Shoreline change at Cumberland Island National Seashore: 2018–2019 data summary

Baron, Lisa

In 2018 and 2019 the Southeast Coast Network collected shoreline data at Cumberland National Seashore as a part of the NPS Vital Signs Monitoring Program. Monitoring was conducted following methods developed by the National Park Service Northeast Barrier Coast Network and consisted of mapping the high tide swash line using a global positioning system (GPS) unit in the spring of each year (Psuty et al. 2010). Shoreline change was calculated using the Digital Shoreline Analysis System developed by USGS (Theiler et al. 2008). Key findings from this effort are as follows: • A mean of 30.03 kilometers (18.66 miles [mi])of shoreline were mapped from 2018 to 2019 with a mean horizontal accuracy of 10.11 centimeters (3.98 inches [in]). • The mean shoreline distance change from 2018 to 2019 was 1.82 meters (5.97 feet [ft]) with a standard deviation of 8.19 meters (26.87 ft). The shoreline change distance ranged from -23.62 meters to 75.65 meters (-77.49 to 248.20 ft). • High erosion areas were present in the 2018 to 2019 shoreline survey analysis. 4.20 % of the transects were located in areas of erosion beyond the uncertainty range of the data (± 10 meters [32.8 ft]), which can be inferred that high erosion occurred along a cumulative 1.25 kilometers (0.78 mi) of the study area surveyed. • High accretion areas were present in the 2018 to 2019 shoreline survey analysis. 11.01 % of the transects were located in areas of accretion beyond the uncertainty range of the data (± 10 meters [32.8 ft]), which can be inferred that accretion occurred along a cumulative 3.28 kilometers (2.04 mi) of the study area surveyed.

Shoreline change at Cumberland Island National Seashore: 2018–2019 data summary

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