Hardened Shoreline Ecological Indicator GIS

For many years the need for tracking changes in hardened shoreline has been recognized as a priority in the Great Lakes and it is one of many GLWQA ecological indicators. Understanding where hardened shoreline plays a role in identifying opportunities for littoral system restoration is a critical aspect of prioritizing work in an anthropomorphic system. NOAA used existing aerial imagery and ancillary data to develop a baseline hardened shoreline classification using the best available imagery to date.

This effort provides a Great Lakes (U.S. side) baseline for this long ignored ecological indicator. The following products will be created:

  • Data sources list
  • Uniform methodology for classification
  • Geospatial data product (US side)
  • Final report providing summary statistics from the basin level to
    state level

GLRI Funding:
FY 2019: $100,000
FY 2018: $400,000

Contact: 
Chiara.Zuccarino-crowe@noaa.gov