Historical Shoreline Data for Narragansett Bay from Seekonk River to Conanicut Island

A high-resolution historical shoreline dataset for the area from Seekonk River to Conanicut Island - Prudence Island in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. The data were automated from shoreline maps produced by the NOAA National Ocean Service and its predecessor agencies, based on imagery interpretation and field surveys. It is structured using the NGS C-COAST attribution scheme to facilitate translation into the S-57 hydrographic standard.

Use Cases

• Analyze historical shoreline change and coastal erosion based on the high-resolution historical shoreline data.
• Create GIS data layers for coastal planning and management based on the automated, attributed shoreline.
• Translate coastal cartographic data into S-57 hydrographic standard based on the C-COAST attribution scheme.
• Conduct geographic studies of Narragansett Bay based on the interpreted imagery and field survey data.

Strengths

• Data is derived from shoreline maps produced by the authoritative NOAA National Ocean Service.
• Shoreline is described as high-resolution and historical, suggesting detailed temporal and spatial granularity.
• Attribution uses the structured C-COAST scheme, influenced by the International Hydrographic Organization's S-57 standard.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and dataset scale are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data formats are PDF and HTML, which may require extraction for direct geospatial analysis.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Automated 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 21:35:27.288735; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Seekonk River to Conanicut Island - Prudence Island, Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island and Massachusetts, USA.