Beaches, 2015, North and Mid-Atlantic U.S.

This dataset represents North Atlantic beaches in 2015. The data are part of a larger project, Inventory of Habitat Modifications to Sandy Oceanfront Beaches in the U.S. Atlantic Coast Breeding Range of the Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus) as of 2015: Maine to North Carolina.

As of 2015, 1,742.16 miles (2,803.73 kilometers [km]) of sandy shoreline was present between Georgetown, ME, and the North Carolina-South Carolina state boundary, with 1,650.68 miles (2,656.51 km) of sandy beach habitat present and 90.88 miles (146.26 km) where sandy beach habitat was absent seaward of hard stabilization structures, or armor. Massachusetts (458.40 miles or 737.72 km) and North Carolina (322.26 miles or 518.63 km) had the greatest lengths of sandy beach habitat present in 2015. The total length of oceanfront shoreline, excluding inlets, is virtually the same in New Jersey and on the Long Island Sound and Atlantic Ocean shorelines of New York with approximately 127 miles (204 km) in each. The New Hampshire (~10 miles or 16 km), Delaware (~25 miles or 40 km) and Maryland (~31 miles or 50 km) oceanfront shorelines are much shorter than the remaining states in the U.S. Atlantic Coast breeding range of the piping plover. The New Hampshire coast has the highest proportion of sandy oceanfront beaches that are developed (84%) and the Virginia coast is the least developed (15%). More than half (50%) of the sandy beach habitat in Maine, New Hampshire, the Long Island Sound shoreline of New York, and New Jersey has been modified by beachfront development. Altogether, 775.27 miles (1,247.68 km; 45%) of sandy oceanfront shoreline from Maine through North Carolina were developed in 2015.

The oceanfront shoreline was assessed by using the Google Earth imagery available for 2015, or where no 2015 imagery was available, early 2016. High-resolution imagery in Google Earth Pro was used to calculate the locations and lengths of sandy oceanfront beaches in each geographic area as well as to distinguish the lengths that were developed versus undeveloped. A Microsoft Excel database of all data was created, with the data organized by geographic area. Data were compiled on a community/municipal basis to facilitate updates and replication of the data. Line segments were created within Google Earth Pro for each undeveloped or developed beach segments. The line segments were labelled with the community name followed by “DEV” for developed or “UNDEV” for undeveloped, followed by a number representing the geographic order of the beach segment (from north to south or east to west). Thus the line labelled “Charlestown UNDEV 15” is the fifteenth beach segment from east to west in the town of Charlestown, Rhode Island, and it is an undeveloped section of beachfront. Line segments representing developed beachfront areas were colored in orange and those representing undeveloped beachfront colored in green. The length of each line segment in Google Earth Pro was recorded in Microsoft Excel. All digitizing was completed by a single GIS analyst.

In Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and along the Long Island Sound (LIS) and Peconic Estuary shorelines of New York, sandy beaches may be directly adjacent to rocky beaches. Rocky beaches are defined as beaches composed predominantly of gravel, cobble and/or boulders. Rocky beaches may have minor amounts of sandy substrate. Solid rock outcrops are not considered rocky beaches. Beaches in the study area may convert from predominantly sandy to predominantly rocky or vice versa seasonally or yearly; for the purposes of this inventory, the substrate was categorized using the highest resolution imagery available within Google Earth for 2015 or early 2016. Where rocky beaches were directly adjacent to sandy beaches, the segments of rocky beach were delineated, measured and recorded because those areas may convert between predominantly sandy and rocky over time; these data are available within the Microsoft Excel and Google Earth data layer products associated with this habitat assessment.

The presence or absence of beachfront development was evaluated within 500 feet (ft; 152 meters [m]) landward of the first line of stable vegetation, or between the beach and a coast parallel road, whichever was nearer. Where a coast parallel road was present, the distance between the beach and the road needed to be sufficient enough to be developable with a building in order to be considered undeveloped beachfront (when no buildings were present). When development was set back less than 500 ft (152 m) but a water body such as a coastal pond separated the sandy beach from the development, the beach segment was considered undeveloped. The 500 ft (152 m) evaluation area landward of the beach was measured perpendicular to the shoreline orientation. This 500 ft (152 m) criteria is a minor revision to the methodology used in the 2012 habitat assessment (Rice 2015b, 2015c), which did not utilize a specific distance limit.

When calculating the approximate lengths of beach shoreline that were developed versus undeveloped, no distinction was made as to the level of development. Undeveloped areas were those where no structures existed adjacent to the beach and that appeared natural in the Google Earth aerial imagery. Vacant lots that were surrounded by a high number of buildings were not counted as undeveloped areas unless they were of a sufficient size to measure (e.g., greater than 200 ft [61 m] in oceanfront length). Parking lots and roads were not considered as developed areas unless they were developed on the landward side of the road and the road was close to the beach, preventing the sandy beach from migrating with rising sea level. Golf courses directly adjacent to the beach were categorized as developed beachfront. The individual dates of Google Earth imagery and eye altitude from which measurements were made were recorded; the latter was typically 1,000-1,100 feet (305-335 meters) above ground level.

Neither beach width nor area were measured in this assessment. The width or area of a beach changes daily and the available aerial imagery does not control for season, tide stage, etc. The beach segment lines created for the Google Earth data layer represent the presence or absence of sandy beach habitat in 2015. The lines do not represent the wet-dry line, the first line of stable vegetation, or any other physical feature; the lines are drawn on the dry beach and measure its length only.

Where sandy beach habitat was absent seaward of beachfront armor, but evidence indicates that a sandy beach would be present in the absence of the armor, those sandy shoreline segments were delineated with yellow lines and their length recorded. The presence or absence of dry sandy beach habitat seaward of beachfront armor is ephemeral in many areas, and could fluctuate with the construction of sediment placement projects; the delineation of their location in 2015 allows for future comparisons. The line segments were labelled with “NO BEACH” rather than “DEV” or “UNDEV” in the aforementioned naming convention. The segments of sandy shoreline lacking beach habitat seaward of armor in 2015 represent a habitat loss at the time the imagery was taken. Professional judgement was used to determine which shorelines would be predominantly sandy or rocky in the absence of armor.