ASSESSMENT OF OCEANFRONT AND BACK-BARRIER SHORELINE EROSION FOR RESOURCE MANAGEMENT: CUMBERLAND AND JEKYLL ISLANDS, GEORGIA

Cumberland and Jekyll Islands are experiencing extensive shoreline erosion that is threatening valuable archeological sites and other important resources. To date, no study exists that quantifies historical shoreline changes on a true island-wide scale for complex barrier islands found along the Georgia coast. Previous shoreline studies were limited both in terms of technology and spatial extent. Recent advances in new geographic information systems (GIS) and sensing software have sensing software have allowed scientists to study shoreline changes with greater efficiency and accuracy. The purpose of the study was twofold: 1) establish an updated method for quantifying back-barrier and oceanfront shoreline changes for Georgia's barrier islands, and 2) determine the temporal and spatial extent of historical shoreline erosion utilizing “SCARPS”, an ArcView GIS extension. A cursory inspection of aerial photography and historical maps suggests that greater than half of the back-barrier and oceanfront shoreline for both island had a ~146 year history of erosion between 1857 and 2002. Shoreline change data obtained from GIS analyses were used to identify archeological sites and other resources that are situated along rapidly eroding shoreline segments. Currently, methodologies developed in this study are being used to update shoreline change studies of all of Georgia's barrier islands.