Habitat Inventories Prior to Hurricane Sandy

Product Descriptions and Links:

One summary report synthesizes all the inventory reports for both habitats prior to Hurricane Sandy and incorporates previously available information for North Carolina:

A Synthesis of Tidal Inlet and Sandy Beach Habitat Inventories:  Habitat Modifications in the U.S. Atlantic Coast Breeding Range of the Piping Plover (Chardrius melodus) prior to Hurricane Sandy (.pdf report)

The study area was divided into two geographic regions north and south of Montauk, New York.  One set of reports and products summarize the status of tidal inlet habitat prior to Hurricane Sandy, while a second set summarizes the status of sandy beach habitat prior to Hurricane Sandy. 

Tidal Inlet Habitat Prior to Hurricane Sandy (2012)

Tidal inlets were located and identified using Google Earth imagery from 2010, 2011 and early 2012.  An inventory of the inlets was compiled with known habitat modifications recorded for each inlet using Microsoft Excel.  Habitat modifications included in the inventory were (1) armor (hard shoreline stabilization structures), (2) dredging, (3) inlet mining, (4) artificial inlet openings, and (5) artificial inlet closures.  Inlets that were historically open also were identified and located where sufficient information existed to mark their approximate location on current maps.  In October 2012, 399 tidal inlets were open along the U.S. Atlantic coast from Maine to Virginia.  The location of tidal inlets that were open in October 2012 just prior to Hurricane Sandy, plus all the known locations of historical inlets, are available in a Google Earth (.kmz) data layer:

The habitat inventories are summarized in a pair of reports and associated databases for the northern and southern portions of the study area.  The northern portion of the study area extended from Georgetown, Maine, through the Long Island Sound (North Shore) and Peconic Estuary shorelines of Long Island, New York. The southern portion of the study area extended from Montauk, New York, along the South Shore of Long Island to the Virginia-North Carolina boundary.

 

Tidal Inlet Habitat in North Carolina prior to Hurricane Sandy

Tidal inlet habitat in North Carolina was assessed in a previous project that inventoried tidal inlets in the coastal migration and wintering range of the piping plover in the continental United States.  The data products for that project are available here:

Sandy Beach Habitat Prior to Hurricane Sandy (2012)

Sandy beach habitat was located and identified using Google Earth imagery from 2011 and/or early 2012, excluding beaches located on inner harbors and bays.  An inventory of the sandy beach habitat present within each community was compiled with known habitat modifications recorded using Microsoft Excel.  Habitat modifications included in the inventory were (1) beachfront development, (2) beachfront armor (hard shoreline stabilization structures), (3) known locations of sediment placement projects (including beach nourishment and dredged material placement), and (4) beachfront lands in public or non-governmental organization (NGO) ownership.  In late 2011 or early 2012, approximately 1,915 miles (3,081 kilometers) of sandy beach habitat were present from Maine to Virginia.

The habitat inventories are summarized in a pair of reports and Google Earth data layers for the northern and southern portions of the study area.  The northern portion of the study area extended from Georgetown, Maine, through the Long Island Sound (North Shore) and Peconic Estuary shorelines of Long Island, New York.  The southern portion of the study area extended from Montauk, New York, along the South Shore of Long Island to the Virginia-North Carolina boundary.

Inventory of Habitat Modifications of Sandy Beaches from Maine to the North Shore and Peconic Estuary of New York (.pdf report)

Inventory of Habitat Modifications of Sandy Beaches from South Shore of Long Island to Virginia (.pdf report)

Sandy Beach Habitat Modifications Database

The central sandy beach habitat inventory database includes the following community-level data for 307 communities from Georgetown, ME, through Virginia, listed in geographic order from north to south:  (1) the total length of sandy beach habitat present prior to Hurricane Sandy; (2) the length of armored shoreline where no sandy beach habitat was present seaward of the armor; (3) the length and proportion of beachfront modified by development; (4) the length and proportion of beachfront lands in public or NGO ownership; (5) the length and proportion of sandy shoreline modified by armor; and (6) the length and proportion of beachfront that had been modified by sediment placement prior to October 2012.  The Microsoft Excel database includes data sheets organized by community, county and state.  

NOTE: In Massachusetts, data from the Massachusetts Coastal Erosion Commission was consulted to estimate the length of sandy beach habitat and length of sandy beach habitat modified by beachfront development and armor.  

Sandy Beach Habitat Inventory Database from Maine to Virginia (Microsoft Excel)

Northeast Sandy Beach Habitat Data Products

The presence or absence of sandy beach habitat in the northern portion of the study area, along the Northeast coast from Maine to the Long Island Sound and Peconic Estuary shorelines of New York, was identified and delineated in Google Earth.  Sandy beaches were digitized as polyline features from imagery using a “heads-up” approach in Google Earth.  The shoreline was divided into segments (called ‘pockets’) based on whether the area directly adjacent to the beach was developed or undeveloped.  Developed beach segments were coded with orange polylines.  Undeveloped beach segments were coded with green polylines.  Each shoreline segment was labelled with the name of the municipality followed by a number representing the geographic order of the shoreline segment from north to south or east to west depending on the orientation of the shoreline.  

Beach segments that were contiguous to one another were labelled with a number followed by a letter, in alphabetical order, that represented whether that subsection of beach was developed or undeveloped.  For example, “Montauk pocket 3” represents the third beach pocket from east to west in the community of Montauk and is uniformly developed.  “Montauk pocket 5a, 5b, 5c,” etc., represent the fifth beach pocket from east to west, with each letter (“a”, “b”, “c”, etc.) representing a separate subsection of beach that is either developed (e.g., Montauk pocket 5a, 5c, 5e, etc.) or undeveloped (e.g., Montauk pocket 5b, 5d, 5f, etc.).  Where the boundaries of a beachfront property in public and/or NGO ownership did not coincide with the boundaries of the corresponding pocket beach, a separate polyline was created to identify the approximate boundaries of the public/NGO parcel; these polylines were coded lime green.

NOTE: In Massachusetts, data from the Massachusetts Coastal Erosion Commission was consulted to estimate the length of sandy beach habitat and length of sandy beach habitat modified by beachfront development.

Northeast Beaches (ME to NY) Before Hurricane Sandy (Google Earth .kmz) [excluding Massachusetts]

Northeast Beaches (ME to NY) Before Hurricane Sandy Metadata

Mid-Atlantic Sandy Beach Habitat Data Products

The presence of a sandy beach was digitized using Google Earth imagery from September 2010 to August 2012 to identify and measure the length of sandy beach habitat within each municipality or community in New York (Atlantic Ocean shoreline only), New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia prior to Hurricane Sandy, which made landfall on October 29, 2012.  Polylines were drawn along the sandy beach, where it was present, and do not represent the position of the coastline or any particular tide line.  The polylines represent the presence or absence of a sandy beach and its length.  Sandy beaches were digitized as polyline features from imagery using a “heads-up” approach in Google Earth.  Each shoreline segment was labelled with the name of the municipality and the segments are organized in geographic order from north to south or east to west depending on the orientation of the shoreline.  Additional polyline segments were created to identify the approximate boundaries of beachfront parcels in public and/or non-governmental organization (NGO) ownership; these segments were coded in lime green and labelled with a more specific location name identifying its status as a park, preserve, refuge, or other public ownership.  

NOTE: Segments of sandy beach habitat modified by beachfront development are not included in this data layer for the Mid-Atlantic region.

Mid-Atlantic Beaches (NY to VA) Before Hurricane Sandy (Google Earth .kmz)

Mid-Atlantic Beaches (NY to VA) Before Hurricane Sandy Metadata

Beachfront Armor Data Products

The inventory data represent the approximate locations of hard shoreline stabilization structures along the U.S. North Atlantic coast from Maine through Virginia visible in Google Earth imagery at or before the time that Hurricane Sandy made landfall in October 2012. Hard shoreline stabilization structures included in the inventory were seawalls, bulkheads, revetments, breakwaters, groins, jetties and geotube or sandbag structures.  The armoring structures were located and identified using Google Earth imagery from 1989 through 2012 and recorded for each community in Microsoft Excel (see the database link listed above).  Beachfront armor was digitized as polyline features from imagery using a “heads-up” approach in Google Earth.  

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 1,915 miles from Maine to Virginia.  At least 21% of these sandy beaches were modified with hard shoreline stabilization structures prior to Hurricane Sandy, with up to 5,233 groins, 214 jetties, up to 6,966 contiguous sections of seawalls, bulkheads and/or revetments, and up to 90 breakwaters identified.  

NOTE: The state of Massachusetts is excluded from this Google Earth data layer due to the availability of data for hard shoreline stabilization structures from the Massachusetts Open Resource Information System (MORIS), specifically the reports and map data from the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (2009) for public structures and Fontenault et al. (2013) for private structures; these reports and data are available through the MORIS website.   

Beachfront Armor 2012 for ME to VA (Google Earth .kmz) [excluding Massachusetts]

Beachfront Armor 2012 for ME to VA Metadata

Sediment Placement Data Products

The inventory data represent the approximate locations of sediment placement projects constructed along the U.S. North Atlantic coast from Maine through Virginia prior to the time that Hurricane Sandy made landfall in October 2012.  Sediment placement projects included in the inventory were beach nourishment projects, storm damage reduction projects, beneficial placement or disposal of dredged material, and construction of artificial dunes with fill material.  Project data were identified from published literature, government reports and documents, permit applications, and the beach nourishment database of the Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines at Western Carolina University.  Sediment placement project details were recorded for each state in Microsoft Excel and organized to eliminate overlapping project areas.  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 1,915 miles from Maine to Virginia.  Including previously reported data for North Carolina, at least 18% of the sandy beaches in the U.S. Atlantic Coast breeding range of the piping plover were modified with sediment placement projects prior to Hurricane Sandy, with over 338 miles of sediment placement projects.  Project location and length data were not available for 134 of 403 identified project areas (33%), however, so this total length of sandy beach modified by sediment placement projects is conservative.

Sediment Placement Projects Database from Maine to New York (Microsoft Excel)

Sediment Placement Projects Database from New York to Virginia (Microsoft Excel)

Sediment Placement Projects ME to VA (Google Earth .kmz)

Sediment Placement Projects ME to VA Metadata

Public & NGO-Owned Beachfront Data Products

Altogether 42% of the sandy beach habitat, or about 800 miles (1,287 km), in the U.S. Atlantic Coast breeding range of the piping plover (ME to NC) were known to be in public or NGO ownership prior to Hurricane Sandy.  Note that the inventory data do not include public beaches in several states where private property is immediately adjacent to the beach, but are limited to lands immediately adjacent to the beach that were in public or NGO ownership.  Beachfront lands in public or NGO ownership are included in the Sandy Beach Habitat Google Earth data layers listed above.

Public & NGO Owned Beachfront Lands Database from Maine to the North Shore and Peconic Estuary of New York (Microsoft Excel)

Public & NGO Owned Beachfront Lands Database from South Shore of Long Island to Virginia (Microsoft Excel)

Sandy Beach Habitat in North Carolina Prior to Hurricane Sandy

Sandy beach habitat in North Carolina was assessed in a previous project that inventoried tidal inlets in the coastal migration and wintering range of the piping plover in the continental United States.  The only sandy beach habitat data product available for that project is the habitat inventory report:

Inventory of Habitat Modifications to Sandy Beach Habitat from Texas to North Carolina (.pdf report)

Go to the products for each phase of this project

Habitat Inventories Prior to Hurricane Sandy | Habitat Modifications Caused by Hurricane Sandy  | Habitat Modifications as of 2015