NOAA Shoreline Data Explorer

Continually Updated Shoreline Product

Shoreline is a dynamic interface between land and water. The cartographic depiction of shoreline is a representation at the time of survey. Continually Updated Shoreline Product (CUSP) provides the most up-to-date shoreline of the United States and its territories. CUSP will identify the most up-to-date surveys for inclusion, employ state-of-the-art technology for cartographic review, attribute shoreline features, and develop a strategy to replace shoreline as it becomes available. CUSP is a separate product from the project-based national shoreline mapped by the National Geodetic Survey (NGS). The national shoreline from the Coastal Mapping Program provides accurate tidal referenced shoreline, aids to navigation, hazards to navigation, and associated cultural and topographic reference data primarily for nautical chart applications. CUSP will only include shoreline and alongshore features that represent shoreline (groin, breakwater, and jetty). CUSP has less stringent data acquisition requirements and quality control measures compared to the Coastal Mapping Program's National Shoreline. Where applicable, CUSP will reference a mean high water shoreline based on vertical (VDatum) modeling or image interpretation using water level stations and/or shoreline indicators. CUSP is built upon contemporary NGS's National Shoreline which comprises approximately one-third of our nation's shoreline and focuses primarily on the most navigational significant areas. CUSP uses and incorporates both NOAA and non-NOAA contemporary sources (Lidar, imagery, and external shoreline vectors) to replace shoreline areas of older vintage. Shoreline continues to be reviewed with contemporary imagery and additional data is being included with the goal of providing a continuous shoreline of our nation and its territories. For additional information, please see the CUSP One Pager.

Raster T-Sheets

The National Ocean Service (NOS) and its predecessors have been surveying and mapping the U.S. domestic waters and territories, including the outer coast, the estuaries, and the Great Lakes since it was established in 1807. Mapped features normally include the mean high water line, the mean lower low water line, along with other natural and cultural coastal features such as rocks, bulkheads, jetties, piers, and ramps along the coast and connecting waterways. Until the 1990's, the primary map product was a graphic shoreline manuscript, called by several names including "coastal map", "shoreline map", "T-Series Map", "TP-Series Map", "T-Sheet," or "TP-Sheet." There are over 14,400 maps that have been scanned as part of a joint Coastal Services Center and National Geodetic Survey data rescue project originally funded through the NOAA National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service's Environmental Data Rescue Program (EDRP) and later by the National Climatic Data Center's Climate Database Modernization Program (CDMP). From the more than 14,400 scanned maps, 8,963 were georeferenced and transformed to a common horizontal datum (NAD 83). Historical data from these surveys are often used in litigation to determine property ownership, to enforce regulatory mandates, and to estimate rates of shoreline change. Additionally, these maps provide an accurate framework of geomorphic data for generating related products, such as submerged aquatic vegetation maps and shoreline movement maps used in managing the nation's coastal resources. The user should realize that these data are considered accurate during the time of survey and may not represent the current condition of the ground at this time. These maps permanently reside within the offices of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). These maps were transferred by NOS to NARA in 1999.

There are over 14,400 maps that have been scanned as part of a joint Coastal Services Center and National Geodetic Survey data rescue project originally funded through the NOAA National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service's Environmental Data Rescue Program (EDRP) and later by the National Climatic Data Center's Climate Database Modernization Program (CDMP). From the more than 14,400 scanned maps, 8,963 were georeferenced and transformed to a common horizontal datum (NAD 83).

Disclaimer

Contact

National Shoreline

NOAA's National Geodetic Survey (NGS) produces the national shoreline which provides critical baseline data for updating nautical charts; defining our nation's territorial limits, including the Exclusive Economic Zone; and managing our coastal resources. The national shoreline contributes to our nation's economy by supporting: maritime trade and transportation, coastal and marine spatial planning, coastal engineering, academic research, and insurance activities, to provide a means for enhancing our global competitiveness and more efficiently managing our resources. An accurate, consistent, and up-to-date national shoreline can provide and improve: Official nautical charts for maritime navigation, Data to model sea level change, storm surge, coastal flooding, and pollution trajectories, Contemporary ocean management plans, Wave and wind energy site selection, Land and marine geographic information system base layers, and Environmental analysis and monitoring. NGS delineates the shoreline through various photogrammetric sources, including tide-coordinated stereo aerial photographs, commercial satellite imagery, Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), and related remote sensing technologies. The data-gathering process results in a vector database of the national shoreline and products such as high-resolution aerial frame photographs, orthoimagery, and coastal LiDAR data sets. Additionally, NGS is exploring the use of emerging remote sensing technologies and methodologies to map the shoreline. For additional information, please see the National Shoreline One Pager.

National Shoreline Data Explorer

For more information, contact NGS: ngs.shoreline@noaa.gov

Shoreline Update Notices