St. Marys River 2021 Environmental Sensitivity Index Shoreline Data

NOAA's Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) data characterize shoreline and intertidal habitats along the St. Marys River in the Great Lakes. The vector lines and polygons are classified by susceptibility to oiling, considering factors like wave exposure, shoreline slope, and substrate type. The dataset was last updated on the platform in March 2026.

Use Cases

• Modeling potential oil spill trajectories and impacts based on shoreline susceptibility classifications.
• Prioritizing coastal protection and cleanup resources based on habitat sensitivity scores.
• Analyzing the distribution of sensitive biological resources in the St. Marys River area.
• Assessing human-use resources in the coastal zone for environmental management planning.

Strengths

• Data is based on NOAA's established Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) classification system.
• Covers a specific study area from near Monocle Lake to the headwaters of Lake Huron.
• Platform metadata indicates a recent update timestamp of 2026 03 13.

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 is not ideal for direct geospatial analysis.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Likely derived from field surveys, remote sensing, and existing biological data, classified using the NOAA ESI system.

Time Range

Referenced as 2021 data, but temporal coverage of source observations is unspecified.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 22:20:36.931296; freshness should be verified.

Geography

St. Marys River at the southern portion of Lake Superior, from east of Monocle Lake to the headwaters of Lake Huron.