A GIS DATA COMPILATION AND DISSEMINATION MODEL FOR LOCAL- AND REGIONAL-SCALE FRAMEWORK GEOLOGY STUDIES: AN EXAMPLE FROM THE SOUTH CAROLINA–GEORGIA COASTAL EROSION STUDY

Integrated, reliable, spatially referenced data provide coastal scientists, coastal managers, and the general public the ability to synthesize information and knowledge necessary to make informed analyses and decisions “Needed to Conserve and Protect Coastal Resources.” As a portion of the US Geological Survey funded SC-GA Coastal Erosion Study, coastal data and metadata are being compiled, created, and disseminated through an online geographic information system (GIS), providing a model for data-dissemination in other coastal areas. Federal Geographic Data Committee (www.fgdc.gov) protocols have been adhered to where possible, and metadata tags associated with all files follow metadata protocols through NOAA’s ArcView metadata collector (www.csc.noaa.gov). The major purpose for compiling the data has been to provide the cooperative working groups and principal investigators with accurate, timely data (vector and raster), so that critical areas of erosion may be identified and studies focused. As an additional benefit, the data are being released through an internet map service (ArcIMS from www.esri.com) with the intent of providing reliable information to the PI’s and to the public in an online map-generated format. The primary objectives of this model are to: (1) compile and synthesize existing shoreline and coastal profile data and metadata into a common, programmatically-defined geographic information system; (2) develop shoreline change and coastal hazards maps for the study area; and (3) manage and disseminate the integrated data via digital products and web-based access. Data types include hypsography (bathymetry and topography), roads, shorelines, beach profiles, aerial photography, sidescan sonar, geophysical tracklines, and borehole locations and descriptions. This model easily adjusts to studies focusing on additional aspects of the coastal system and may rely on other basemaps, such as tax maps, utilities, and other coastal infrastructure.