NOAA Coastal Remote Sensing (and Decision Support Tools) Miki Schmidt NOAA Coastal Services Center April 6, 2006

One NOAA Mission: To understand and predict changes in the Earth’s environment and conserve and manage coastal and marine resources to meet our nation’s economic, social and environmental needs NOAA Oceans & Coasts Service NOAA Research NOAA Fisheries Service NOAA National Weather Service NWS NMFS NOS OAR NOAA Satellite & Information Service NESDIS NOAA Program Planning & Integration PPI

Shoreline Delineation Nautical Charts Benthic Habitat Maps Land Cover and Change Water Quality and HABs Elevation – Topography and Bathymetry Input to Decision Support Tools Diversity of Remote Sensing Activities within NOAA’s Ocean Service

Strategic Focus Areas  Coastal Hazards  Coastal Watersheds  Integrated Ocean Observing Systems Mission: Linking People, Information, and Technology in the Coastal Zone Charleston, South Carolina NOAA Coastal Services Center

Who do we serve? State and Local Coastal Resource Managers –Coastal planners –Regulatory agencies –Estuarine reserves –Protected areas –Emergency officials –Flood plain managers –Fish and wildlife agencies –Sea Grant programs

Serving the Nation’s Coastal Resource Managers Data and information Geographic information systems Training Remote sensing Decision Support Tools

Coastal Remote Sensing Assessments Constituents drive programs Spatial data development and mapping Topography, land use/land cover, benthic, imagery, etc. Geospatial tools development – software applications Decision support, data manipulation, standards, and access Capacity building Outreach, training, technical support Applied research and emerging technologies HABs, water quality, land use mapping, high-res, HSI Leveraging and outsourcing Partnerships with existing networks and private sector Program Components

Understanding Customer Needs Formal needs assessments Triennial coastal resource management survey –State Coastal and Natural Resource Management Programs, Sea Grants, NEPs, NERRs, NMS –Surveys conducted in 1997, 1999, 2002 Project partnerships Customer feedback and requests Program and product evaluations Blue Ribbon Panel reviews

Dataset % Respondents that Ranked Data High Priority Shoreline68 Coastal land use 64 Coastal land cover 62 Public access58 Historic shoreline 57 Elevation 54 Coastal population and demographics53 Water quality 47 Bathymetry (0 to 3 miles) 46 Soils Coastal Resource Management Survey Coastal Framework Data for the Great Lakes Spatial Data Requirements Nearshore and Coastal Waters

Data Development and Mapping

Coastal Land Cover IKONOS high-resolution land cover 30 meter Landsat C-CAP product

*Hawaii IfSAR is licensed *Gulf Coast IfSAR is licensed

Great Lakes LiDAR Michigan (Saginaw Bay) LiDAR – April 2004 Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York LiDAR December, 1998

LIDAR Applications Coastal hazards / flooding Coastal uplands / ecosystem management Hydrography Shoreline mapping Storm modeling Coastal erosion Wetland mapping

Coastal Hazards / Flooding Proposed Project on Building Mapped V-zone within 10 m of building Lidar shows existing site is below the 100 year base flood elevation Project requires elevation on posts From the Maine Geological Survey Management Use of Maine Lidar Data

Benthic Habitat Oyster patch reef 4 meter Submerged aquatic vegetation Oyster reefs mapped at low tide

Coastal Wetlands 4 meter30 meter Phragmites Typha Spartina 0.5m ADS-40 Imagery

Decision Support Systems

 Cause major fish kills and closure of shellfish harvesting areas  Induce respiratory distress  Impact the tourism industry Improved Monitoring and Communication HAB Position and extent Agency contact information Advanced warning Additional Predictive Capabilities HAB Transport Favorable HAB Conditions NOAA Partnership NESDIS, NWS (NDBC), NOS ANALYSIS SW Florida: After persisting and increasing by 2-3 fold over the past week, the bloom off Sanibel/Ft. Myers decreased substantially between Oct 17 and Oct 19. On Oct 11, maximum chlorophyll was 3-6 ug/l; on Oct 17, ug/l; on Oct 19, only 1-2 ug/l. A narrow band of higher chlorophyll, extends from 26d 08'N to 26d 20'N along 82d 01 W. Pockets of chlorophyll of 1-2 ug/l also persist well offshore, along 26N from 82W 82d20'W. Normal behavior of creasing chlorophyll offshore was bserved. NW Florida: Wind speed and direction are averaged over 12 hours from measurements made on NOAA buoys. Length of line indicates speed; angle indicates direction. Red vectors indicate that wind direction favors upwelling near the coast. Experimental Gulf of Mexico HAB Bulletin October 2000 NOAA/NCCOS CSC NESDIS CoastWatch and NDBC Last bulletin: 18 October 2000 Winds at Venice, FL Near Real-Time Forecast Bulletin Harmful Algal Blooms Decision Support

Particle Tracking Integrated system of components User-controlled particle tracking model Web-based mapping interface Larval transport prediction dependent on physical oceanographic models Leverages ocean observing systems data Decision Support Chesapeake Bay Oyster Larvae Tracker

Impervious Surfaces GIS tool Estimates impervious surface per analysis unit Data inputs –Uses land cover data –coefficients derived from high-resolution sources “What if?” scenarios (rezoning, restoration, development) Flexible user parameters Nonpoint Education for Municipal Officials (NEMO) partnership NEMO water quality impacts classification: Green: < 10 percent IS Yellow: 10 to 25 percent IS Red: > 25 percent IS Impervious Surface Analysis Tool (ISAT) Decision Support

N-SPECT Spatially distributed pollutant and sediment yield model – i.e., water quality screening tool Estimates runoff, nonpoint-source pollution, and erosion Allows user to compare effects of different land use and land cover scenarios on total yields Uses land cover, soils, topography, and precipitation input data Nonpoint-Source Pollution and Erosion Comparison Tool ESRI ArcGIS Extension Decision Support

N-SPECT Multiple GIS output layers: Accumulated runoff Accumulated pollutant loads Pollutant concentrations Accumulated sediment loads Sediment concentrations Comparison (simple) to user-defined water quality standards Decision Support

Conservation Approach Conventional Design New Urbanist Design Alternatives for Coastal Development

Coastal Habitat Assessment and Planning: Lake St. Clair Pilot Study The Integrated Coastal Management Tool

Lake St. Clair Project Need Lake St. Clair Ecological Characterization –GIS –Habitat Restoration and Conservation plan –A tool Integrated Coastal Management Tool –Help managers and planners evaluate habitat related decisions Not limited to Lake St. Clair or Great Lakes The Integrated Coastal Management Tool

Lake St. Clair Pilot Study

The Integrated Coastal Management Tool

Introduction to ArcGIS Coastal Applications using ArcGIS Global Positioning Systems Introduction to Remote Sensing Remote Sensing for Spatial Analysts Information Technology for Coastal Managers GIS for Managers Metadata Training Train 300 to 400 coastal resource professionals per year Technology Training Curriculum

Digital Coast Vision Coastal communities have access to and capability to use organized, timely, and seamless digital geospatial information and tools needed to make more informed decisions about their regions. Where are we headed?

For further information: Miki Schmidt (843)

Tool Overview Current State Calculations –Terrestrial –Aquatic Queries and Overlays –Query Results –Overlay additional data with results Scenario Testing –Land cover changes –Land use Impacts Output Options –Reports –Map files –Databases –Tables Technical Requirements –ESRI® ArcView® 8.3 license –Spatial Analyst Extension The Integrated Coastal Management Tool

Web-based flood forecast mapping (Tar River Basin, NC) Text-based info into graphics LIDAR-derived Topographic Data Used as flood forecast tool during Hurricanes Goal – provide Web based flood inundation maps from the NWS operational forecast environment to emergency managers during flood events. Flood Forecast Mapping Decision Support