Metadata: Identification_Information: Citation: Citation_Information: Originator: U.S. Geological Survey Publication_Date: 2017 Title: Shorelines of the Alabama coastal region used in shoreline change analysis Edition: 1 Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: vector digital data Series_Information: Series_Name: data release Issue_Identification: DOI:10.5066/F78P5XNK Publication_Information: Publication_Place: Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, Woods Hole, MA Publisher: U.S. Geological Survey, Coastal and Marine Geology Program Online_Linkage: https://doi.org/10.5066/F78P5XNK Online_Linkage: https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/item/582ca4a5e4b04d580bd378ec Online_Linkage: https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/file/get/582ca4a5e4b04d580bd378ec Larger_Work_Citation: Citation_Information: Originator: E.A. Himmelstoss Originator: M.G. Kratzmann Originator: E.R. Thieler Publication_Date: 2017 Title: National Assessment of Shoreline Change— A GIS compilation of Updated Vector Shorelines and Associated Shoreline Change Data for the Gulf of Mexico Coast Edition: 1 Series_Information: Series_Name: data release Issue_Identification: DOI:10.5066/F78P5XNK Publication_Information: Publication_Place: Reston, VA Publisher: U.S. Geological Survey Online_Linkage: https://doi.org/10.5066/F78P5XNK Online_Linkage: https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/item/58055db4e4b0824b2d1c1ee2 Description: Abstract: Sandy ocean beaches are a popular recreational destination, often surrounded by communities containing valuable real estate. Development is on the rise despite the fact that coastal infrastructure is subjected to flooding and erosion. As a result, there is an increased demand for accurate information regarding past and present shoreline changes. To meet these national needs, the Coastal and Marine Geology Program of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is compiling existing reliable historical shoreline data along open-ocean sandy shores of the conterminous United States and parts of Alaska and Hawaii under the National Assessment of Shoreline Change project. There is no widely accepted standard for analyzing shoreline change. Existing shoreline data measurements and rate calculation methods vary from study to study and prevent combining results into state-wide or regional assessments. The impetus behind the National Assessment project was to develop a standardized method of measuring changes in shoreline position that is consistent from coast to coast. The goal was to facilitate the process of periodically and systematically updating the results in an internally consistent manner. Purpose: This dataset includes shorelines from 152 years ranging from 1849 to 2001 for the Alabama coastal region from the Florida border to Dauphin Island. Shorelines were compiled from topographic survey sheets (T-sheets; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, Office of Geology (MOG), University of South Alabama (USA)), air photos (Florida Department of Environmental Protection), and lidar data (United States Geological Survey/National Aeronautics and Space Administration). Historical shoreline positions serve as easily understood features that can be used to describe the movement of beaches through time. These data are used to calculate rates of shoreline change for the U.S. Geological Survey's (USGS) National Assessment of Shoreline Change Project. Rates of long-term and short-term shoreline change were generated in a GIS using the Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS) version 4.3. DSAS uses a measurement baseline method to calculate rate-of-change statistics. Transects are cast from the reference baseline to intersect each shoreline, establishing measurement points used to calculate shoreline change rates. Supplemental_Information: Cross-referenced citations are applicable to the dataset as a whole. Additional citations are located within individual process steps that pertain specifically to the method described in that step. Time_Period_of_Content: Time_Period_Information: Range_of_Dates/Times: Beginning_Date: 1849 Ending_Date: 2001 Currentness_Reference: ground condition Status: Progress: Complete Maintenance_and_Update_Frequency: None planned Spatial_Domain: Bounding_Coordinates: West_Bounding_Coordinate: -88.337457 East_Bounding_Coordinate: -87.515428 North_Bounding_Coordinate: 30.282130 South_Bounding_Coordinate: 30.220700 Keywords: Theme: Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: USGS Metadata Identifier Theme_Keyword: USGS:582ca4a5e4b04d580bd378ec Theme: Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: None Theme_Keyword: Shoreline Theme_Keyword: Shoreline Change Theme_Keyword: Digital Shoreline Analysis System Theme_Keyword: DSAS Theme_Keyword: U.S. Geological Survey Theme_Keyword: USGS Theme_Keyword: Coastal and Marine Geology Program Theme_Keyword: CMGP Theme_Keyword: Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center Theme_Keyword: WHCMSC Theme_Keyword: National Assessment of Shoreline Change Project Theme_Keyword: MHW Theme_Keyword: Mean High Water Theme_Keyword: HWL Theme_Keyword: High Water Line Theme_Keyword: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Theme_Keyword: NOAA Theme_Keyword: National Ocean Service Theme_Keyword: NOS Theme_Keyword: Florida Department of Environmental Protection Theme_Keyword: FLDEP Theme_Keyword: Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, Office of Geology Theme_Keyword: MOG Theme_Keyword: University of South Alabama Theme: Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: ISO 19115 Topic Category Theme_Keyword: oceans Theme_Keyword: environment Theme_Keyword: geoscientificInformation Theme: Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: Marine Realms Information Bank (MRIB) Keywords Theme_Keyword: effects of coastal change Theme_Keyword: coastal processes Theme_Keyword: shoreline accretion Theme_Keyword: shoreline erosion Theme: Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: USGS Thesaurus Theme_Keyword: coastal processes Theme_Keyword: erosion Theme_Keyword: shoreline accretion Place: Place_Keyword_Thesaurus: None Place_Keyword: Alabama Place_Keyword: AL Place_Keyword: Orange Beach Place_Keyword: Gulf Shores Place_Keyword: Fort Morgan Place_Keyword: Dauphin Island Place_Keyword: Gulf of Mexico Place_Keyword: United States Place_Keyword: North America Access_Constraints: None Use_Constraints: Public domain data from the U.S. Government are freely redistributable with proper metadata and source attribution. Please recognize the U.S. Geological Survey as the originator of the dataset. Point_of_Contact: Contact_Information: Contact_Organization_Primary: Contact_Organization: U.S. Geological Survey Contact_Person: E.A. Himmelstoss Contact_Address: Address_Type: mailing and physical address Address: 384 Woods Hole Road City: Woods Hole State_or_Province: MA Postal_Code: 02543-1598 Country: USA Contact_Voice_Telephone: 508-548-8700 Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: 508-547-2310 Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: ehimmelstoss@usgs.gov Native_Data_Set_Environment: Microsoft Windows 7 Version 6.1 (Build 7601) Service Pack 1; Esri ArcGIS 10.0.4.4000 Cross_Reference: Citation_Information: Originator: Robert A. Morton Originator: Tara L. Miller Originator: Laura J. Moore Publication_Date: 2004 Title: National Assessment of Shoreline Change: Part 1 Historical Shoreline Changes and Associated Coastal Land Loss along the U.S. Gulf of Mexico Series_Information: Series_Name: Open-File Report Issue_Identification: 2004-1043 Publication_Information: Publication_Place: Reston, VA Publisher: U.S. Geological Survey Online_Linkage: https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2004/1043/ Cross_Reference: Citation_Information: Originator: Tara L. Miller Originator: Robert A. Morton Originator: Asbury H. Sallenger Originator: Laura J. Moore Publication_Date: 2004 Title: The National Assessment of Shoreline Change— A GIS Compilation of Vector Shorelines and Associated Shoreline Change Data for the U.S. Gulf of Mexico Series_Information: Series_Name: Open-File Report Issue_Identification: 2004-1089 Publication_Information: Publication_Place: Reston, VA Publisher: U.S. Geological Survey Online_Linkage: https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2004/1089/ Cross_Reference: Citation_Information: Originator: E.R. Thieler Originator: E.A. Himmelstoss Originator: J.L. Zichichi Originator: A. Ergul Publication_Date: 2009 Title: Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS) version 4.0 - An ArcGIS extension for calculating shoreline change Series_Information: Series_Name: Open-File Report Issue_Identification: 2008-1278 Publication_Information: Publication_Place: Reston, VA Publisher: U.S. Geological Survey Other_Citation_Details: Current version of software at time of use was 4.3 Online_Linkage: https://woodshole.er.usgs.gov/project-pages/DSAS/version4/ Online_Linkage: https://woodshole.er.usgs.gov/project-pages/DSAS/ Cross_Reference: Citation_Information: Originator: United States Geological Survey (USGS) Originator: National Aeronautics & Space Administration (NASA) Originator: Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Ocean Service (NOS), Office for Coastal Management (OCM) Publication_Date: 20141114 Title: 2001 USGS/NASA Airborne Topographic Mapper (ATM) Lidar: Coastal Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas Publication_Information: Publication_Place: Charleston, SC Publisher: NOAA's Ocean Service, Office for Coastal Management (OCM) Other_Citation_Details: Lidar data were obtained prior to the publication date listed in this citation. Online_Linkage: https://coast.noaa.gov/dataviewer/index.html?action=advsearch&qType=in&qFld=ID&qVal=525 Online_Linkage: ftp://coast.noaa.gov/pub/DigitalCoast/lidar1_z/geoid12a/data/525 Online_Linkage: https://coast.noaa.gov/dataviewer Online_Linkage: https://www.coast.noaa.gov Cross_Reference: Citation_Information: Originator: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Ocean Service (NOS) Publication_Date: Unknown Title: Scanned National Ocean Service (NOS) Coastal Survey Maps (also known as Topographic Survey sheets, or T-sheets) Publication_Information: Publication_Place: Washington, D.C. Publisher: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Other_Citation_Details: NOAA shoreline manuscripts (T-sheets) Online_Linkage: https://nosimagery.noaa.gov/images/shoreline_surveys/noaa_shoreline_surveys.kmz Online_Linkage: https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/news/features/feb13/historical-shoreline.html Online_Linkage: https://nosimagery.noaa.gov/images/shoreline_surveys/survey_scans/NOAA_Shoreline_Survey_Scans.html Cross_Reference: Citation_Information: Originator: Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FLDEP) Publication_Date: Unknown Title: Historic Shoreline Drawings Publication_Information: Publication_Place: Tallahassee, FL Publisher: FL Department of Environmental Protection Other_Citation_Details: Historic Shoreline Database Online_Linkage: https://www.dep.state.fl.us/beaches/data/his-shore.htm Cross_Reference: Citation_Information: Originator: Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, Office of Geology (MOG) Publication_Date: Unknown Title: Historic Shorelines Publication_Information: Publication_Place: Jackson, MS Publisher: Mississippi Office of Geology, Energy and Coastal Geology Division Other_Citation_Details: Data were digitized from NOS U.S. Coast and Geodectic T-Sheets by Louisiana State University. These shorelines represent reliable positions for use in analyzing rates of change and documenting the location of the shoreline. In general the shoreline positions provide an accurate location to +/- 10 meters root mean square. The T-Sheet data was gathered using survey techniques of the time. Map scales of base data range from 1:10,000 to 1:20,000. MOG Contact Person - Barbara Yassin - (601) 961-5571 Online_Linkage: https://geology.deq.state.ms.us/coastal/Shorelines-Historic.htm Cross_Reference: Citation_Information: Originator: University of South Alabama (USA) Publication_Date: Unknown Title: Historic Shoreline Database Publication_Information: Publication_Place: Mobile, AL Publisher: University of South Alabama Other_Citation_Details: USA Contact Person - Scott Douglass - (251) 460-6174 Cross_Reference: Citation_Information: Originator: E.A. Himmelstoss Originator: M.G. Kratzmann Originator: E.R. Thieler Publication_Date: 2017 Title: National Assessment of Shoreline Change: Summary Statistics for Updated Vector Shorelines and Associated Shoreline Change Data for the Gulf of Mexico and Southeast Atlantic Coasts Series_Information: Series_Name: Open-File Report Issue_Identification: 2017-1015 Publication_Information: Publication_Place: Reston, VA Publisher: U.S. Geological Survey Online_Linkage: https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20171015 Data_Quality_Information: Attribute_Accuracy: Attribute_Accuracy_Report: The data provided here are a compilation of shorelines from multiple sources, spanning 152 years. The attributes are based on the requirements of the Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS) software and have gone through a series of quality assurance procedures. Logical_Consistency_Report: Adjacent shoreline segments do not overlap and are not necessarily continuous. Shorelines were quality checked for accuracy. Any slight offsets between adjacent segments due to georeferencing and digitizing error are taken into account in the uncertainty of the shoreline position, as reported in the horizontal accuracy section of this metadata file. Completeness_Report: This shoreline file is complete and contains all shoreline segments used to calculate shoreline change rates along sections of the Alabama coastal region where shoreline position data were available. These data adequately represented the shoreline position at the time of the survey. Remaining gaps in these data, if applicable, are a consequence of non-existing data or existing data that did not meet quality assurance standards. The digitized shoreline vectors downloaded from NOAA included attributes defining the shoreline type (attribute field name varies by file). For the open-ocean facing shorelines, only Mean High Water shoreline features (Natural.Mean High Water; SPOR; 20) were retained. Other shoreline features (such as seawalls, bulkheads, manmade objects) were deleted. NOAA has made non-georeferenced NOAA Shoreline Survey Scans available for download, and additional data for the region may be available (https://nosimagery.noaa.gov/images/shoreline_surveys/survey_scans/NOAA_Shoreline_Survey_Scans.html). Positional_Accuracy: Horizontal_Positional_Accuracy: Horizontal_Positional_Accuracy_Report: Shoreline data have been acquired from 1849 to 2001, the horizontal accuracy of which varies with respect to data source from which the shorelines were digitized, the lidar data from which the shorelines were extracted, and the time period. Shorelines prior to 1960 (T-sheets) have an estimated positional uncertainty of plus or minus 10.8 meters. Shorelines from the 1960s-1980s (T-sheets) have an estimated positional uncertainty of plus or minus 5.1 meters. Shorelines from the 1960s-1970s (FLDEP, air photos) have an estimated positional uncertainty of plus or minus 3.2 meters. The lidar shoreline from 2001 has an estimated positional uncertainty of plus or minus 1.6 meters. Crowell, M., Leatherman, S.P., and Buckley, M.K., 1991. Historical Shoreline Change: Error Analysis and Mapping Accuracy. Journal of Coastal Research: v.7, n.3, pp.839-852. Vertical_Positional_Accuracy: Vertical_Positional_Accuracy_Report: The historic shorelines are proxy-based and estimate the HWL. The lidar shoreline is tidal-based and estimates MHW. While the proxy-based HWL shorelines are not shifted to the MHW datum, the distance measurements established by the transects and used by DSAS to compute rate-of-change statistics are adjusted to account for the offset between HWL and MHW. Therefore, all distance measurements along DSAS transects are referenced to the MHW datum before rates are calculated. Lineage: Process_Step: Process_Description: An operational Mean High Water (MHW) shoreline was extracted from the lidar surveys within MATLAB v7.6 using a method similar to the one developed by Stockdon et al. (2002). Shorelines were extracted from cross-shore profiles which consist of bands of lidar data 2 m wide in the alongshore direction and spaced every 20 m along the coast. For each profile, the seaward sloping foreshore points were identified and a linear regression was fit through them. The regression was evaluated at the operational MHW elevation to yield the cross-shore position of the MHW shoreline. If the MHW elevation was obscured by water points, or if a data gap was present at MHW, the linear regression was simply extrapolated to the operational MHW elevation. A lidar positional uncertainty associated with this point was also computed. The horizontal offset between the datum-based lidar MHW shoreline and the proxy-based historical shorelines nearly always acts in one direction and the "bias" value was computed at each profile (Ruggiero and List, 2009). In addition an uncertainty associated with the bias was also computed, which can also be thought of as the uncertainty of the HWL shorelines due to water level fluctuations. Repeating this procedure at successive profiles generated a series of X,Y points that contain a lidar positional uncertainty, a bias, and a bias uncertainty value. Ruggiero, P. and List, J.H., 2009. Improving Accuracy and Statistical Reliability of Shoreline Position and Change Rate Estimates. Journal of Coastal Research: v.25, n.5, pp.1069-1081. Stockdon, H.F., Sallenger, A.H., List, J.H., and Holman, R.A., 2002. Estimation of Shoreline Position and Change using Airborne Topographic Lidar Data: Journal of Coastal Research, v.18, n.3, pp.502-513. Process_Date: 20081118 Process_Contact: Contact_Information: Contact_Person_Primary: Contact_Person: Amy Farris Contact_Organization: U.S. Geological Survey Contact_Address: Address_Type: mailing and physical address Address: 384 Woods Hole Road City: Woods Hole State_or_Province: MA Postal_Code: 02543-1598 Country: USA Contact_Voice_Telephone: 508-548-8700 Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: 508-457-2310 Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: afarris@usgs.gov Process_Step: Process_Description: The lidar data were collected in projected coordinates (WGS 84 UTM zone 16N). The series of operational MHW points extracted from the cross-shore lidar profiles were converted into a calibrated route shapefile for use in ArcGIS using a Python script. The script generates a point shapefile, converts it to a polyline-M file, saves the uncertainty information in an accessory dBase (.dbf) file and finally generates a calibrated route for the newly-created polyline-M file. Calibration is based on the unique and sequential profile ID value provided with the point data and stored as the M-value. This value is also stored as an attribute in the uncertainty .dbf file and is used as the common attribute field linking the shoreline route file (AL_shoreline.shp) to the uncertainty table (AL_shoreline_uncertainty.dbf) storing the lidar positional uncertainty, the bias correction value, and the uncertainty of the bias correction for each point of the original lidar data. During the rate calculation process DSAS uses linear referencing to retrieve the uncertainty and bias values stored in the associated table. Visually identified HWL-type proxy shorelines are virtually never coincident with datum-based MHW-type shorelines. In fact, HWL shorelines are almost universally estimated to be higher (landward) on the beach profile than MHW shorelines. Not accounting for this offset will cause shoreline change rates to be biased toward slower shoreline retreat, progradation rather than retreat, or faster progradation than in reality (for the typical case where datum-based shorelines are more recent data than the proxy-based shoreline dates), depending on actual changes at a given site. Ruggiero, Peter, and List, J.H., 2009, Improving accuracy and statistical reliability of shoreline position and change rate estimates: Journal of Coastal Research, v. 25, no. 5, p. 1069–1081. Ruggiero, Peter, Kaminsky, G.M., and Gelfenbaum, Guy, 2003, Linking proxy-based and datum-based shorelines on high-energy coastlines—Implications for shoreline change analyses: Journal of Coastal Research, special issue 38, p. 57–82. For a detailed explanation of the method used to convert the lidar shoreline to a route, please refer to "Appendix 2- A case study of complex shoreline data" in the DSAS user guide: Himmelstoss, E.A. 2009. "DSAS 4.0 Installation Instructions and User Guide" in: Thieler, E.R., Himmelstoss, E.A., Zichichi, J.L., and Ergul, Ayhan. 2009. Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS) version 4.0 - An ArcGIS extension for calculating shoreline change: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2008-1278. https://woodshole.er.usgs.gov/project-pages/DSAS/version4/images/pdf/DSASv4_3.pdf This process step and all subsequent process steps, unless otherwise noted, were performed by the same person - E.A. Himmelstoss. Process_Date: 20090714 Process_Contact: Contact_Information: Contact_Person_Primary: Contact_Person: E.A. Himmelstoss Contact_Organization: U.S. Geological Survey Contact_Address: Address_Type: mailing address Address: 384 Woods Hole Road City: Woods Hole State_or_Province: MA Postal_Code: 02543 Country: USA Contact_Voice_Telephone: 508-548-8700 x2262 Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: 508-457-2310 Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: ehimmelstoss@usgs.gov Process_Step: Process_Description: Data from the previously-published National Assessment of Shoreline Change study (USGS Open-File Reports 2004-1043 and 2004-1089) were used as the starting point for the project’s continued efforts to compile as many quality shorelines as possible for the region, this included data from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA), the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FLDEP), the University of South Alabama (USA), and the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, Office of Geology (MOG). Historical shorelines from the original shoreline assessment publication were provided as individual shapefiles in the report. These data were merged in Esri's ArcToolbox (v.10), Data Management Tools > General > Merge. Then the merged file was projected in Esri's ArcToolbox (v.10) > Data Management Tools > Projections and Transformations > Feature > Project. Parameters: input projection = geographic (NAD 83); output projection = UTM zone 16N (WGS 84); transformation = NAD_1983_To_WGS_1984_1. Process_Date: 2013 Process_Step: Process_Description: Additional digitized shorelines were downloaded in vector format from the NOAA Historical Shoreline Survey Viewer, currently available as a Google Earth KMZ (https://nosimagery.noaa.gov/images/shoreline_surveys/noaa_shoreline_surveys.kmz). The extracted shorelines are digitized vectors of the mean high water (MHW) position derived from the scanned and georeferenced T-sheet raster imagery that NOAA also manages. Although NOAA labels historical shorelines as MHW, they are proxy-based and therefore considered HWL for the purposes of shoreline change rate calculation with the proxy-datum bias correction. The modern lidar shoreline used in the analysis is datum-based, not proxy-based, and designated as operational MHW which reflects this difference. Shoreline data from NOAA were used with preference at any location where the shoreline date had previously been sourced from FLDEP, USA or MOG. Although the various sources extracted the shoreline from the same T-sheet, the NOAA data have fewer process steps and therefore a reduced likelihood of additional error. NOAA topographic survey sheets (T-sheets) and shorelines were quality checked and edited where necessary. Edgematching was corrected when discovered. Process_Date: 2013 Process_Step: Process_Description: Shorelines were acquired from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection that were not part of the previous USGS shoreline assessment and extend into Alabama, even though the data is primarily provided for Florida. Some of these were sourced from T-sheet data (not available from NOAA) while other shorelines were derived from georeferenced vertical aerial photographs. The shoreline data are organized by county and provided for download as CAD files (.dwg) (ftp://ftp.dep.state.fl.us/pub/water/beaches/HSSD/drawings/draw8390/). There are three State Plane FIPS zones for Florida (Florida East FIPS 0901, which covers the entire Atlantic coast along with Collier and Monroe counties on the southwestern coast of the peninsula; Florida West FIPS 0902, which covers the Gulf Coast section of the peninsula between Lee county to the south and Levy county to the north; Florida North FIPS 0903, which covers the panhandle section of the Florida Gulf Coast from Dixie county in the east to the FL/AL border in Escambia county to the west) and the appropriate zone was assigned to the data based on location. The .dwg files consist of several layers. After the individual county .dwg files were added to the ArcMap document, the polyline layer was selected from each county file and exported to a shapefile (right-click > export) from the ArcMap table of contents panel. The exported polyline shapefile for each county was added to the ArcMap document, an edit session was started, and all non-shoreline features were deleted from the file using the “Layer” attribute field. Non-shoreline features were determined to be any entry in the “Layer” attribute field that did not begin with a date. This removed most but not all of the annotation. The “Entity” field was then used to query non-shoreline features. In all files, features that had an Entity attribute field coded as “Circle” were deleted, in some files both “Circle” and “Line” were deleted (in some files the “Line” code contained shoreline position data). In all files the “Entity” field coded as “Arc” contained shoreline position data. After all annotation had been removed from the shapefile, a check for duplicate features was run using XTools (v7.1.0). All duplicate features were deleted. The Dissolve tool was used (ArcToolbox > Data Management > Generalization > Dissolve) to dissolve each shapefile based on the “Layer” field. The box next to “Unsplit lines (optional)” at the bottom was selected. A final visual check of the shorelines was performed. In many of the files it was concluded that edge matching was likely performed between adjacent T-sheets due to noticeable offsets in the shoreline. There is no way to differentiate these line segments from legitimate shoreline vectors using the attribute fields, but any that were observed during the visual inspection were deleted from the file. Close attention was paid to the overlapping areas between adjacent county shoreline files. There were several instances where inconsistent overlap of shoreline from the same date and source occurred, which required manual editing of the two county shapefiles including splitting of some shorelines at the location where the overlap began and deleting the duplicate/overlapping segments from one file. No edgematching was performed during this process. The DSAS-required attribute fields were added to the shapefiles and populated. Date or year and the source of shoreline data (T-sheet or aerial photograph) information was verified by reviewing the details summarized in the bibliography files provided by FLDEP for each county (ftp://ftp.dep.state.fl.us/pub/water/beaches/HSSD/sourcebibs/). All additional shoreline data compiled from FLDEP were projected in Esri's ArcToolbox (v.10) > Data Management Tools > Projections and Transformations > Feature > Project. Parameters: input projection = NAD 1983 State Plane Florida North FIPS 0903 (Feet); output projection = UTM zone 16N (WGS 84); transformation = NAD_1983_To_WGS_1984_1. Process_Date: 2013 Process_Step: Process_Description: If no digital shoreline vectors were available from NOAA or FLDEP, the original T-sheet scan and world file were downloaded from the NOAA Google Earth viewer. Vector shorelines were digitized from the georeferenced T-sheets using standard editing tools in ArcMap v10. Quality assessments were performed and shorelines were edited to remove any overlap between adjacent t-sheets from the same time period. No edge-matching between neighboring shorelines was attempted. The DSAS-required attribute fields were added to the shapefiles and populated. All shoreline data digitized from NOAA were projected in Esri's ArcToolbox (v.10) > Data Management Tools > Projections and Transformations > Feature > Project. Parameters: input projection = geographic (NAD 83); output projection = UTM zone 16N (WGS 84); transformation = NAD_1983_To_WGS_1984_1. Process_Date: 2013 Process_Step: Process_Description: Historic shorelines were appended to the lidar route data in ArcToolbox (v.10) > Data Management Tools > General > Append to produce a single shoreline file for the region. The final shoreline dataset was coded with attribute fields (Date, Uncertainty (Uncy), Source, Source_b, Year_, Default_D, Location). These fields are required for the Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS), which was used to calculate shoreline change rates. Process_Date: 2013 Process_Step: Process_Description: The appended shoreline file and the shoreline uncertainty table (.dbf) were imported into a personal geodatabase in ArcCatalog v.10 by right-clicking on the geodatabase > Import (feature class for shoreline file and table for uncertainty table) for use with the Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS) v4.3 software to perform rate calculations. Process_Date: 2013 Process_Step: Process_Description: The shoreline feature class was exported from the personal geodatabase back to a shapefile in ArcCatalog v.10 by right-clicking on the shoreline file > Export > To Shapefile (single) for publication purposes. Process_Date: 2014 Process_Step: Process_Description: The data were projected in ArcToolbox v.10 > Data Management Tools > Projections and Transformations > Project. Parameters: input projection = UTM zone 16N (WGS 84); output projection = geographic coordinates (WGS84); transformation = none. Process_Date: 2015 Process_Step: Process_Description: Keywords section of metadata optimized for discovery in USGS Coastal and Marine Geology Data Catalog. Process_Date: 20170825 Process_Contact: Contact_Information: Contact_Organization_Primary: Contact_Organization: U.S. Geological Survey Contact_Person: Alan O. Allwardt Contact_Position: Contractor -- Information Specialist Contact_Address: Address_Type: mailing and physical address Address: 2885 Mission Street City: Santa Cruz State_or_Province: CA Postal_Code: 95060 Contact_Voice_Telephone: 831-460-7551 Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: 831-427-4748 Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: aallwardt@usgs.gov Process_Step: Process_Description: Added keywords section with USGS persistent identifier as theme keyword. Process_Date: 20200810 Process_Contact: Contact_Information: Contact_Organization_Primary: Contact_Organization: U.S. Geological Survey Contact_Person: VeeAnn A. Cross Contact_Position: Marine Geologist Contact_Address: Address_Type: Mailing and Physical Address: 384 Woods Hole Road City: Woods Hole State_or_Province: MA Postal_Code: 02543-1598 Contact_Voice_Telephone: 508-548-8700 x2251 Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: 508-457-2310 Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: vatnipp@usgs.gov Spatial_Data_Organization_Information: Direct_Spatial_Reference_Method: Vector Point_and_Vector_Object_Information: SDTS_Terms_Description: SDTS_Point_and_Vector_Object_Type: String Point_and_Vector_Object_Count: 460 Spatial_Reference_Information: Horizontal_Coordinate_System_Definition: Geographic: Latitude_Resolution: 0.000001 Longitude_Resolution: 0.000001 Geographic_Coordinate_Units: Decimal degrees Geodetic_Model: Horizontal_Datum_Name: D_WGS_1984 Ellipsoid_Name: WGS_1984 Semi-major_Axis: 6378137.000000 Denominator_of_Flattening_Ratio: 298.257224 Entity_and_Attribute_Information: Detailed_Description: Entity_Type: Entity_Type_Label: AL_shorelines Entity_Type_Definition: Vector shorelines Entity_Type_Definition_Source: U.S. Geological Survey Attribute: Attribute_Label: FID 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. Attribute_Definition_Source: Esri Attribute_Domain_Values: Unrepresentable_Domain: Coordinates defining the features. Attribute: Attribute_Label: RouteID Attribute_Definition: Route identification value assigned to individual lidar shoreline line segments. A unique cross-shore profile identification value is stored at each vertex of the lidar route and serves as a common attribute to the shoreline uncertainty table (AL_shorelines_uncertainty.dbf). Attribute_Definition_Source: U.S. Geological Survey Attribute_Domain_Values: Enumerated_Domain: Enumerated_Domain_Value: 0 Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition: Short integer field where zeros are "no data" and automatically filled in for the remaining shoreline polylines not derived from lidar. Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source: U.S. Geological Survey Attribute: Attribute_Label: Date_ Attribute_Definition: Date of shoreline position; date of survey as indicated on source material. A default date of 07/01 was assigned to shorelines where only the year was known (month and day unknown). Using July, the mid-point month of the calendar year, minimizes the potential offset to the actual shoreline date by a maximum of six months. Attribute_Definition_Source: U.S. Geological Survey Attribute_Domain_Values: Unrepresentable_Domain: Character string of length 10 Attribute: Attribute_Label: Uncy Attribute_Definition: Estimate of shoreline position uncertainty. Actual shoreline position is within the range of this value (plus or minus, meters). The historic shoreline uncertainty values incorporate measurement uncertainties associated with mapping methods and materials for historical shorelines, the geographic registration of shoreline position, and shoreline digitizing. The uncertainty of the High Water Line (HWL) at an individual transect was determined by using positional uncertainty information stored along the shoreline route. The HWL uncertainty was added to the historic shoreline uncertainty stored in the shoreline attribute table during the DSAS rate calculation process to better account for uncertainty at individual transects alongshore as opposed to using a regionally averaged value. This was done using linear referencing that interpolates a value based on data stored in the AL_shorelines_uncertainty dBase file (.dbf) at a specific transect/shoreline intersect alongshore. The lidar shoreline position uncertainty is also stored in the associated shorelines_uncertainty.dbf file and values are interpolated at specific transect/shoreline intersections using the same linear referencing method. The lidar uncertainty attribute field was filled with null values while residing in the geodatabase. Upon exporting the shoreline feature class to a shapefile for publication, the null values in the lidar uncertainty field were automatically converted to zero values. Attribute_Definition_Source: U.S. Geological Survey Attribute_Domain_Values: Enumerated_Domain: Enumerated_Domain_Value: 0 Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition: Zeros are "no data" and serve as place fillers for the lidar shorelines. Actual uncertainty values for lidar are stored in shoreline uncertainty dBase (.dbf) file. Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source: U.S. Geological Survey Attribute: Attribute_Label: Source Attribute_Definition: Agency that provided shoreline feature or the data source used (e.g. T-sheet) to digitize shoreline feature. Attribute_Definition_Source: U.S. Geological Survey Attribute_Domain_Values: Enumerated_Domain: Enumerated_Domain_Value: USGS Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition: U.S. Geological Survey Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source: U.S. Geological Survey Attribute_Domain_Values: Enumerated_Domain: Enumerated_Domain_Value: NOAA Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source: U.S. Geological Survey Attribute_Domain_Values: Enumerated_Domain: Enumerated_Domain_Value: FLDEP Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition: Florida Department of Environmental Protection Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source: U.S. Geological Survey Attribute_Domain_Values: Enumerated_Domain: Enumerated_Domain_Value: MOG Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition: Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, Office of Geology Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source: U.S. Geological Survey Attribute_Domain_Values: Enumerated_Domain: Enumerated_Domain_Value: USA Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition: University of South Alabama (USA) Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source: U.S. Geological Survey Attribute: Attribute_Label: Source_b Attribute_Definition: Type of data used to create shoreline. Attribute_Definition_Source: U.S. Geological Survey Attribute_Domain_Values: Enumerated_Domain: Enumerated_Domain_Value: lidar Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition: Light detection and ranging (lidar). Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source: U.S. Geological Survey Attribute_Domain_Values: Enumerated_Domain: Enumerated_Domain_Value: aerial photographs Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition: aerial photographs Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source: U.S. Geological Survey Attribute_Domain_Values: Enumerated_Domain: Enumerated_Domain_Value: T or TP with number Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition: NOAA/NOS topographic survey sheet (T- or TP-sheet) with associated registry number Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source: U.S. Geological Survey Attribute_Domain_Values: Enumerated_Domain: Enumerated_Domain_Value: CSC data Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition: NOAA Coastal Services Center vector digital shoreline data Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source: U.S. Geological Survey Attribute_Domain_Values: Enumerated_Domain: Enumerated_Domain_Value: [data source]; [region source file] Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition: [data source] is NOAA/NOS topographic survey sheet (T- or TP-sheet) with associated registry number, or other data source; [region source] identifies file name downloaded from Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FLDEP) Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source: U.S. Geological Survey Attribute_Domain_Values: Enumerated_Domain: Enumerated_Domain_Value: MOG data Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition: Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, Office of Geology Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source: U.S. Geological Survey Attribute_Domain_Values: Enumerated_Domain: Enumerated_Domain_Value: USA data Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition: University of South Alabama (USA) Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source: U.S. Geological Survey Attribute: Attribute_Label: Year_ Attribute_Definition: Four digit year of shoreline Attribute_Definition_Source: U.S. Geological Survey Attribute_Domain_Values: Range_Domain: Range_Domain_Minimum: 1849 Range_Domain_Maximum: 2001 Attribute: Attribute_Label: Default_D Attribute_Definition: Differentiates between shorelines that have known month and day attributes and those that use the default value of 07/01 when only the year is known. Attribute_Definition_Source: U.S. Geological Survey Attribute_Domain_Values: Enumerated_Domain: Enumerated_Domain_Value: 0 Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition: Shoreline month and day are known. Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source: U.S. Geological Survey Attribute_Domain_Values: Enumerated_Domain: Enumerated_Domain_Value: 1 Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition: Shoreline month and day are unknown and default value of 07/01 was used. Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source: U.S. Geological Survey Attribute: Attribute_Label: Location Attribute_Definition: Location of shoreline with respect to wave energy exposure. An open ocean coast is directly exposed to ocean waves and is typically characterized by higher wave energy. A sheltered coast is not directly exposed to ocean waves and is characterized by lower wave energy. This shoreline dataset only includes open ocean locations. Attribute_Definition_Source: U.S. Geological Survey Attribute_Domain_Values: Enumerated_Domain: Enumerated_Domain_Value: open ocean Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition: Shoreline on a coast with open ocean wave exposure. Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source: U.S. Geological Survey Attribute: Attribute_Label: Shape_Leng Attribute_Definition: Length of feature in meter units (UTM zone 16N, WGS 84) Attribute_Definition_Source: Esri Attribute_Domain_Values: Range_Domain: Range_Domain_Minimum: 2.037043 Range_Domain_Maximum: 28377.680497 Attribute_Units_of_Measure: meters Overview_Description: Entity_and_Attribute_Overview: The entity and attribute information provided here describes the tabular data associated with the dataset. Please review the individual attribute descriptions for detailed information. Entity_and_Attribute_Detail_Citation: U.S. Geological Survey Distribution_Information: Distributor: Contact_Information: Contact_Organization_Primary: Contact_Organization: U.S. Geological Survey Contact_Address: Address_Type: mailing and physical address Address: Denver Federal Center Address: Building 810 Address: MS 302 City: Denver State_or_Province: CO Postal_Code: 80225 Country: USA Contact_Voice_Telephone: 1-888-275-8747 Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: sciencebase@usgs.gov Distribution_Liability: Neither the U.S. Government, the Department of the Interior, nor the USGS, nor any of their employees, contractors, or subcontractors, make any warranty, express or implied, nor assume any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, nor represent that its use would not infringe on privately owned rights. The act of distribution shall not constitute any such warranty, and no responsibility is assumed by the USGS in the use of these data or related materials. Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Standard_Order_Process: Digital_Form: Digital_Transfer_Information: Format_Name: Shapefile Format_Version_Number: ArcGIS 10.0 Format_Specification: Esri polyline shapefile Format_Information_Content: These files (.cpg, .dbf, .prj, .sbn, .sbx, .shp, .shp.xml, and .shx) are a collection of files with a common filename prefix and must be downloaded and stored in the same directory. Together they are the components of the shapefile and include FGDC compliant metadata. File_Decompression_Technique: no compression applied Transfer_Size: 0.52 Digital_Transfer_Option: Online_Option: Computer_Contact_Information: Network_Address: Network_Resource_Name: https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/file/get/582ca4a5e4b04d580bd378ec Network_Resource_Name: https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/item/582ca4a5e4b04d580bd378ec Network_Resource_Name: https://www.sciencebase.gov/catalog/item/58055db4e4b0824b2d1c1ee2 Network_Resource_Name: https://doi.org/10.5066/F78P5XNK Access_Instructions: The first link downloads the contents of the data page as a zip file, the second link is to the landing page of the data, the third and fourth links are to the main landing page of the data release. Fees: None Technical_Prerequisites: These data are available in a polyline shapefile format. The user must have software to read and process the data components of a shapefile. Metadata_Reference_Information: Metadata_Date: 20200810 Metadata_Contact: Contact_Information: Contact_Person_Primary: Contact_Person: E.A. Himmelstoss Contact_Organization: U.S. Geological Survey Contact_Address: Address_Type: mailing address Address: 384 Woods Hole Road City: Woods Hole State_or_Province: MA Postal_Code: 02543-1598 Country: USA Contact_Voice_Telephone: 508-548-8700 x2262 Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: 508-547-2310 Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: ehimmelstoss@usgs.gov Metadata_Standard_Name: FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata Metadata_Standard_Version: FGDC-STD-001-1998 Metadata_Time_Convention: local time