Historical Shorelines for Puerto Rico from 1901 to 1987
Dates
Publication Date
2021-11-17
Citation
Heslin, J.L., Henderson, R.E., and Himmelstoss, E.A., 2021, Historical shorelines for Puerto Rico from 1901 to 1987: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9CLXCEG.
Summary
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) maintains shoreline positions for the United States coasts from both older sources, such as aerial photograph or topographic surveys, and contemporary sources, such as lidar-point clouds and digital elevation models. These shorelines are compiled and analyzed in the Digital Shoreline Analysis System software (v5.1) to compute their rates of change. Keeping a record of historical shoreline positions is an effective method to monitor change over time, enabling scientists to identify areas most susceptible to erosion or accretion. These data can help coastal managers understand which areas of the coast are vulnerable to change. This data release, and other associated products, represent an expansion of [...]
Summary
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) maintains shoreline positions for the United States coasts from both older sources, such as aerial photograph or topographic surveys, and contemporary sources, such as lidar-point clouds and digital elevation models. These shorelines are compiled and analyzed in the Digital Shoreline Analysis System software (v5.1) to compute their rates of change. Keeping a record of historical shoreline positions is an effective method to monitor change over time, enabling scientists to identify areas most susceptible to erosion or accretion. These data can help coastal managers understand which areas of the coast are vulnerable to change. This data release, and other associated products, represent an expansion of the USGS national-scale shoreline database to include Puerto Rico and its islands, Vieques and Culebra from 1901 to 1987. The USGS, in cooperation with the Coastal Research and Planning Institute of Puerto Rico—part of the Graduate School of Planning at the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus—has derived and compiled a database of historical shoreline positions using a variety of methods. These historical shoreline data are then used to measure the rate of shoreline change over time.
A previously published USGS open file report used these shorelines to calculate rates of shoreline change, but the shoreline data themselves were not published. This data release is the result of an effort to recover, edit, and add to the existing shoreline data by using a thorough quality assurance/quality control workflow. Shorelines were digitized from georeferenced NOAA historical survey sheets (T-sheets) and aerial photographs, using the high water line and wet-dry line, respectively, as a shoreline reference. These shoreline data are used in conjunction with other compiled shorelines, provided in complementary USGS data releases, to calculate rates of shoreline change.
Preview Image
Coverage of shorelines from T-sheets and aerial photos from 1901 to 1987.