Marine Environmental Services

Project Summary >

ShoreZone Inventory and Mapping: Coastal Aerial Video Surveys and Biophysical Classification

1993 - Current

January 01, 1900 British Columbia, Canada; Alaska + Washington State, USA

Since 1993, Archipelago has been working with Coastal and Ocean Resources Inc. on the implementation of the biological classification component of the ShoreZone mapping system. Georeferenced aerial imagery is collected specifically for interpretation of biophysical shoreline features during low tides. Geological and biological features of the intertidal zone and nearshore are systematically recorded in a spatial database, providing a detailed, mapped description of coastal features. More than 30,000 km of coastline in the Gulf of Alaska and 45,000 km of coastline in British Columbia and Washington State have been mapped using ShoreZone, providing a near-continuous inventory of shoreline using the same methodology for most of the Pacific Northwest. Imagery and mapped data are posted on an interactive mapping website.

Key Features:
• Oblique low-altitude aerial video and digital still imagery
• Delineation of discrete along-shore coastal habitat units
• Mapped physical, geomorphic, sedimentary, and biological features
• Spatial framework for coastal habitat assessment – local and regional scales
• Research and practical applications – natural resource planning, environmental hazard mitigation, habitat capability modeling

ShoreZone imagery and data can be viewed at alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/maps/szintro.htm