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Coastal Vulnerability to Sea-Level Rise: A Preliminary Database for the U.S. Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf of Mexico Coasts
Entry ID: USGS_DDS-68

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Summary

Abstract: Coastal Changes Due to Sea-Level Rise:

One of the most important applied problems in coastal geology today is
determining the physical response of the coastline to sea-level rise.
Predicting shoreline retreat, beach loss, cliff retreat, and land loss rates is
critical to planning coastal zone management strategies and assessing
biological impacts due to habitat change or destruction. Presently, long-term
(>50 years) coastal planning and decision-making has been done piecemeal, if at
all, for the nation's shoreline (National Research Council, 1990; 1995).
Consequently, facilities are being located and entire communities are being
developed without adequate consideration of the potential costs of protecting
or relocating them from sea-level rise related erosion, flooding and storm
damage.

Recent estimates of future sea-level rise based on climate modeling (Wigley and
Raper, 1992) suggest an increase in global eustatic sea-level of between 15 and
95 cm by 2100, with a "best estimate" of 50 cm (IPCC, 1995). This is more than
double the rate of eustatic rise for the past century (Douglas, 1997; Peltier
and Jiang, 1997).

The prediction of coastal evolution is not straightforward. There is no
standard methodology, and even the kinds of data required to make such
predictions are the subject of much scientific debate. A number of predictive
approaches have been used (National Research Council, 1990), including: 1.
extrapolation of historical data (for example, coastal erosion rates); 2.
static inundation modeling; 3. application of a simple geometric model (for
example, the Bruun Rule); 4. application of a sediment dynamics/budget model;
or 5. Monte Carlo (probabilistic) simulation based on parameterized physical
forcing variables. Each of these approaches, however, has its shortcomings or
can be shown to be invalid for certain applications (National Research Council,
1990). Similarly, the types of input data required vary widely, and for a given
approach (for example, sediment budget), existing data may be indeterminate or
may simply not exist (Klein and Nicholls, 1999). Furthermore, human
manipulation of the coast in the form of beach nourishment, construction of
seawalls, groins, and jetties, as well as coastal development itself, may
dictate Federal, State and local priorities for coastal management without
proper regard for geologic processes. Thus, the long-term decision to renourish
or otherwise engineer a coastline may be the primary determining factor in how
that coastal segment evolves.

Variables Affecting Coastal Vulnerability:

We use here a fairly simple classification of the relative vulnerability of
different U.S. coastal environments to future rises in sea-level. This approach
combines the coastal system's susceptibility to change with its natural ability
to adapt to changing environmental conditions, and yields a relative measure of
the system's natural vulnerability to the effects of sea-level rise (Klein and
Nicholls, 1999). The vulnerability classification is based upon the relative
contributions and interactions of six variables:

1. Tidal range, which contributes to inundation hazards.

2. Wave height, which is linked to inundation hazards.

3. Coastal slope (steepness or flatness of the coastal region), which is linked
to the susceptibility of a coast to inundation by flooding and to the rapidity
of shoreline retreat.

4. Shoreline erosion rates, which indicate how the given section of shoreline
has been eroding.

5. Geomorphology, which indicates the relative erodibility of a given section
of shoreline.

6. Historical rates of relative sea-level rise, which correspond to how the
global (eustatic) sea-level rise and local tectonic processes (land motion such
as uplift or subsidence) have affected a section of shoreline.

The input data for this database of coastal vulnerability have been assembled
using the original, and sometimes variable, horizontal resolution, which then
was resampled to a 3-minute grid cell. A data set for each risk variable is
then linked to each grid point. For mapping purposes, data stored in the
3-minute grid is transferred to a 1:2,000,000 vector shoreline with each
segment of shoreline lying within a single grid cell.

[Summary provided by the USGS.]

Related URL

Link: GET DATA
Link: GET DATA
Link: GET DATA
Description: GIS data files for the Coastal Vulnerability to Sea-Level Rise: A Preliminary
Database for the U.S. Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf of Mexico Coasts.

Link: GET RELATED DATA SET METADATA (DIF)
Description: Associated metadata records on Coastal Vulnerability to Sea-Level Rise.

Link: GET SERVICE > GET SOFTWARE PACKAGE
Description: ArcExplorer is a free GIS viewing software available from ESRI that will
allow
you to view the GIS files on your desktop.

Link: VIEW EXTENDED METADATA
Link: VIEW EXTENDED METADATA
Link: VIEW EXTENDED METADATA
Description: FGDC metadata records for Coastal Vulnerability to Sea-Level Rise: A
Preliminary Database for the U.S. Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf of Mexico Coasts.

Geographic Coverage

N: 45.0983 S: 24.5485 E: -66.9578 W: -81.9678

N: 48.388 S: 32.5612 E: -117.1012 W: -124.7608

N: 30.7359 S: 25.0237 E: -80.3993 W: -97.5656

Data Set Citation

Dataset Originator/Creator: Erika S. Hammar-Klose and E. Robert Thieler
Dataset Title: Coastal Vulnerability to Sea-Level Rise: A Preliminary Database for the U.S. Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf of Mexico Coasts
Dataset Series Name: Digital Data Series
Dataset Release Date: 2001
Dataset Release Place: Woods Hole, Massachusetts
Dataset Publisher: U.S. Geological Survey
Issue Identification: DDS-68
Data Presentation Form: GIS data files
Online Resource: http://pubs.usgs.gov/dds/dds68/

Location Keywords

CONTINENT > NORTH AMERICA > UNITED STATES OF AMERICA > U.S. ATLANTIC
CONTINENT > NORTH AMERICA > UNITED STATES OF AMERICA > PACIFIC COAST
CONTINENT > NORTH AMERICA > UNITED STATES OF AMERICA > GULF OF MEXICO COAST

ISO Topic Category

BIOTA
ELEVATION
ENVIRONMENT
OCEANS

Platform

FIELD INVESTIGATION [Information]

Quality

Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their
employees, makes any warranty, expressed or implied, or assumes any legal
liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of
any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed in this report, or
represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference
therein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name,
trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply
its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or
any agency thereof.

Keywords

GIS

Geographic Information Systems

CVI

Coastal Vulnerability Index

Shoreline Change

Seashore

Coastal Evolution

Data Set Progress

COMPLETE

Originating Center

USGS

Data Center

Coastal and Marine Geology, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Department of the Interior [Information]
Data Center URL: http://marine.usgs.gov/

Data Center Personnel

Name: ASK USGS
Phone: 1-888-275-8747
Email: ask at usgs.gov
Contact Address:
U.S. Geological Survey
12201 Sunrise Valley Drive
City: Reston
Province or State: Virginia
Postal Code: 20192
Country: USA

Digital Data Series, Publications Warehouse, Eastern Region, Publications, U.S. Geological Survey, U.S. Department of the Interior [Information]
Data Center URL: http://pubs.usgs.gov/products/books/digital.html

Data Center Personnel

Name: PETER N. SCHWEITZER
Phone: (703) 648-6533
Fax: (703) 648-6252
Email: pschweitzer at usgs.gov
Contact Address:
Mail Stop 954 National Center
U.S. Geological Survey
12201 Sunrise Valley Drive
City: Reston
Province or State: VA
Postal Code: 20192
Country: USA

Distribution

Distribution_Media: Online
Distribution_Format: Shapefiles, Arc/Info export files
Fees: No fees

Distribution_Media: CD-ROM
Distribution_Format: Shapefiles, Arc/Info export files

Personnel

TYLER B. STEVENS
Role: DIF AUTHOR
Phone: (301) 614-6898
Fax: 301-614-5268
Email: Tyler.B.Stevens at nasa.gov
Contact Address:
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Global Change Master Directory
City: Greenbelt
Province or State: MD
Postal Code: 20771
Country: USA

ERIKA S. HAMMAR-KLOSE
Role: TECHNICAL CONTACT
Phone: 508-457-2259
Fax: 508-548-8700
Email: ehammark at usgs.gov
Contact Address:
U.S. Geological Survey
384 Woods Hole Road
City: Woods Hole
Province or State: MA
Postal Code: 02543
Country: USA

E. ROBERT THIELER
Role: TECHNICAL CONTACT
Phone: 508-457-2259
Phone: 508-548-8700
Email: rthieler at usgs.gov
Contact Address:
U.S. Geological Survey
384 Woods Hole Road
City: Woods Hole
Province or State: MA
Postal Code: 02543
Country: USA

Publications/References

Douglas, B.C., 1997, Global sea rise; a redetermination. Surveys in Geophysics, v.18, p. 279-292.

IPCC, 1995, IPCC Second Assessment - Climate Change 1995: A Report of the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change,IPCC, Geneva,Switzerland,64 p.

Klein, R, and Nicholls, R, 1999, Assessment of Coastal Vulnerability to Climate Change. Ambio, 28 (2):182-187

National Research Council, 1990, Managing Coastal Erosion. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press, 163p.

National Research Council, 1995, Beach Nourishment and Protection. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press, 334p.

Peltier, W.R., and Jiang, X., 1997. Mantle viscosity, glacial isostatic
adjustment and the eustatic level of the sea: Surveys in Geophysics, v.18, p. 239-277.

Thieler, E.R., and Hammar-Klose, E.S., 1999. National Assessment of Coastal
Vulnerability to Future Sea-Level Rise: Preliminary Results for the U.S.
Atlantic Coast. U.S. Geological Survey, Open-File Report 99-593, 1 sheet. [Also published as PDF files on this CD-ROM.]

Thieler, E.R., and Hammar-Klose, E.S., 2000a. National Assessment of Coastal Vulnerability to Future Sea-Level Rise: Preliminary Results for the U.S. Pacific Coast. U.S. Geological Survey, Open-File Report 00-178, 1 sheet. [Also published as PDF files on this CD-ROM.]

Thieler, E.R., and Hammar-Klose, E.S., 2000b. National Assessment of Coastal Vulnerability to Future Sea-Level Rise: Preliminary Results for the U.S. Gulf of Mexico Coast. U.S. Geological Survey, Open-File Report 00-179, 1 sheet.[Also published as PDF files on this CD-ROM.]

Wigley, T. M. L., and Raper, S. C. B. 1992, Implications for climate and sea level of revised IPCC emission scenarios. Nature, v.357, p. 293-300.

Creation and Review Dates

DIF Creation Date: 2005-07-20

Last DIF Revision Date: 2012-11-02

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