U.S. Sandy Coastline Lidar Data for Dune Crest, Toe, and Shoreline

A U.S. Geological Survey data release from January 15, 2026 defines dune crest, dune toe, and shoreline positions derived from lidar elevation surveys. The dataset includes calculated beach width and slope at 10-meter intervals alongshore for U.S. sandy coastlines. It was created by the Coastal Change Hazards Technical Capabilities and Applications project to assess vulnerability to storms and long-term shoreline change.

Use Cases

• Modeling coastal erosion and storm impact based on derived dune and shoreline positions.
• Analyzing long-term shoreline change trends based on multi-year lidar survey coverage.
• Calculating beach volume and sediment budgets based on beach width and slope measurements.
• Mapping coastal vulnerability zones based on dune crest and toe elevation features.

Strengths

• Data is derived from authoritative lidar surveys conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey.
• Features are defined at a high spatial resolution of 10-meter intervals alongshore.
• Includes calculated derivatives like beach width and slope for each shoreline location.

Limitations

• Row count and total file size are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• The exact temporal coverage of the multi-year surveys is not specified in the provided metadata.

Provenance

Source

United States Geological Survey (USGS) Coastal Change Hazards Technical Capabilities and Applications (TCA) project.

Collection Method

Processed from lidar elevation surveys, organized by field activity numbers (FANs).

Time Range

Covers a time span of many years, but specific start and end dates are not provided.

Freshness

Data release was versioned on January 15, 2026.

Geography

U.S. sandy coastlines.