Coastal Services Center

Regional Projects

Climate and Weather Impacts on Society and the Environment 2 (CWISE2)

Organizations involved in this four-year cooperative agreement are studying the physical, socioeconomic, and ecosystem impacts of sea-level variability and change. These organizations are also developing decision-support resources to help communities from Texas to Maryland increase resilience to impacts of erosion and inundation in a scenario of sea-level change.
www.csc.noaa.gov/climatology/research.html

Collaboration with NOAA Fisheries

The Center and the NOAA Fisheries’ Office of Habitat Conservation work together to help coastal managers and communities implement ecosystem-based management practices for coastal habitat conservation and restoration. In 2008, the organizations hosted a workshop on barrier removal to achieve tidal hydrology restoration in the Southeast region. The workshop provided an opportunity for the restoration community to share lessons learned. From this workshop, technical guidance was developed to enhance tidal hydrology restoration.

NOAA Regional Collaboration Support

Personnel from the Center are serving on five of the eight regional teams (Gulf of Mexico, North Atlantic, Pacific, Western, and Southeast and Caribbean) devoted to understanding customer needs and delivering applicable NOAA products and services. The Center also serves on two of NOAA’s priority area task teams—hazard-resilient communities and outreach and communications.

Florida

Benthic Habitat Mapping and Classification

The Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard provides a consistent and universally applicable coastal habitat inventory system. These standards are being applied to ongoing mapping efforts to evaluate their usefulness as an analytical tool in establishing a habitat baseline and monitoring ecosystem changes. Mapping projects in Texas and Florida include developing a “crosswalk” designed to demonstrate where specific habitat types reside within the classification framework.

Coastal Elevation Mapping

The Center works with state and local officials to collect and distribute high-resolution topographic and bathymetric data sets. The Center worked with the private sector to acquire new light detection and ranging (lidar) data for coastal management applications such as the analysis of storm surge and storm inundation, erosion, and habitat mapping. The Center also worked with state and federal partners to share costs and find multiple uses for coastal lidar data sets. Efforts in 2008 focused on Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, South Carolina, and Virginia.
www.csc.noaa.gov/crs/tcm/

Coastal Management Fellowship

The NOAA Coastal Management Fellowship matches postgraduate students with state coastal zone programs to work on two-year projects proposed by the state. The Florida Coastal Management Program has hosted two fellows:

• 1996 to 1998: To develop criteria for approval of local government hazard mitigation and redevelopment policies for the local comprehensive planning process.
• 2000 to 2002: To implement the second phase of Florida’s BlueWays initiative, an effort to promote adaptive coastal management.
www.csc.noaa.gov/cms/fellows.html

Coastal Services Magazine

This bimonthly trade publication focuses on efforts by local, state, and nonprofit organizations to address coastal issues. Recent articles featuring programs in Florida include the following:

• Giving the “Dolphin SMART” Seal of Approval in the Florida Keys - Jan/Feb 2009
• Signs Improve Access to Florida Beaches – March/April 2000
• Coastal Catastrophes: What Managers Are Doing to Prepare for the Next Big Storm – September/October 2000
• Careless Drivers Damaging Marine Habitats in Florida Sanctuary – September/October 2001
• No-Take Zones: Balancing the Use of the Marine Environment in the Florida Keys – November/December 2002
• Tracking Down a Killer in Florida’s Waters – March/April 2003
• Water Woes: Florida Tries Drinking from the Sea – May/June 2003
• Storm-Weary Staff Members’ Emotional Health a Manager Priority – May/June 2006
• Coral Bleaching: The Impact of Rising Sea Temperatures on Florida Keys’ Reefs – September/October 2007
• State Money Helping Homeowners Prepare for Hurricanes in Florida – January/February 2008
• Workshop Leads to Local Red Tide Data Collection in Florida – March/April 2008
www.csc.noaa.gov/magazine/

Land Cover Mapping

Nothing provides a big-picture view of land cover status better than these maps, which are developed using remote sensing technology. The Center has baseline land cover data for most of the coastal zone. The goal is to update the imagery every five years to also provide a means of detecting change or trends.
www.csc.noaa.gov/magazine/

Legislative Atlas

The Center—along with Photo Science, Inc., the National Sea Grant Law Center, and local partners—developed the Legislative Atlas. This Web-based tool allows users to visualize the location of selected coastal and ocean laws for the continental U.S. and state laws for the Gulf of Mexico region. The tool provides a foundation for coordinated ecosystem-based approaches to coastal management.
www.csc.noaa.gov/magazine/

Risk and Vulnerability Assessment Tool

Using the Community Vulnerability Assessment Tool methodology and interactive mapping, this product helps determine the locations of vulnerable people, property, and natural resources within Brevard and Volusia Counties, Florida, and determine ways to increase flood protection and reduce flood risk and insurance premiums. Storm surge animations depict projected inundation for popular locations within these communities.
www.csc.noaa.gov/magazine/

Topographic and Bathymetric Applications

The Center provides information about the availability of topographic and bathymetric data sets and assists coastal managers in working with these sets—particularly in relation to storm surge and inundation modeling. The current focus of this project is on developing a data inventory for Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia and guidance documents describing the coastal management applications of topography and bathymetry.
www.csc.noaa.gov/magazine/

Training

The Center provides training to the coastal resource managers of the nation in three focus areas: geospatial technology, coastal management, and building process skills. Training can take place at the Center’s training facility for some courses but most often is taken to coastal managers in the field. Recent courses delivered to programs in Florida include the following:

• Coastal Applications of ArcGIS
• Coastal Community Planning and Development
• Coastal Inundation Mapping
• Conservation Data Documentation
• Introduction to ArcGIS
• Project Design and Evaluation
• Public Issues and Conflict Management
• Remote Sensing for Spatial Analysts
www.csc.noaa.gov/magazine/

Georgia

Alternatives for Coastal Development

Coastal communities need tools to analyze, visualize, and make decisions about economic, social, and environmental impacts. For this project, map-based visualization software (CommunityViz and ArcGIS) is used to analyze three hypothetical development scenarios in coastal Georgia. The project demonstrates tools people can use to help them visualize, measure, and compare options. The results provide information that can help users meet conservation objectives.
www.csc.noaa.gov/alternatives/

Climate Demonstration Project

While climate is an important factor for all coastal communities, coastal officials often don’t know where to access climate information or how to incorporate this information into their decision-making processes. Two pilot websites were developed for the states of Georgia and North Carolina to address this issue—one for recreation and tourism (www.cormp.org/climate/) and another for recreational and commercial fishing (www.coastalclimate.org).

Coastal Elevation Mapping

The Center works with state and local officials to collect and distribute high-resolution topographic and bathymetric data sets. The Center worked with the private sector to acquire new light detection and ranging (lidar) and Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (IfSAR) data for coastal management applications such as the analysis of storm surge and storm inundation, erosion, and habitat mapping. The Center also worked with state and federal partners to share costs and find multiple uses for coastal lidar and IfSAR data sets.
www.csc.noaa.gov/crs/tcm/

Coastal Services Magazine

This bimonthly trade publication focuses on efforts by local, state, and nonprofit organizations to address coastal issues. Recent articles featuring programs in Georgia include the following:

• Georgia Connecting Inland Residents to the Coast – November/December 2000
• Visitors Check Internet Site before Heading to Georgia Beaches – November/December 2001
• Georgia’s Bare-Bones Program to Manage Sport Fish – July/August 2003
• Reeling In Future Coastal Managers in Georgia – November/December 2003
• Doing Something about Doggie Doo on Georgia’s Beaches – January/February 2004
• Movies More Valuable Than a Thousand Pictures for Georgia Sanctuary – November/December 2005
• Developing Guidelines for Green Growth in Georgia – September/October 2006
• Mapping and Removing Abandoned and Sunken Vessels in Georgia – July/August 2007
www.csc.noaa.gov/magazine/

Land Cover Mapping

Nothing provides a big picture view of land cover status better than these maps, which are developed using remote sensing technology. The Center has baseline land cover data for most of the coastal zone. The goal is to update the imagery every five years to also provide a means of detecting change or trends.
www.csc.noaa.gov/crs/lca/ccap.html

Storm and Shoreline Products for Practitioners

Resilience is about building the capacity to “bounce back.” These products enhance community resilience by providing information, resources, and tools relating to coastal storm hazards and shoreline change. Products and services include the following: a storm information website, easy access to hurricane evacuation studies, an information guide regarding best management practices for shoreline change, and an expanded hurricane preparedness study for Chatham County, Geogia, including a decision-support tool and model for mapping storm surge zones.

Topographic and Bathymetric Applications

The Center provides information about the availability of topographic and bathymetric data sets and assists coastal managers in working with these sets—particularly in relation to storm surge and inundation modeling. The current focus of this project is on developing a data inventory for Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia and guidance documents describing the coastal management applications of topography and bathymetry.
www.csc.noaa.gov/topobathy/

Training

The Center provides training to the coastal resource managers of the nation in three focus areas: geospatial technology, coastal management, and building process skills. Training can take place at the Center’s training facility for some courses but most often is taken to coastal managers in the field. Recent courses delivered to programs in Georgia include the following:

• Negotiating for Coastal Resources
• Public Issues and Conflict Management
www.csc.noaa.gov/bins/resources/training.html

Visualizing Storm Surge and Coastal Shallow Flooding

This tool helps emergency managers view hazards and planning data in a GIS environment. This Internet mapping application, developed for Chatham County, Georgia, enables multiple county offices to view storm-surge zones and shallow coastal flooding advisories with hazards planning data. It also illustrates the ways in which potential coastal inundation might impact critical facilities, infrastructure, vulnerable populations, and other factors. The Center developed this tool in partnership with the Chatham County Emergency Management Agency.

North Carolina

Climate Demonstration Project

While climate is an important factor for all coastal communities, coastal officials often don’t know where to access climate information or how to incorporate this information into their decision-making processes. Two pilot websites were developed for the states of Georgia and North Carolina to address this issue—one for recreation and tourism (www.cormp.org/climate/) and another for recreational and commercial fishing (www.coastalclimate.org).

Coastal Elevation Mapping

The Center works with state and local officials to collect and distribute high-resolution topographic and bathymetric data sets. The Center worked with the private sector to acquire new light detection and ranging (lidar) and Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (IfSAR) data for coastal management applications such as the analysis of storm surge and storm inundation, erosion, and habitat mapping. The Center also worked with state and federal partners to share costs and find multiple uses for coastal lidar and IfSAR data sets.
www.csc.noaa.gov/crs/tcm/

Coastal Management Fellowship

The NOAA Coastal Management Fellowship matches postgraduate students with state coastal zone programs to work on two-year projects proposed by the state. The North Carolina Division of Coastal Management has hosted four fellows:

• 1999 to 2001: To develop a restoration and management plan for forested wetlands in northeastern North Carolina.
• 2002 to 2004: To evaluate inlet process impacts on oceanfront shorelines, transportation infrastructure, and other development activities.
• 2005 to 2007: To assess the two most commonly used shoreline datums in North Carolina—the wet/dry line and the mean high water (MHW) line—to determine if results of the two methods are interchangeable.
• 2007 to 2009: To develop a comprehensive beach and inlet management plan for North Carolina.
www.csc.noaa.gov/cms/fellows.html

Coastal Services Magazine

This bimonthly trade publication focuses on efforts by local, state, and nonprofit organizations to address coastal issues. Recent articles featuring programs in North Carolina include the following:

• North Carolina Seawall Ban Stands Up to Legal Challenge – March/April 2000
• Wetlands as the Solution to Landfill Pollution in North Carolina – January/February 2002
• Coming Soon to a Computer Near You, EstuaryLive! – September/October 2003
• Wetlands Mitigation: Acting Proactively in North Carolina – July/August 2005
• Studying Stormwater Permit Compliance in North Carolina – November/December 2006
• Shifting Sand: Ensuring the Right Kind of Sediment Goes on North Carolina Beaches – May/June 2008
• New Flooding Observation and Prediction System May Help Save Lives - November/December 2008
www.csc.noaa.gov/magazine/

Community Vulnerability Assessment Tool

This informational aid is designed to assist communities in their efforts to reduce hazard vulnerability. The tutorial steps users through a process of analyzing physical, social, economic, and environmental vulnerability at the community level. This tool was piloted in coastal North Carolina and helps local and state governments determine and prioritize their localities’ vulnerability to coastal hazards.
www.csc.noaa.gov/products/nchaz/startup.htm

Digital Coast Inundation Visualization

This Web-based visualization tool is a pilot project for eastern North Carolina that shows the degree of coastal inundation that would occur as water levels rise. The tool will help users understand the factors that can affect sea levels and coastal inundation. Users will be able to zoom in to see street-level impacts to habitat and infrastructure at various water depths.

Geospatial Collaboration with the National Weather Service

The Center is working with the National Weather Service to improve the geospatial display and delivery of products and services related to weather, water, and climate. As part of this project, flood-severity-inundation map libraries will be implemented and available for 35 Gulf Coast regions and 17 locations in North Carolina, with additional pilot locations in development.

Land Cover Mapping

Nothing provides a big picture view of land cover status better than these maps, which are developed using remote sensing technology. The Center has baseline land cover data for most of the coastal zone. The goal is to update the imagery every five years to also provide a means of detecting change or trends.
www.csc.noaa.gov/crs/lca/ccap.html

On-line Flood Inundation Maps

The Center is working with the National Weather Service and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide on-line access to flood severity maps for 17 flood forecast locations in southeastern North Carolina. These maps, based on high-resolution digital elevation data and hydraulic modeling, contain visual and interactive information on the extent and severity of floods. This information is used by local officials and emergency managers who make evacuation and road closure decisions.

Topographic and Bathymetric Applications

The Center provides information about the availability of topographic and bathymetric data sets and assists coastal managers in working with these sets—particularly in relation to storm surge and inundation modeling. The current focus of this project is on developing a data inventory for Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia and guidance documents describing the coastal management applications of topography and bathymetry.
www.csc.noaa.gov/topobathy/

Training

The Center provides training to the coastal resource managers of the nation in three focus areas: geospatial technology, coastal management, and building process skills. Training can take place at the Center’s training facility for some courses but most often is taken to coastal managers in the field. Recent courses delivered to programs in North Carolina include the following:

• Coastal Community Planning and Development
• Coastal Inundation Mapping
• Managing Visitor Use in Coastal and Marine Protected Areas
• Project Design and Evaluation
www.csc.noaa.gov/bins/resources/training.html

South Carolina

Coastal Elevation Mapping

The Center works with state and local officials to collect and distribute high-resolution topographic and bathymetric data sets. The Center worked with the private sector to acquire new light detection and ranging (lidar) and Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (IfSAR) data for coastal management applications such as the analysis of storm surge and storm inundation, erosion, and habitat mapping. The Center also worked with state and federal partners to share costs and find multiple uses for coastal lidar and IfSAR data sets. Efforts in 2008 focused on Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, South Carolina, and Virginia.
www.csc.noaa.gov/crs/tcm/

Coastal Management Fellowship

The NOAA Coastal Management Fellowship matches postgraduate students with state coastal zone programs to work on two-year projects proposed by the state. The South Carolina Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management (OCRM) has hosted five fellows:

• 1997 to 1999: To develop a GIS to incorporate coastal inventory information in a manner that allows efficient post-hurricane damage field assessments.
• 1999 to 2001: To establish an on-line information clearinghouse to serve as a mechanism for OCRM to provide recommendations and findings from their research about natural resource management to local governments.
• 2001 to 2003: To create an assessment of current stormwater management procedures, legal analysis of maintenance and inspection requirements, baseline field inspections of systems, and fiscal analysis of inspection programs.
• 2003 to 2005: To develop policy recommendations and guidance across agency jurisdictions attempting to create more streamlined and effective comprehensive management of South Carolina’s shellfish resources.
• 2007 to 2009: To examine and assess erosion control devices and beachfront structures, baselines and setbacks, and beach renourishment.
www.csc.noaa.gov/cms/fellows.html

Coastal Services Magazine

This bimonthly trade publication focuses on efforts by local, state, and nonprofit organizations to address coastal issues. Recent articles featuring programs in South Carolina include the following:

• The Coastal Management SAMP of Approval – November/December 2003
• South Carolina SCOREs with Oyster Restoration Program – March/April 2004
• Wastewater: The Hidden Threat of Our Nation’s Changing Shoreline – May/June 2004
• From Dump to Demo: Retrofitted House Showcases Hazard Mitigation Techniques – January/February 2006
• Regulating Access to Coastal Islands in South Carolina – March/April 2007
www.csc.noaa.gov/magazine/

Creating Resilient Communities

The Center is participating in a regional planning effort in Charleston, Dorchester, and Berkeley counties in South Carolina. The project will make linkages between future development, conservation, and resilience to natural hazards. Areas where natural hazards (hurricanes, flooding, etc.) threaten future community development are being identified, as are areas where ecosystem services can help reduce threats to people and infrastructure and should be recognized as potential lands for conservation.

GeoTools 09 Conference

GeoTools is the conference series that focuses on the technical information needs of the nation’s coastal programs. Through this conference, constituents of the Center learn about new ways to address coastal resource management issues through the effective use of geospatial data and tools. The conference is held every two years in South Carolina.
www.csc.noaa.gov/geotools/

Habitat Priority Planner Applied in South Carolina

This GIS-based tool developed by the Center is for conservation and habitat restoration planners and practitioners to test different alternatives for setting management priorities in a watershed, county, or small region. The tool can be used to evaluate and compare the effects of future land use, conservation scenarios, or proposed restoration projects on habitat quality. In 2008, training and updated outreach materials are being developed to support and facilitate the use of the tool, and pilot application products are planned for South Carolina and two other states.

Implementing Ecosystem-Based Management in a South Carolina NERR: The Role of GIS

For this project, stakeholders at the ACE Basin in South Carolina and another National Estuarine Research Reserve site will get GIS assistance as they develop strategic natural resource management plans for their geographic regions. One of the primary goals is to get the public to participate in the process. Efforts from the Center will focus on creative ways to highlight the value and threats to these resource areas. The Center’s Habitat Priority Planner tool will be used for this purpose. From this experience, information will be shared with other organizations on how to best use visualizations and other spatial data products to support ecosystem-based management.

Land Cover Mapping

Nothing provides a big picture view of land cover status better than these maps, which are developed using remote sensing technology. The Center has baseline land cover data for most of the coastal zone. The goal is to update the imagery every five years to also provide a means of detecting change or trends.
www.csc.noaa.gov/crs/lca/ccap.html

South Carolina Marsh Island Assessment

The Center partnered with the South Carolina Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management and the state Department of Natural Resources to better assess development and conservation concerns involving marsh islands in South Carolina through the development of a GIS-based marsh assessment tool.
www.csc.noaa.gov/id/scmarsh.html

Topographic and Bathymetric Applications

The Center provides information about the availability of topographic and bathymetric data sets and assists coastal managers in working with these sets—particularly in relation to storm surge and inundation modeling. The current focus of this project is on developing a data inventory for Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia and guidance documents describing the coastal management applications of topography and bathymetry.
www.csc.noaa.gov/topobathy/

Training

The Center provides training to the coastal resource managers of the nation in three focus areas: geospatial technology, coastal management, and building process skills. Training can take place at the Center’s training facility for some courses but most often is taken to coastal managers in the field. Recent courses delivered to programs in South Carolina include the following:

• Coastal Applications of ArcGIS
• Coastal Inundation Mapping
• Conservation Data Documentation
• GIS Tools for Strategic Conservation Planning
• Introduction to ArcGIS
• Planning for Meaningful Evaluation
• Project Design and Evaluation
• Public Issues and Conflict Management
• Remote Sensing for Spatial Analysts
www.csc.noaa.gov/bins/resources/training.html

Visualizing Shallow Coastal Flooding and Sea Level Rise

Lidar-derived elevation data were used to map inundation in Charleston, South Carolina. This high-resolution elevation information is one of the best data sets available for predicting areas impacted during short-term coastal flooding and relatively small changes in sea level. These products are helping local and state officials understand the potential areas of inundation and better prepare their communities.
www.csc.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/action/hazards/chsflood.html

Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands

Coastal Management Fellowship

The NOAA Coastal Management Fellowship matches postgraduate students with state coastal zone programs to work on two-year projects proposed by the state. The U.S. Virgin Islands Coastal Zone Management Program has hosted one fellow:

• 2006 to 2008: To develop, implement, and operate a functioning GIS office for the program by inventorying needs, creating a GIS database, and training the staff on using the software.
www.csc.noaa.gov/cms/fellows.html

Coastal Services Magazine

This bimonthly trade publication focuses on efforts by local, state, and nonprofit organizations to address coastal issues. Recent articles featuring programs in Puerto Rico include the following:

• Puerto Rico Finds a Measure of Success – July/August 2004
• Using Purchasing Power to Protect Lands in Puerto Rico – July/August 2007

Recent articles featuring programs in the U.S. Virgin Islands include the following:

• Conference Helping Virgin Islands Find Nonpoint Source Solutions – November/December 2000
• Resolving Coastal Conflicts in the Virgin Islands – July/August 2001
www.csc.noaa.gov/magazine/

Land Cover Mapping

Nothing provides a big picture view of land cover status better than these maps, which are developed using remote sensing technology. The Center has baseline land cover data for most of the coastal zone. The goal is to update the imagery every five years to also provide a means of detecting change or trends.
www.csc.noaa.gov/crs/lca/ccap.html

N-SPECT Applications

The Nonpoint-Source Pollution and Erosion Comparison Tool (N-SPECT) is a GIS-based screening tool that models basic hydrologic processes, including overland flow, erosion, and nonpoint source pollution for watersheds. Assistance was given to resource managers in Puerto Rico and several states as they used N-SPECT to estimate runoff in various land cover scenarios. Staff members also work with the Environmental Protection Agency and private-sector groups that want to use N-SPECT with their programs.

Needs Assessment and Social Science Tools

Surveys, needs assessments, and other social science-related tools are useful in gathering information and making informed decisions. The Center has provided the U.S. Virgin Islands with technical assistance in conducting such activities to ensure high-quality results and usable information.

Training

The Center provides training to the coastal resource managers of the nation in three focus areas: geospatial technology, coastal management, and building process skills. Training can take place at the Center’s training facility for some courses but most often is taken to coastal managers in the field.

Recent courses delivered to programs in Puerto Rico include the following:

• Coastal Community Planning and Development
• Evaluation 101
• Public Issues and Conflict Management

Recent courses delivered to programs in the U.S. Virgin Islands include the following:

• Coastal Application of ArcGIS
• Introduction to ArcGIS
• Managing Visitor Use in Coastal and Marine Protected Areas
• Project Design and Evaluation
• Public Issues and Conflict Management
www.csc.noaa.gov/bins/resources/training.html