Shoreline change data along the coast of California from 2015 to 2016

This dataset contains shoreline change measurements for sandy beaches along the coast of California over the 2015/2016 El Nino winter season. Mean high water (MHW) shorelines were extracted from Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) digital elevation models from the fall of 2015 and the spring of 2016 using the ArcGIS smoothed contour method. The MHW elevation in each analysis region (Northern, Central, and Southern California) maintained consistency with that of the National Assessment of Shoreline Change. Within the Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS), the net shoreline movement (NSM) between the pre-El Nino (2015) and post-El Nino (2016) shorelines was calculated at a transect spacing of 50 meters as a proxy for sandy shoreline change throughout the El Nino winter season.

Data and Resources

Field Value
accessLevel public
bureauCode {010:12}
catalog_@context https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.jsonld
catalog_conformsTo https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
catalog_describedBy https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.json
identifier USGS:5f9317c482ce720ee2d5970c
metadata_type geospatial
modified 20201231
old-spatial -114.14, 32.53, -124.42, 42.00
publisher U.S. Geological Survey
publisher_hierarchy Department of the Interior > U.S. Geological Survey
resource-type Dataset
source_datajson_identifier true
source_hash 8f5ae45c3bf3994d32b26ef3243096c06cdcf4be
source_schema_version 1.1
spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": [[[-114.14, 32.53], [-114.14, 42.00], [ -124.42, 42.00], [ -124.42, 32.53], [-114.14, 32.53]]]}
theme {geospatial}
Groups
  • AmeriGEOSS
  • National Provider
  • North America
Tags
  • amerigeo
  • amerigeoss
  • cencal
  • central-california
  • ckan
  • climate-change
  • climatologymeteorologyatmosphere
  • cmhrp
  • coastal-and-marine-hazards-and-resources-program
  • coastal-erosion
  • el-nino-events
  • el-nino-southern-oscillation
  • geo
  • geoss
  • national
  • norcal
  • north-america
  • northern-california
  • oceans
  • pacific-coastal-and-marine-science-center
  • pcmsc
  • physical-habitats-and-geomorphology
  • sea-level-change
  • socal
  • southern-california
  • state-of-california
  • storms
  • u-s-geological-survey
  • united-states
  • usgs
  • usgs-5f9317c482ce720ee2d5970c
  • waves
isopen False
license_id notspecified
license_title License not specified
maintainer PCMSC Science Data Coordinator
maintainer_email pcmsc_data@usgs.gov
metadata_created 2025-11-22T07:51:40.443388
metadata_modified 2025-11-22T07:51:40.443392
notes This dataset contains shoreline change measurements for sandy beaches along the coast of California over the 2015/2016 El Nino winter season. Mean high water (MHW) shorelines were extracted from Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) digital elevation models from the fall of 2015 and the spring of 2016 using the ArcGIS smoothed contour method. The MHW elevation in each analysis region (Northern, Central, and Southern California) maintained consistency with that of the National Assessment of Shoreline Change. Within the Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS), the net shoreline movement (NSM) between the pre-El Nino (2015) and post-El Nino (2016) shorelines was calculated at a transect spacing of 50 meters as a proxy for sandy shoreline change throughout the El Nino winter season.
num_resources 2
num_tags 32
title Shoreline change data along the coast of California from 2015 to 2016