Historical Shoreline Data for Cutty Hunk Island to Buttermilk Bay, Massachusetts

A high-resolution historical shoreline dataset for the coast from Cutty Hunk Island to Buttermilk Bay in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts, automated for GIS use. The data were produced by the NOAA National Ocean Service and its predecessor agencies based on interpretation of imagery and field surveys. The attribution follows the NGS-developed C-COAST scheme, influenced by the IHO S-57 standard for translation.

Use Cases

• Analyzing coastal erosion or accretion over time based on historical shoreline positions.
• Creating GIS basemaps for coastal zone management and planning.
• Validating or calibrating modern shoreline extraction algorithms using historical reference data.
• Studying the impact of coastal development or sea-level rise using a multi-temporal baseline.

Strengths

• Data were automated to provide an accurate high-resolution historical shoreline.
• Derived from shoreline maps produced by the authoritative NOAA National Ocean Service.
• Attribution follows a structured scheme (C-COAST) influenced by the IHO S-57 standard.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Data freshness should be verified despite the listed last update date of 2026-03-13.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Derived from shoreline maps based on office interpretation of imagery and/or field survey.

Time Range

Historical (specific range not provided)

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-13 20:56:06.695852

Geography

Cutty Hunk Island to Buttermilk Bay, Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts, USA