizontal distance (m) between the depth of closure from Brutsche and others (2016) and the shoreline. The beach slope was measured as the ratio of the elevation of dune toe above the shoreline elevation over the horizontal distance (m) between shoreline and the fore dune toe (Doran and others, 2017). The data were processed using MATLAB R2016b. Person who carried out this activity:
    Rangley C Mickey
    Southeast Region: ST. PETE COASTAL & MARINE SC
    Physical Scientist
    600 4Th Street South
    St. Petersburg, FL
    US

    703-648-6674 (voice)
    rmickey@usgs.gov
    Data sources used in this process:
    • Depth of Closure
    • Lidar topography
    Date: 2022 (process 3 of 4)
    The final dataset of topo-bathy profiles and associated characteristics were exported to the open-source format of Hierarchical Data Format version 5 (HDF5, .h5) file using MATLAB 2016b provided functions h5create, h5write, and h5 writeatt. Each profile within the HDF5 is considered a ‘group’ and designated by a specific number (syntax example 1: ‘/Profile/ID_1’), while each profile group contains a ‘dataset’ of the profile’s associated topo-bathy elevations (syntax example 1: ‘/Profile/ID_1/Elevation’), coordinates, and morphologic characteristics. Subsection 2.1 provides a description of the variables associated with an individual profile (group) within the HDF5 file. Person who carried out this activity:
    Rangley C Mickey
    Southeast Region: ST. PETE COASTAL & MARINE SC
    Physical Scientist
    600 4Th Street South
    St. Petersburg, FL
    US

    703-648-6674 (voice)
    rmickey@usgs.gov
    Data sources produced in this process:
    • Profile_Data.h5
    Date: 24-Sep-2025 (process 4 of 4)
    Data release revision: These data were originally published in Mickey and Passeri (2022a). Data were withdrawn from its original publication and the following were corrected in this data release: 1) Corrected erroneous data variable related to the cross-shore distance. Corrected cross-shore distance variable (Xshore) from the original value that was based on difference in UTM Eastings or Northings, depending on shoreline orientation. The values should have been derived as a vector from UTM Eastings and Northings coordinates. 2) Recalculated variables associated with cross-shore distance (volume variable, width variables, and slope variables). 3) 33 additional profiles were found by reviewer to be erroneous. 8 were revised with updated dune crest and/or dune toe elevation, while 25 were removed for non-representative near-shore slopes. The 25 removed profiles had cross-shore orientations somewhat parallel to the shoreline (end of island spit), or part of an embayment area. Person who carried out this activity:
    Rangley C Mickey
    Southeast Region: ST. PETE COASTAL & MARINE SC
    Physical Scientist
    600 4Th Street South
    St. Petersburg, FL
    US

    727-502-8115 (voice)
    rmickey@usgs.gov
    Data sources produced in this process:
    • Profile_Data.h5
  3. What similar or related data should the user be aware of?
    St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, 2022, Total Water Level and Coastal Change Forecast Viewer: U.S. Geological Survey - St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, St. Petersburg, FL.

    Online Links:

    Brutsche, Katherine E., Rosati, James, Pollock, Cheryl E., and McFall, Brian C., 201603, Calculating Depth of Closure Using WIS Hindcast Data: U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center [Coastal and Hydraulics Laboratory], Vicksburg, MS.

    Online Links:

    Stockdon, Hilary F., Doran, Kara S., Thompson, David M., Sopkin, Kristin L., Plant, Nathaniel G., and Sallenger, Abbey 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:

    van der Westhuysen, Andre J., Padilla-Hernandez, Roberto, Santos, Pablo, Gibbs, Alex, Gaer, Douglas, Nicolini, Troy, Tjaden, Sten, Devaliere, Eve Marie, and Tolman, Hendrick L., 20130108, Development and Validation of the Nearshore Wave Prediction System: American Meteorological Society, Austin, TX.

    Online Links:

    Mickey, Rangley C., and Passeri, Davina L., 20220706, Atlantic and Gulf Coast Sandy Coastline Topo-Bathy Profile and Characteristic Database: U.S. Geological Survey data release doi:10.5066/P9838KPW, U.S. Geological Survey - St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, St. Petersburg, FL.

    Online Links:

    Other_Citation_Details: 2022a
    Mickey, Rangley C., and Passeri, Davina L., 20220706, A Database of Topo-Bathy Cross-Shore Profiles and Characteristics for U.S. Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico Sandy Coastlines: MDPI: Data, Basel, Switzerland.

    Online Links:

    Other_Citation_Details: 2022b

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

  1. How well have the observations been checked?
    The profile data attributes were derived from observed lidar topographic data (Doran and others, 2017) except for the nearshore slope, which was derived using the bathymetric dataset from the Continuously Updated Digital Elevation Model (CUDEM, 2014). These data were originally published in Mickey and Passeri (2022a). Data were withdrawn from its original publication and corrected in this data release. Please see the Version_History.txt file for more information.
  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?
    The topographic portion of the topo-bathy profiles were extracted directly from lidar data associated with Doran and others (2017). The Continuously Updated Digital Elevation Model bathymetry data were interpolated to an extended coordinate profile (to 20 meters [m] depth), based on locations from Nearshore Wave Prediction System (van der Westhuysen, 2013) generated from the lidar profile coordinates.
  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?
    Vertical datum is in the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD88) with an estimated resolution of 0.01 m.
  4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?
    Dataset is considered complete for the information presented. Please see the Version_History.txt file for more information about the revision of the original dataset published in Mickey and Passeri (2022a). Users are also advised to read the rest of the metadata record carefully for additional details.
  5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?
    The topo-bathy profiles were generated by "stitching" observed lidar topography to the Continuously Updated Digital Elevation Model bathymetry. In some instances, these two datasets (bathymetry and lidar) did not align temporally at a particular shoreline. Therefore, adjustments were made to the position of the bathymetry data to ensure that the observed topographic data remained consistent. Refer to Mickey and Passeri (2022b), or the process steps section of this metadata record for more details on the stitching methodology.

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
    United States

    727-502-8000 (voice)
    gs-g-spcmsc_data_inquiries@usgs.gov
  2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set? Profile_Data.h5
  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?
  5. What hardware or software do I need in order to use the data set?
    The user must have software capable of downloading and uncompressing a zip folder and opening a HDF5 file. There are free, open-source applications capable of viewing HDF files, such as HDFView. To learn more and to access HDFView, please visit, https://portal.hdfgroup.org/display/HDF5.

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:
Last modified: 24-Sep-2025
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
United States

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/Profile_Database_Revised_Metadata.faq.html>
Generated by mp version 2.9.51 on Wed Sep 24 11:35:06 2025