A Geospatial Framework for the Coastal Zone
National Needs for Coastal Mapping and Charting
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, D.C.
www.nap.edu
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
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NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
This study was supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce, under Contract No. 56-DGNA-1-90024 TO#7; by the U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior, under Cooperative Agreement No. O1HQAGO217; and by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under Grant No. X-82951601. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the agencies that provided support for the project.
Cover: Images courtesy Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping, University of New Hampshire. Background image is USGS multibeam data from San Francisco Bay combined with USGS topographic data; inset image is three-dimensional model of seamless offshore-onshore dataset produced by Tampa Bay Bathy/Topo/Shoreline Demonstration Project, with high sea level superimposed. Cover designed by Michael D. Dudzik.
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THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
Advisers to the Nation on Science, Engineering, and Medicine
The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences.
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The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts and Dr. Wm. A. Wulf are chair and vice chair, respectively, of the National Research Council.
COMMITTEE ON NATIONAL NEEDS FOR COASTAL MAPPING AND CHARTING
LARRY A. MAYER (Chair),
University of New Hampshire, Durham
KENNETH E. BARBOR,
International Hydrographic Bureau, Monaco
PAUL R. BOUDREAU,
Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
THOMAS S. CHANCE,
C&C Technologies, Lafayette, Louisiana
CHARLES H. FLETCHER,
University of Hawaii, Honolulu
HOLLY GREENING,
Tampa Bay Estuary Program, Saint Petersburg, Florida
RONGXING LI,
The Ohio State University, Columbus
CURT MASON,
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (ret.), West Virginia
SUSAN SNOW-COTTER,
Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management, Boston
DAWN J. WRIGHT,
Oregon State University, Corvallis
Ocean Studies Board Liaison
RALPH S. LEWIS,
Connecticut Geological and Natural History Survey (ret.), Hartford
National Research Council Staff
DAVID A. FEARY,
Study Director (from October 2003)
TERRY SCHAEFER,
Study Director (until October 2003)
YVONNE FORSBERGH,
Research Assistant
BYRON MASON,
Senior Project Assistant (from October 2002)
ALISON SCHRUM,
Project Assistant (until September 2002)
OCEAN STUDIES BOARD
NANCY RABALAIS (Chair),
Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium, Chauvin
LEE G. ANDERSON,
University of Delaware, Newark
WHITLOW AU,
University of Hawaii at Manoa
ARTHUR BAGGEROER,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge
RICHARD B. DERISO,
Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission, La Jolla, California
ROBERT B. DITTON,
Texas A&M University, College Station
EARL DOYLE,
Shell Oil (ret.), Sugar Land, Texas
ROBERT DUCE,
Texas A&M University, College Station
PAUL G. GAFFNEY II,
Monmouth University, Long Branch, New Jersey
WAYNE R. GEYER,
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Massachusetts
STANLEY R. HART,
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Massachusetts
RALPH S. LEWIS,
Connecticut Geological and Natural History Survey (ret.), Hartford
WILLIAM F. MARCUSON III,
U.S. Army Corp of Engineers (ret.), Vicksburg, Mississippi
JULIAN P. MCCREARY, JR.,
University of Hawaii, Honolulu
JACQUELINE MICHEL,
Research Planning, Inc., Columbia, South Carolina
JOAN OLTMAN-SHAY,
Northwest Research Associates, Inc., Bellevue, Washington
ROBERT T. PAINE,
University of Washington, Seattle
SHIRLEY A. POMPONI,
Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution, Fort Pierce, Florida
FRED N. SPIESS,
Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, California
DANIEL SUMAN,
Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, Florida
National Research Council Staff
SUSAN ROBERTS, Director
DAN WALKER, Senior Program Officer
JENNIFER MERRILL, Senior Program Officer
JOANNE BINTZ, Program Officer
TERRY SCHAEFER, Program Officer (until October 2003)
ROBIN MORRIS, Financial Officer
SHIREL SMITH, Administrative Associate
JODI BACHIM, Senior Project Assistant
NANCY CAPUTO, Senior Project Assistant
BYRON MASON, Senior Project Assistant
SARAH CAPOTE, Project Assistant
MAPPING SCIENCE COMMITTEE
A standing committee of the BOARD ON EARTH SCIENCES AND RESOURCES
DAVID J. COWEN, (Chair),
University of South Carolina, Columbia
KATHRINE CARGO,
New Orleans Geographic Information Systems, Louisiana
KEITH C. CLARKE,
University of California, Santa Barbara
WILLIAM J. CRAIG,
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
ISABEL F. CRUZ,
University of Illinois, Chicago
ROBERT P. DENARO, NAVTEQ
Corporation, Chicago, Illinois
SHOREH ELHAMI,
Delaware County Auditor’s Office, Ohio
DAVID R. FLETCHER,
Geographic Paradigm Computing, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Hon. JAMES GERINGER,
Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc., Wheatland, Wyoming
DAVID R. MAIDMENT,
University of Texas, Austin
MARK MONMONIER,
Syracuse University, New York
JOEL MORRISON,
The Ohio State University (emeritus), Columbus
SHASHI SHEKHAR,
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
NANCY TOSTA,
Ross & Associates Environmental Consulting, Ltd., Seattle, Washington
National Research Council Staff
PAUL M. CUTLER, Senior Program Officer
RADHIKA S. CHARI, Senior Project Assistant
Preface
While the academic community will long debate the relative roles of science and technology in fostering an understanding of the world around us, there can be little doubt that every so often there are concomitant technical developments that set the stage for a major leap in scientific understanding. This is indeed the case with respect to remote sensing, mapping, and data-handling technologies, where remarkable advances in the development of satellite-positioning systems, terrestrial and marine mapping sensors, and the digital manipulation of mapping data using geographic information systems have revolutionized our ability to collect, distribute, analyze, and visualize geospatial data. Along with these technological developments has come an evolution in our understanding of the fundamental importance of the coastal zone to the social, economic, and environmental well-being of the nation. With this increased understanding has also come a new appreciation for the complexity, sensitivity, and interconnectedness of the coastal zone system. This convergence of technology and scientific awareness heralds a new era of geospatial data handling and products that, for the first time, may allow us to address some of the key challenges faced by those charged with understanding and managing the coastal zone. Recognizing these technological advances, the critical importance of the coastal zone to the well-being of the nation, and the fundamental role that mapping and charting plays in understanding and managing the coastal zone, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency asked the National
Academies to provide an independent assessment of national coastal zone mapping and charting activities and needs.
With at least 15 federal agencies, almost all coastal states, and innumerable local agencies, academic institutions, and private companies involved in coastal mapping and charting, this assessment has been a very large and difficult task. Through a series of information-gathering exercises and meetings, we attempted to understand the short- and long-term mapping needs of the coastal zone community and to determine how well current activities are meeting these needs. We explored roadblocks to generating the information needed in appropriate forms, and sought approaches for maximizing the efficiency of data collection and the value of data products. While we cannot be assured that we covered every need and activity, we are confident that we have addressed the major issues and hope that the recommendations we make will help establish an infrastructure for U.S. coastal zone mapping activities that will allow us to efficiently and effectively manage and preserve our wonderful coastal environments.
Larry Mayer
Chair
Acknowledgments
This report was greatly enhanced by the participants at the four public committee meetings held as part of this study. The committee would first like to acknowledge the efforts of those who gave presentations at the meetings: Robert Ader, RADL Chris Andreasen, Rebecca Beavers, Doug Bellomo, Jim Bennett, Randall E. Billy, Nancy J. Blyler, James Brokaw, Darrell Brown, Stephen K. Brown, William S. Burgess, Margaret A. Davidson, Janet Freedman, Jason Freihage, John W. Haines, Tony LaVoi, W. Jeff Lillycrop, Daniel T. Mates, Bruce McKenzie, Anne Hale Miglarese, Mark E. Monaco, Bruce Parker, Derrick R. Peyton, Abby Sallenger, George F. Sharman, Kathy A. Shield, Karen Siderelis, Robert W. Smith, Joseph Stinus, E. Robert Thieler, Leland F. Thormahlen, and Charles Trees. These talks helped set the stage for fruitful discussions in the sessions that followed.
The committee is also grateful to a number of people who provided important information, commentary, and material for this report: Anne Ball, Jerry Bailes, Lenny Coats, Kim Cohen, Greg Colianni, Cindy Fowler, Norman Frommer, Keith Good, Walter R. Johnson, Jim Kendall, Charles Kovach, Pat Leahy, Michael Plastino, Barbara S. Poore, Nancy Rabalais, Steve Raber, Kevin Schexnayder, Miki Schmidt, Gregg Serenbetz, Greg Snyder, Richard W. Spinrad, David Stein, Megan Treml, Bill Walker, Erika Washburn, Pace Wilber, and James Woodley.
The committee would also like to thank the National Research Council (NRC) staff: David Feary, Yvonne Forsbergh, Morgan Gopnik, Kristen Krapf, Byron Mason, Alison Schrum, Terry Schaefer, and Winfield Swanson
for helping us wend our way through the often complex maze of NRC reports.
This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the National Research Council’s Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their participation in the review of this report:
John D. Bossler, Center for Mapping, The Ohio State University, Columbus
David J. Cowen, Department of Geography, University of South Carolina, Columbia
Joseph J. Cox, Chamber of Shipping of America, Washington, D.C.
David A. Hart, University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute, Madison
Nancy Musgrove, Management of Environmental Resources, Inc., Seattle, Washington
Richard Pickrill, Marine Environmental Geoscience, Natural Resources Canada, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
Walter Schmidt, Florida State Geological Survey, Tallahasee
Karen L. Steinmaus, Pacific Northwest Center for Global Security, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington
Although the reviewers listed above provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Raymond A. Price, Department of Geological Sciences and Geological Engineering (emeritus), Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Appointed by the National Research Council, he was responsible for ensuring that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the institution.