ShoreZone Mapping in Alaska

ShoreZone is a coastal marine habitat mapping system, in which spatially referenced aerial imagery of the intertidal zone and nearshore environment is collected specifically for classification. The resulting mapped dataset includes imagery with geomorphic and biological attributes as a searchable geospatial dataset of coastal habitat features. The imagery provides a useful baseline and visual reference. The mapped features include: shoreline morphology, substrates, and biotic resources such as eelgrass, canopy kelps, salt marshes and other habitat descriptors. ShoreZone data has many applications including: oil spill contingency planning, conservation planning, habitat research and other coastal site evaluations.

Approximately 92,500 km of ShoreZone imagery exists for the Pacific Northwest coastline including the entire shoreline of Washington (5,000 km) and British Columbia (40,000 km), and ~47,500 km of the Alaskan coast.  Two imaging surveys are planned for teh Alaska Peninsula in 2011.  The project is on-going with ~27,900 km of Alaska coastline left to be imaged.  The Alaska imagery can be viewed online at http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/habitat/shorezone/szintro.htm.

The ShoreZone program is built on a foundation of funding and contributing partners, including state and federal governmental agencies, nonprofit organizations, spill response planners, and industry, as well as other scientists and spatial data specialists. Organizations working in partnership for the Alaska ShoreZone effort to date include:  the Alaska Departments of Environmental Conservation, Fish and Game, and Natural Resources; Alaska Ocean Observatory System; Alyeska Pipeline Service Company; Archipelago Marine Research Ltd.; Coastal and Ocean Resources Inc.; Cook Inlet Regional Citizens Advisory Council; Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council; Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation; Kachemak Bay National Research Reserve; Minerals Management Services, Coastal Impact Assistance Program; National Park Service;  NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service; North Pacific Research Board; Prince William Sound Regional Citizens Advisory Council; Prince William Sound Science Center; Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines, The Ocean Fund; Sitka Tribe of Alaska; The Nature Conservancy; The Skaggs Foundation; Southeast Alaska Petroleum Resources Organization; U.S. Coast Guard; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; USDA Forest Service; University of Alaska Fairbanks; and University of Alaska Southeast.

The multi-agency ShoreZone program provides a framework to build on and offers the opportunity to build a contiguous, integrated coastal resource database that extends from the mouth of the Columbia River, through BC, the Gulf of Alaska, Bristol Bay, and northwards to the Arctic coast.  With additional data collection and partners, the program could be expanded from the Columbia River to southern California and beyond.