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2013-14 Massachusetts Lidar-Derived Dune Toe Point Data

Metadata Updated: November 27, 2025

This data release of dune metrics for the Massachusetts coast is part of a 2018 update to the Massachusetts Shoreline Change Project. Because of continued coastal population growth and the increased threat of coastal erosion, the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management (CZM) launched the Shoreline Change Project in 1989 to identify erosion-prone areas of the coast. Maps of historic shoreline locations from the mid-1800s to 1978 were produced from multiple data sources, and in 2001, a 1994 shoreline was added to enable the calculation of long- and short-term shoreline change rates. In 2013, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with CZM, delineated an additional oceanfront shoreline using 2007 topographic lidar data and 2008–9 color aerial orthoimagery. Further cooperation between CZM and the USGS resulted in this 2018 update, intended to increase the understanding of coastal erosion and to support coastal management decision making. This update includes beach shorelines, marsh shorelines, and dune metrics, all of which were derived from topographic lidar data. This data release, which is part of the 2018 update, defines the position and elevation of the most seaward dune crest and toe along the Massachusetts coast as derived from 2013–14 lidar data. In the absence of a dune, the peak of the berm or the seaward edge of a bluff, headland, or hard structure (for example, a seawall, road, or parking lot) was chosen as a proxy for the dune crest. Where possible, the dune toe was placed at the base of the proxy feature.

Access & Use Information

Public: This dataset is intended for public access and use. License: No license information was provided. If this work was prepared by an officer or employee of the United States government as part of that person's official duties it is considered a U.S. Government Work.

Downloads & Resources

Dates

Metadata Created Date September 13, 2025
Metadata Updated Date November 27, 2025

Metadata Source

Harvested from DOI USGS DCAT-US

Additional Metadata

Resource Type Dataset
Metadata Created Date September 13, 2025
Metadata Updated Date November 27, 2025
Publisher U.S. Geological Survey
Maintainer
Identifier http://datainventory.doi.gov/id/dataset/usgs-5bca0f11e4b0fc368ebff85a
Data Last Modified 2020-08-04T00:00:00Z
Category geospatial
Public Access Level public
Bureau Code 010:12
Metadata Context https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.jsonld
Metadata Catalog ID https://ddi.doi.gov/usgs-data.json
Schema Version https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema
Catalog Describedby https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/catalog.json
Harvest Object Id a69fa6d3-aaf3-48a8-8c1e-28ad7805e8e4
Harvest Source Id 2b80d118-ab3a-48ba-bd93-996bbacefac2
Harvest Source Title DOI USGS DCAT-US
Metadata Type geospatial
Source Datajson Identifier True
Source Hash 01729bc80bce9e4821186e57002e33c6ecb7b2f09e45ceccf96411817b97a730
Source Schema Version 1.1

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