GL_Mackinac 2019 ESI: Natural Hazard Polygons for Oil Spill Planning

NOAA's Environmental Sensitivity Index data characterizes the Great Lakes - Straits of Mackinac region by its sensitivity to oil spills. This feature class contains vector polygons representing natural hazard areas, specifically storm surge inundation zones. The data supports planning for coastal zone management and environmental response.

Use Cases

• Modeling storm surge flood risk based on mapped inundation polygons.
• Assessing environmental sensitivity for oil spill contingency planning based on the ESI framework.
• Integrating natural hazard data with biological and human-use resources for comprehensive coastal management.

Strengths

• Data is part of a standardized Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) framework for oil spill planning.
• Polygons are designed to be used with related stand-alone data tables (SOC_DAT, SOURCES) for detailed attribution.
• Study area includes the Straits of Mackinac and portions of Lake Michigan and Lake Huron.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect geographic bias inherent to the specific Great Lakes study area.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Likely gathered through geospatial analysis and mapping for the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI).

Time Range

2019

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 22:20:09.726084; freshness should be verified

Geography

Great Lakes - Straits of Mackinac, including nearby portions of Lake Michigan and Lake Huron, and adjacent lands and waters in northern Michigan.