Beach Scraping, 2012-2015, North and Mid-Atlantic, U.S.

This dataset represents beach scraping after Hurricane Sandy. These data are part of a broader project Inventory of Habitat Modifications to Tidal Inlets and Sandy Oceanfront Beaches in the U.S. Atlantic Coast Breeding Range of the Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus) as of 2015: Maine to North Carolina.

Beach scraping modified sandy beach habitat in each of the states within the U.S. Atlantic Coast breeding range of the piping plover during the three years after Hurricane Sandy. The beaches of the Peconic Estuary of New York were the least modified by beach scraping, with only 0.02 miles (0.03 km) of sandy beach habitat modified by beach scraping between 2012 and 2015. Less than 1 mile (1.6 km) of sandy beach habitat in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts was modified by beach scraping as well. The sandy beach habitat in New Jersey (20%) and the South Shore of Long Island (18%) were the most modified by beach scraping during the three years after Hurricane Sandy, from November 2012 to December 2015.

Beach scraping is the use of bulldozers to push up artificial levees or “dunes” with sediment from the beach. The bulldozers scrape the top layer of sand, oftentimes limited by permit conditions to one foot (0.3 m) depth, to push a mound of sand and create an artificial dune that functions like a levee at the back of a beach. Beach scraping can be conducted by individual property owners (including state agencies on state lands) or by local municipalities. This type of habitat modification is most common following storm events that have eroded the dunes. For the purposes of this assessment, beach scraping is considered distinct from the bulldozing of sediment that occurs as part of a sediment placement project. During the sediment placement projects, bulldozers and other heavy equipment shape new sediment into a predetermined, engineered profile. Beach scraping, on the other hand, uses the existing sediment on a beach to create an artificial dune or levee.

The locations and extents of beach scraping that was conducted during the three years after Hurricane Sandy, or November 2012 through December 2015, were inventoried for the U.S. Atlantic Coast breeding range of the piping plover. Only ocean-facing shorelines or those directly exposed to Long Island Sound or the Peconic Estuary were included in this project area; inner harbors and bays were excluded, for a total length of sandy beaches of 1,742 miles from Maine to North Carolina. Beach scraping was identified both in aerial imagery and through state permits in some states (i.e., RI, NY). Aerial imagery consulted to identify beach scraping locations included Google Earth imagery covering the 3-year period as well as aerial imagery taken by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration – National Geodetic Survey (NOAA-NGS) and the United States Geological Survey (USGS) following storm events during the 3 years after Hurricane Sandy. Identified areas of beach scraping are conservative, limited only to those locations documented in aerial imagery or through available coastal management permits.

The length of sandy beach habitat modified by beach scraping was calculated by delineating thick blue lines in Google Earth. The line segments are oriented parallel to the beach. The locations, dates and lengths of each beach scraping site were recorded in Microsoft Excel, along with the imagery source. All digitizing was completed by a single GIS analyst.