NGS Coastal Mapping Program Update

November 12, 2020  |  2-3 pm, Eastern Time

Mike Aslaksen, Chief, Remote Sensing Division, National Geodetic Survey

This webinar describes how NGS collects coastal mapping data, and the many ways the data are used.

NGS delineates the national shoreline through various photogrammetric sources, including tide-coordinated stereo aerial photographs, commercial satellite imagery, Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), and related remote sensing technologies. 

The national shoreline provides critical baseline data for updating nautical charts; managing coastal resources; and defining U.S. territorial limits, including the Exclusive Economic Zone. It supports: maritime trade and transportation, coastal and marine spatial planning, coastal engineering, academic research, and insurance activities, to provide a means for enhancing global competitiveness and for more efficiently managing resources. 

An accurate, consistent, and up-to-date national shoreline can provide and improve: 

• Official nautical charts for maritime navigation, 
• Data to model sea level change, storm surge, coastal flooding, and pollution trajectories, 
• Contemporary ocean management plans, 
• Wave and wind energy site selection, 
• Land and marine geographic information system base layers, and 
• Environmental analysis and monitoring.