Shorelines used to calculate shoreline change statistics from the North Shore A coastal region from North Salisbury at the New Hampshire border to the Annisquam River in Gloucester (NorthShoreA_shorelines.shp)

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Frequently anticipated questions:

What does this data set describe?

Title:
Shorelines used to calculate shoreline change statistics from the North Shore A coastal region from North Salisbury at the New Hampshire border to the Annisquam River in Gloucester (NorthShoreA_shorelines.shp)
Abstract:
Due to continued coastal population growth and increased threats of erosion, current data on trends and rates of shoreline movement are required to inform shoreline and floodplain management. The Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management launched the Shoreline Change Project in 1989 to identify erosion-prone areas of the coast. In 2001, a 1994 shoreline was added to calculate both long- and short-term shoreline change rates at 40-meter intervals along ocean-facing sections of the Massachusetts coast.
The Coastal and Marine Geology Program of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in cooperation with the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management, has compiled reliable historical shoreline data along open-facing sections of the Massachusetts coast under the Massachusetts Shoreline Change Mapping and Analysis Project 2013 Update. Two oceanfront shorelines for Massachusetts (approximately 1,800 km) were (1) delineated using 2008/09 color aerial orthoimagery, and (2) extracted from topographic LIDAR datasets (2007) obtained from NOAA's Ocean Service, Coastal Services Center. The new shorelines were integrated with existing Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management (MA CZM) and USGS historical shoreline data in order to compute long- and short-term rates using the latest version of the Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS).
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.
  1. How might this data set be cited?
    U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), 2013, Shorelines used to calculate shoreline change statistics from the North Shore A coastal region from North Salisbury at the New Hampshire border to the Annisquam River in Gloucester (NorthShoreA_shorelines.shp): Open-File Report 2012-1183, U.S. Geological Survey, Coastal and Marine Geology Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, Woods Hole, MA.

    Online Links:

    This is part of the following larger work.

    Smith, Theresa L., Himmelstoss, Emily A., and Thieler, E. Robert, 2013, Massachusetts Shoreline Change Project: A GIS Compilation of Vector Shorelines and Associated Shoreline Change Data for the 2012 update: Open-File Report 2012-1183, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

    Online Links:

  2. What geographic area does the data set cover?
    West_Bounding_Coordinate: -70.821472
    East_Bounding_Coordinate: -70.679981
    North_Bounding_Coordinate: 42.875215
    South_Bounding_Coordinate: 42.646323
  3. What does it look like?
  4. Does the data set describe conditions during a particular time period?
    Calendar_Date: 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):
      • String (849)
    2. What coordinate system is used to represent geographic features?
      Horizontal positions are specified in geographic coordinates, that is, latitude and longitude. Latitudes are given to the nearest 0.000001. Longitudes are given to the nearest 0.000001. Latitude and longitude values are specified in Decimal degrees. The horizontal datum used is D North American 1983.
      The ellipsoid used is GRS 1980.
      The semi-major axis of the ellipsoid used is 6378137.0.
      The flattening of the ellipsoid used is 1/298.257222101.
  7. How does the data set describe geographic features?
    NorthShoreA_shorelines
    Vector shorelines (Source: U.S. Geological Survey)
    FID
    Internal feature number. (Source: Esri) Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated.
    Shape
    Feature geometry. (Source: Esri) Coordinates defining the features
    RouteID
    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. (Source: USGS)
    ValueDefinition
    0Short integer field where zeros are "no data" and automatically filled in for the remaining shoreline polylines not derived from lidar.
    Source
    Agency that provided shoreline feature or the data source used (e.g. T-sheet) to digitize shoreline feature. (Source: USGS) Character string of length 25
    Date_
    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. (Source: USGS) Character string of length 10
    Uncy
    Estimate of shoreline position uncertainty. Actual shoreline position is within the range of this value (plus or minus, meters). Actual shoreline position is within the range of this value (plus or minus, meters). The method used to determine this uncertainty is described in the accompanying written report (Open-File Report 2012-1189) under the section titled "Estimation of Shoreline Position Uncertainty" (https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2012/1189). The historic shoreline uncertainty values contain all of the measurement errors listed in Table 2 of OFR 2012-1189, except for the uncertainty of the High Water Line (HWL). The HWL uncertainty listed in Table 2 was averaged for the entire state (4.3). However, the uncertainty of the HWL at an individual transect can be determined with more precision 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 shoreline_uncertainty dBase file (.dbf) at a specific transect/shoreline intersect alongshore. The lidar shoreline position uncertainty is also stored in the associated shoreline_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. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey)
    ValueDefinition
    0Zeros are considered "no data" if a shoreline uncertainty table is detected (otherwise the default uncertainty value set by user in DSAS default parameters is used), additional positional uncertainty information associated with the lidar data is pulled from the shoreline_uncertainty.dbf table and is referenced in the process steps.
    Year_
    Four digit year of shoreline (Source: U.S. Geological Survey)
    Range of values
    Minimum:1851
    Maximum:2008
    Default_D
    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. (Source: U.S. Geological Survey)
    ValueDefinition
    0Shoreline month and day are known.
    1Shoreline month and day are unknown and default value of 07/01 was used.
    SHAPE_Leng
    Length of feature/transect in meter units (State Plane Massachusetts Mainland FIPS 2001, NAD83) (Source: U.S. Geological Survey, Woods Hole Science Center)
    Range of values
    Minimum:0.004623
    Maximum:13420.929451

Who produced the data set?

  1. Who are the originators of the data set? (may include formal authors, digital compilers, and editors)
    • U.S. Geological Survey (USGS)
  2. Who also contributed to the data set?
  3. To whom should users address questions about the data?
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Attn: Theresa Smith
    Contract Geologist
    384 Woods Hole Road
    Woods Hole, MA
    USA

    508-548-8700 (voice)
    508-457-2310 (FAX)
    theresasmith@usgs.gov

Why was the data set created?

This dataset includes shorelines from 157 years ranging from 1851 to 2008 within the North Shore A coastal region from North Salisbury at the New Hampshire border to the Annisquam River in Gloucester. Shorelines were compiled from T-sheets and air-photos obtained from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management (MA CZM), and lidar obtained from the US Geological Survey (USGS). 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 MA CZM 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. For publication purposes, the shoreline data for Massachusetts were organized by region in order match the extent of previously published uncertainty files used in shoreline change calculations.

How was the data set created?

  1. From what previous works were the data drawn?
    Statistical Analysis of Shoreline Change in Massachusetts (source 1 of 2)
    Inc., Applied Geographics, and Photo Science, Inc. (renamed EarthData International), 19950730, Statistical Analysis of Shoreline Change in Massachusetts: Applied Geographics Inc., 100 Franklin Street, 7th Floor, Boston, MA 02110.

    Online Links:

    Type_of_Source_Media: CD-ROM
    Source_Contribution: Arc coverage of Massachusetts shorelines 1844-1978
    Massachusetts Coastal Orthophotographs (source 2 of 2)
    Services, National Ocean, and Photo Science, Inc. (renamed EarthData International), 19970508, Massachusetts Coastal Orthophotographs: Photo Science, Inc., 45 West Watkins Mill Road, Gaithersburg, MD 20878.

    Online Links:

    • Not Available

    Type_of_Source_Media: CD-ROM
    Source_Contribution:
    Full-color, digital orthophotographs were provided by MCZM on CD-ROM. The photos have a resolution of 1 meter per pixel. The aerial photography was flown in September/October 94 by the National Ocean Service (NOS photographic missions 94061, 94062, 94063, and 94064) at a nominal scale of 1:48,000. The photographs were scanned and orthorectified by EarthData International (Gaithersburg, MD) using camera station information supplied to EarthData by NOS. The CD-ROMs supplied by MCZM contained mosaicked orthophotos at 1-meter/pixel resolution, with boundaries corresponding to the existing MCZM shoreline change maps, as well as ArcInfo TIF World File (TFW) georeferencing information.
  2. How were the data generated, processed, and modified?
    Date: 2011 (process 1 of 12)
    Shoreline data were sought in an effort to compile as many quality shorelines as possible for the region. Digital shorelines were acquired from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Massachusetts office of Coastal Zone Management (MA CZM). Historic shoreline positions obtained from USGS were projected in Esri's ArcToolbox (v.9.3)>Data Management Tools>Projections and Transformations>Feature>Project. Parameters: input projection = Geographic Coordinate System (WGS 1984); output projection = State Plane Massachusetts Mainland FIPS 2001 (NAD83); transformation = NAD_1983_To_WGS_1984_5.
    All MA CZM shoreline data for the North Shore A region were appended to the USGS NewEnglandN_shorelines shapefile in ArcToolbox >Data Management Tools>General>Append and was renamed NorthShoreA_shorelines. The appended shoreline dataset was coded with the following attribute fields: ID, Route ID, Source, Date, Uncertainty (Uncy), Shape Length (Shape_Leng), Year, and Original ID.
    This process step and all subsequent process steps were performed by the same person - Theresa Smith. Person who carried out this activity:
    Theresa Smith
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Contract Geologist
    384 Woods Hole Road
    Woods Hole, MA
    USA

    508-548-8700 (voice)
    508-457-2310 (FAX)
    theresasmith@usgs.gov
    Date: 2011 (process 2 of 12)
    Redundant shorelines were eliminated from the appended dataset in an ArcMap v9.3 by selecting the area and comparing the year. Edits were checked for overlapping data and unnecessary gaps between adjacent shorelines. No edgematching between adjacent shorelines was attempted.
    Date: 2011 (process 3 of 12)
    Vector high water line (HWL) 2008 shorelines were digitized from 15 cm and 30 cm resolution, 4-band (RGB natural and IR) color orthophotographs using the sketch tool in ArcEditor/ArcMap v9.3. The shorelines were digitized at a scale of 1:300 for the 15 cm and 1:500 for the 30 cm orthophotos. The shorelines were delineated using the following indicators as proxies for the high water line, after Thieler and others (2001) and Boak and Turner (2005): 1) the previous high tide line seaward of the storm debris wrack line, as indicated by the tonal changes between wet and dry beach material (i.e., sand, gravel, cobble), a seaweed or debris line or a combination of both; 2) the high-tide wrack line, created when the high tide deposits seaweed and debris on the upper beach; 3) the vegetation change between Spartina patens in the upper marsh and Spartina alterniflora in the lower marsh, or the outer limits of emergent marsh vegetation (when vegetation types were not discernible); 4) the algal line on rocky outcrops, indicated by the tonal change between wet surfaces that host algae and dry surfaces with no algae; 5) the maximum wave runup limit at or near high tide indicated by the interface between the land and water; and 6) the interface between vertical seawalls/bulkheads and open water.
    Boak, E.H., and Turner, I.L., 2005, Shoreline definition and detection: a review: Journal of Coastal Research, v. 21, n. 4, p. 688703.
    Thieler, E.R., J.F. OConnell, and C.A. Schupp, 2001, The Massachusetts Shoreline Change Project: 1800s to 1994: USGS Administrative Report to the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management, Boston, MA, 26 p. + Appendices.
    Date: 2011 (process 4 of 12)
    The 2008 shorelines were appended to the NorthShoreA_Shorelines shapefile in ArcToolbox >Data Management Tools>General>Append to produce a single shoreline file for the North Shore A region.
    Date: 2011 (process 5 of 12)
    The appended shorelines file was imported into a personal geodatabase in ArcCatalog v9.3 by right-clicking on the geodatabase > Import feature class. A topology was created for the shorelines feature class in ArcCatalog v9.3 by right clicking the feature dataset > new > topology and selecting the rule must not overlap. In ArcMap v9.3, the topology was verified and edited so that there were no overlapping shorelines of the same year using standard editing and topology tools.
    Date: 2012 (process 6 of 12)
    The entire geodatabase was upgraded to v.10 by right-clicking on the geodatabase and choosing "Properties" from the pop-up window in ArcCatalog v.10. The "Upgrade Geodatabase" button was clicked at the bottom of the General tab in the Database Properties window, for use with the Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS) v4.3 software to perform rate calculations.
    Date: 2012 (process 7 of 12)
    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.
    Date: 2012 (process 8 of 12)
    The exported shorelines shapefile was projected in Esri's ArcToolbox (v.10) > Data Management Tools > Projections and Transformations > Feature > Project. Parameters: input projection - NAD_1983_StatePlane_Massachusetts_Mainland_FIPS_2001; output projection - geographic coordinates (NAD83); transformation - none.
    Date: 12-Oct-2017 (process 9 of 12)
    Edits to the metadata were made to fix any errors that MP v 2.9.36 flagged. This is necessary to enable the metadata to be successfully harvested for various data catalogs. In some cases, this meant adding text "Information unavailable" or "Information unavailable from original metadata" for those required fields that were left blank. Other minor edits were probably performed (title, publisher, publication place, etc.). Attempted to modify http to https where appropriate. Added a landing page link as the first link in the identification section. Fixed online link to DSAS cross-reference. The distribution format name was modified in an attempt to be more consistent with other metadata files of the same data format. The metadata date (but not the metadata creator) was edited to reflect the date of these changes. The metadata available from a harvester may supersede metadata bundled within a download file. Compare the metadata dates to determine which metadata file is most recent. 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
    Date: 20-Jul-2018 (process 10 of 12)
    USGS Thesaurus keywords added to the keyword section. 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
    Date: 18-Nov-2019 (process 11 of 12)
    Crossref DOI link was added as the first link in the metadata. 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
    Date: 08-Sep-2020 (process 12 of 12)
    Added keywords section with USGS persistent identifier as theme keyword. Person who carried out this activity:
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Attn: VeeAnn A. Cross
    Marine Geologist
    384 Woods Hole Road
    Woods Hole, MA

    508-548-8700 x2251 (voice)
    508-457-2310 (FAX)
    vatnipp@usgs.gov
  3. What similar or related data should the user be aware of?
    Thieler, E.R., and Smith, T.L., 2013, Massachusetts Shoreline Change Mapping and Analysis Project, 2012 Update: Open-File Report 2012-1189, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

    Online Links:

    Thieler, E.R., Himmelstoss, E.A., Zichichi, J.L., and Ergul, A., 2009, Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS) version 4.0: an ArcGIS extension for calculating shoreline change: Open-File Report 2008-1278, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

    Online Links:

    Other_Citation_Details: Current version is 4.3
    O'Connell, James F., Schupp, Courtney A., and Thieler, E. Robert, 2001, The Massachusetts Shoreline Change Project: 1800s to 1994 Technical Report: U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

    Online Links:

    Other_Citation_Details: Administrative Report
    Himmelstoss, Emily A., Kratzmann, Meredith G., Hapke, Cheryl J., Thieler, E. Robert, and List, Jeffrey, 20110119, The National Assessment of Shoreline Change: A GIS Compilation of Vector Shorelines and Associated Shoreline Change Data for the New England and Mid-Atlantic Coasts: Open-File Report 2010-1119, U.S. Geological Survey, Reston, VA.

    Online Links:

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Ocean Service (NOS), Unknown, Scanned National Ocean Service (NOS) Coastal Survey Maps (also known as Topographic Survey sheets, or T-sheets): National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Washington, D.C..

    Other_Citation_Details: NOAA shoreline manuscripts (T-sheets)
    Commerce, Department of, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Service, National Ocean, and Center, Coastal Services, Unknown, 1996-2000 NOAA/USGS/NASA Airborne LiDAR Assessment of Coastal Erosion (ALACE) Project for the U.S. Coastline: NOAA's Ocean Service, Coastal Services Center (CSC), Charleston, SC.

    Online Links:

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

  1. How well have the observations been checked?
    The data provided here are a compilation of shorelines from multiple sources, spanning 157 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.
  2. How accurate are the geographic locations?
    Shoreline data have been acquired from 1857 to 2008, 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 1959 have an estimated positional uncertainty of plus or minus 10.8 meters. Air photo-derived shorelines from 1960-1994 have an estimated positional uncertainty of plus or minus 5.1 meters. Shorelines derived from 15cm 2008 orthophotos have an estimated positional uncertainty of plus or minus 1.0 meters. Shorelines derived from 30cm 2008 orthophotos have an estimated positional uncertainty of plus or minus 2.3 meters. The lidar shorelines from 2000 have an estimated positional uncertainty of plus or minus 1.3 meters. Please visit the Estimation of Shoreline Position Uncertainty section in the corresponding USGS Open-File Report (https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2012/1189/) for a complete explanation of the measurement uncertainties associated with these shorelines.
  3. How accurate are the heights or depths?
    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 unidirectional offset between HWL and MHW. Therefore, all distance measurements along DSAS transects in this region are referenced to the MHW datum before rates are calculated.
  4. Where are the gaps in the data? What is missing?
    This shoreline file is complete and contains all shoreline segments used to calculate shoreline change rates along sections of the North Shore A 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.
  5. How consistent are the relationships among the observations, including topology?
    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 calculations included in the corresponding report (U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2012-1189). These data contain some short line segments (less than 30 meters) that were part of how the data were originally compiled and are in fact continuous with other segments of a given shoreline.

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:
Public domain data from the U.S. Government are freely redistributable with proper metadata and source attribution. Please recognize the U.S. Geological Survey, the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Sea Grant Program as the originators of this dataset.
  1. Who distributes the data set? (Distributor 1 of 1)
    U.S. Geological Survey
    Attn: Theresa Smith
    Contractor
    384 Woods Hole Road
    Woods Hole, MA
    USA

    508-548-8700 (voice)
    508-457-2310 (FAX)
  2. What's the catalog number I need to order this data set? Downloadable data.
  3. What legal disclaimers am I supposed to read?
    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.
  4. How can I download or order the data?
  5. What hardware or software do I need in order to use the data set?
    This zip file contains data available in Environmental Systems Research Institute (Esri) polyline shapefile format. The user must have ArcGIS or ArcView 3.0 or greater software to read and process the data file. In lieu of ArcView or ArcGIS, the user may utilize another GIS application package capable of importing the data. A free data viewer, ArcExplorer, capable of displaying the data is available from Esri at www.esri.com.

Who wrote the metadata?

Dates:
Last modified: 16-Nov-2021
Metadata author:
Theresa Smith
U.S. Geological Survey
Contract Geologist
384 Woods Hole Road
Woods Hole, MA
USA

508-548-8700 (voice)
508-457-2310 (FAX)
whsc_data_contact@usgs.gov
Contact_Instructions:
The metadata contact email address is a generic address in the event the metadata contact is no longer with the USGS or the email is otherwise invalid.
Metadata standard:
FGDC Content Standards for Digital Geospatial Metadata (FGDC-STD-001-1998)
This page is <https://cmgds.marine.usgs.gov/catalog/whcmsc/open_file_report/ofr2012-1183/NorthShoreA_shorelines.shp.xml.faq.html>
Generated by mp version 2.9.50 on Tue Nov 16 10:06:50 2021