St. Marys River 2021 Environmental Sensitivity Index for Shoreline and Hydrography

A 2021 geospatial dataset from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration characterizing the St. Marys River shoreline and hydrography for oil spill sensitivity. The data includes vector lines and polygons classifying areas as Land or Water based on their susceptibility to oiling. The study area covers the river from near Monocle Lake to the headwaters of Lake Huron.

Use Cases

• Modeling potential oil spill trajectories and impacts based on classified shoreline susceptibility.
• Planning coastal resource protection and cleanup strategies based on identified sensitive habitats.
• Integrating shoreline and hydrography data into environmental risk assessments for the St. Marys River.
• Creating baseline maps for monitoring changes in coastal sensitivity over time.

Strengths

• Data is specifically designed for environmental sensitivity indexing, a standardized methodology.
• Includes both linear shoreline and polygon hydrography features for comprehensive spatial analysis.
• Study area is clearly defined from Monocle Lake to Lake Huron headwaters.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and file size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data is provided in PDF format, which may complicate direct geospatial analysis.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Created for the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) classification.

Time Range

2021

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 22:24:49.080090; freshness should be verified.

Geography

St. Marys River, from near Monocle Lake to the headwaters of Lake Huron, Michigan, USA.