National Academies Press: OpenBook

Charting a Course into the Digital Era: Guidance for NOAA's Nautical Charting Mission (1994)

Chapter: Appendix H: A National Coastal Zone (Shoreline) Data Base

« Previous: Appendix G: Examples of Uses of Data by State Environmental Agencies
Suggested Citation:"Appendix H: A National Coastal Zone (Shoreline) Data Base." National Research Council. 1994. Charting a Course into the Digital Era: Guidance for NOAA's Nautical Charting Mission. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4752.
×

APPENDIX H
A NATIONAL COASTAL ZONE (SHORELINE) DATA BASE

A national shoreline data base should contain the most up-to-date and detailed data on shoreline, bathymetry, surficial bottom sediment, and special area delineations that are available anywhere in the nation. Development of a "National Shoreline Data Program" should adhere to the following principles:

  • The data to be included should be restricted to only the key types of data elements that appear on existing charts or are in the existing data base. Other types of coastal data such as land-use, coastal wetlands, and site-specific data on sensitive habitats should not be considered. The national shoreline data base should serve a base map function with respect to these types of data. Nationwide efforts in development of data bases for other types of coastal data are monumental efforts in and of themselves and are already being pursued by federal, state, and local agencies.

  • The program should concentrate primarily on developing and providing derived digital data products. Although "raw" data should always be accessible (i.e., to the small number of researchers who require them), the emphasis of the effort must be on derived digital products. Derived products include, for example, verified shoreline at different scales, isopleths of bathymetry based on the best "verified" data available. New paper chart products should not be considered except as necessary derivatives of the digital data base.

  • The program should provide the most up-to-date and detailed data that are available for any coastal area of the nation, regardless of the source, provided that the data have passed "national" verification standards and been certified as "official." To provide does not mean only to make accessible, but rather to actively market and distribute specific digital products.

  • The most important element of the program should be establishment of an active partnership of data transfer and acquisition of data that have already been collected by others. This will require a significant change in how resources are allocated and priorities established. This element of the program may require a training program for state and local partners and centralized support of a technical assistance function.

  • Nationwide data collection efforts (i.e., the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [NOAA] operations), should be targeted to specific areas of national concern and primarily at scales necessary to support the existing chart product needs, but at a significantly reduced repeat cycle nationwide. Data collection should not take place in areas

Suggested Citation:"Appendix H: A National Coastal Zone (Shoreline) Data Base." National Research Council. 1994. Charting a Course into the Digital Era: Guidance for NOAA's Nautical Charting Mission. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4752.
×

where state and local agencies, or others, have collected adequate amounts of data that can be verified and incorporated in the national data base.

The attached figure (Figure H-1) illustrates the major elements of a National Shoreline Data Base Program. Further consideration of this concept will require more detailed planning and assessment to determine the scale and scope of the changes that are required and how they may best be implemented.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix H: A National Coastal Zone (Shoreline) Data Base." National Research Council. 1994. Charting a Course into the Digital Era: Guidance for NOAA's Nautical Charting Mission. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4752.
×

Figure H-1 Elements of a National Shoreline Data-Base Program.

Source Workshop on the Future Needs of Users for Nautical Information, Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Buzzards Bay, July 19-21, 1993.

Suggested Citation:"Appendix H: A National Coastal Zone (Shoreline) Data Base." National Research Council. 1994. Charting a Course into the Digital Era: Guidance for NOAA's Nautical Charting Mission. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4752.
×
Page 131
Suggested Citation:"Appendix H: A National Coastal Zone (Shoreline) Data Base." National Research Council. 1994. Charting a Course into the Digital Era: Guidance for NOAA's Nautical Charting Mission. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4752.
×
Page 132
Suggested Citation:"Appendix H: A National Coastal Zone (Shoreline) Data Base." National Research Council. 1994. Charting a Course into the Digital Era: Guidance for NOAA's Nautical Charting Mission. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/4752.
×
Page 133
Charting a Course into the Digital Era: Guidance for NOAA's Nautical Charting Mission Get This Book
×
Buy Paperback | $44.00
MyNAP members save 10% online.
Login or Register to save!
Download Free PDF

A number of trends and forces are converging to require change in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) nautical charting mission. The most salient among these are changes in customer requirements, with a growing demand for customized and digital nautical information products; a changing customer base that encompasses uses of nautical charts in conjunction with coastal management, regulation, and development activities; and advances in technologies both for acquiring survey data and for structuring, displaying, analyzing, and disseminating nautical information.

This volume assesses the needs of users of nautical information; reviews existing and emerging technologies; and examines major issues associated with information acquisition, chart preparation, and dissemination. The book addresses user requirements for improved nautical chart products, as well as technical and programmatic issues relating to the need for and provision of nautical information.

  1. ×

    Welcome to OpenBook!

    You're looking at OpenBook, NAP.edu's online reading room since 1999. Based on feedback from you, our users, we've made some improvements that make it easier than ever to read thousands of publications on our website.

    Do you want to take a quick tour of the OpenBook's features?

    No Thanks Take a Tour »
  2. ×

    Show this book's table of contents, where you can jump to any chapter by name.

    « Back Next »
  3. ×

    ...or use these buttons to go back to the previous chapter or skip to the next one.

    « Back Next »
  4. ×

    Jump up to the previous page or down to the next one. Also, you can type in a page number and press Enter to go directly to that page in the book.

    « Back Next »
  5. ×

    Switch between the Original Pages, where you can read the report as it appeared in print, and Text Pages for the web version, where you can highlight and search the text.

    « Back Next »
  6. ×

    To search the entire text of this book, type in your search term here and press Enter.

    « Back Next »
  7. ×

    Share a link to this book page on your preferred social network or via email.

    « Back Next »
  8. ×

    View our suggested citation for this chapter.

    « Back Next »
  9. ×

    Ready to take your reading offline? Click here to buy this book in print or download it as a free PDF, if available.

    « Back Next »
Stay Connected!