ShoreZone
ShoreZone is a mapping program that acquires oblique aerial images at low altitude during the lowest daylight tides of the year to inventory alongshore and across-shore geomorphological and biological features of the Pacific Northwest intertidal shoreline. Habitat attributes are interpreted from the aerial images and categorized in a geographic database. The mapping program was first developed as an oil spill response tool for British Columbia, and now ShoreZone extends from Oregon to Alaska. Other uses of the spatial data include ecological studies, marine conservation planning, shoreline erosion monitoring, coastal flooding and vulnerability assessments, developing climate change adaptation strategies, and community education.[2][3]
Development
A ShoreZone imaging and mapping prototype was originally developed by Dr. Ed Owens and demonstrated on
Partnership
The ShoreZone mapping program is maintained by a unique consortium with no binding agreement. The consortium currently consists of over 50 local, regional, and national partners including First Nations, various commercial industries, non-profits, state, provincial, and federal governments. This partnership won the 2009 Coastal America Spirit Award that recognizes "exceptional projects that demonstrate the 'spirit' of teamwork for group efforts that are poised to address our challenging coastal issues.”[12] In the United States, the Oregon ShoreZone program is supported by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Oregon Coastal Management Program. The Washington ShoreZone program is supported by the Washington Department of Natural Resources. The Alaska ShoreZone program has on-going support from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that also manages and distributes the imagery and data.[13] In Canada, the British Columbia ShoreZone data is distributed by GeoBC.[14] The Nature Conservancy coordinated the program until 2016.[15]
Utility
Coastal resource managers need an inventory of habitats and associated biota that are threatened by increasing development and encroachment along coastal areas, as well as indirect effects of human activities. Coastal mapping efforts, such as ShoreZone, to a large extent fulfill these needs by providing physical and biological characterizations of the shoreline. The ShoreZone imagery and maps were originally intended as an oil spill response tool, and notably the data have been used in several emergency situations including the grounding in 2012 of the drilling barge Kulluk near Kodiak, Alaska.[16] Although the majority of users access only the imagery, the regional scale habitat attribute data have been used for ecological modelling and marine conservation planning.[17][18] More recently the data are benefiting NOAA climate resilience studies.[19] Recent improvements in quantifying habitat attributes allow for analytical studies such as estimating potential Blue Carbon resources of salt marshes.[20] The imagery also has aesthetic appeal and is used for educational content,[21] art exhibits,[22] exploring,[23] books,[24] and story maps.[25]
Assessments
Over 450 ground stations were established to inform the mapping process and to evaluate the accuracy of the interpreted aerial imagery. The utility of ShoreZone maps for change detection was assessed by independent reviewers in 2009 and 2011, and findings include: 1) the NOAA Coast63 digital shoreline used by ShoreZone in Alaska poorly resolves features less than 50 meters, i.e., many small scale features are not represented and thus cannot be accurately described; 2) ShoreZone has no explicit minimum or maximum mapping unit resulting in inconsistent placement of unit breaks among mappers; 3) the combination of 1 & 2 contributes to the lack of repeatable unit breaks leading to potential false positive and false negative indications of change at the scale of individual shore units; and 4) users must be cognizant of the limitations imposed by qualitative mapping protocols used prior to the 2016 revisions.[26][27][28]
References
- ^ ShoreZone on line
- ^ "Born in spill planning, uses for ShoreZone tool expanding". The Alaska Journal of Commerce. 2014-07-10.
- ^ Alaska Newspapers, Inc. "ShoreZone collaboration brings filmmaking to Arctic students".
- ^ Saltspring Physical Shorezone Mapping (Report). [full citation needed]
- ^ "Physical Shore-zone Mapping System" (PDF).
- ^ http://file.dnr.wa.gov/publications/aqr_nrsh_szusermanual.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ "Oregon ShoreZone".
- ^ "ShoreZone".
- .
- .
- S2CID 33695861.
- ^ "Coastal America Partnership".
- ^ "Alaska ShoreZone Coastal Mapping and Imagery | NOAA Fisheries Alaska Regional Office". alaskafisheries.noaa.gov. Retrieved 2016-03-04.
- ^ GeoBC
- ^ "Alaska: ShoreZone Science - The Nature Conservancy".
- ^ "New Cook Inlet spill tool makes debut during Kulluk grounding". The Alaska Journal of Commerce. 2013-01-16.
- S2CID 55084218.
- ^ "BCMCA: overview". BC Marine Conservation Analysis.
- ^ "Alaska ShoreZone Coastal Mapping and Imagery".
- ^ "ShoreZone Mapping and its Application in Coastal Resilience and Blue Carbon Conservation Assessments in the Pacific Northwest". 2015-08-17.
- ^ "CoastView: Go Exploring". CoastView. Retrieved 2020-01-22.
- ^ "ShoreZone: Art Meets Science on the Alaska Coastline". 2018-10-02.
- ^ "Getting up close and personal with Alaska's coast - Alaska Dispatch News". Alaska Dispatch News.
- ^ "Cook Inlet Regional Citizens Advisory Council - A Photographic Journey along Alaska's Gulf Coast". 28 June 2013.
- ^ "Story Map Tour".
- ^ Schoch, Carl (2010). "The Evaluation and Analysis of ShoreZone Intertidal Habitat Mapping in Cook Inlet" (PDF).
- ^ Schroeder, Kercia; Hansen, Patricia; Nichols, Jeff (2011). "An Accuracy Assessment of ShoreZone Geomorphic Classifications in Taku Inlet and Gastineau Channel, Alaska" (PDF).
- ^ Coyle, Theraesa; Herunter, Herb; Macdonald, Steve (2016). "ShoreZone Verification in Preparation for Marine Oil Spills" (PDF).