Reports
Determining shoreline erosion rates for the coastal regions of Maryland (Part 1)
2002, Hennessee, E.L., Valentino, M.J., Lesh, A.M., and Myers, L.
File Reports, Coastal and Estuarine Geology, File Report 2002-04
Abstract
In response to the recommendations of a Shore Erosion Task Force appointed by the Governor in 1999, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is developing regional shore erosion control strategies. The strategies are based, in part, on an understanding of historical rates of shoreline retreat. To provide up-to-date, site-specific rates of shoreline change, the Maryland Geological Survey (MGS) cooperated with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Towson University’s Center for Geographic Information Sciences (CGIS). The partners determined erosion rates for over half of the coastal and estuarine shorelines in the State, using digital shorelines dating from 1841- 1995 as input into a computer program, the Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS). DSAS constructs a baseline inland of and parallel to a series of shorelines, casts closely spaced transects perpendicular to the baseline across the shorelines, and determines rates of change along each transect. Results – digital shorelines, baselines, transects, and associated rates of change – were stored on a CD-ROM, ChangeRates, in ArcGIS format. Rates of change for the State’s remaining shorelines are being determined in a second phase, already underway. The data set should be useful to coastal researchers and managers in need of site- or reach-specific information about shoreline advance or retreat.
