Shoreline Situation Reports (SSR) were first generated by VIMS in the 1970s to report the condition and status of the shore lands. The SSR series were published in hardcopy on a county by county basis for each of the Tidewater Virginia localities. The reports were intended to assist planners, managers, and regulators in decisions pertaining to management of coastal areas and natural resources therein. This report continues the process which updates and expands on earlier reports. Data collected describes conditions in the immediate riparian zone, the bank, and along the shore.
To inventory Virginia's tidal shoreline conditions
There are three datasets that are included in this metadata file; west06_lubc, west06_astru, and west06_sstru. West06_lubc (land use and bank cover for Westmoreland County) is a linear shapefile containing data about land use, bank height, bank cover, erosion, marsh, and beach status along the shoreline. West06_sstru (Westmoreland County shoreline structures) is a linear shapefile delineating hard structures in place for shoreline protection (bulkhead, riprap, groin fields). West06_astru (Westmoreland County access structures) is a point shapefile with locations of docks, ramps, and boathouses. The attributes of these three shapefiles are explained in the Entity and Attribute Information section below.
ground condition at time of survey
These data should not be used for jurisdictional permit determinations beyond providing general shoreline condition or status information. These data have not been surveyed to property boundaries.
Collection of the data would not be possible without the cooperation of VIMS Vessel Center. The following CCI staff participated in the data collection and processing: Marcia Berman, Harry Berquist, Sharon Killeen, Karinna Nunez, Tami Rudnicky, and Dan Schatt.
The attributes were compared to original GPS data logs for accuracy. Errors were corrected where noted.
Chain-node topology present. Linear coverages were built for line and point coverage was built for points.
All Westmoreland County shoreline that has a minimum depth of 2 feet at mean low water was surveyed. Areas inaccessible by boat have been remotely surveyed by looking at digital aerial photography.
Shoreline attributes were recorded with a GPS unit as the boat moved along the shoreline. Data was transferred from the GPS boat track to an existing digital shoreline coverage by projecting data to the shoreline at a 90 degree angle from the boat track. Rectified imagery were used as a background coverage to aid in data positioning. Land use features were placed along the shore so changes in land use were coincident with changes illustrated in the imagery. Positional accuracy for data that has been corrected with imagery is 2 meters (equivalent to image resolution).
Serves as a background image in the map portfolios. Used to accurately position land use and land cover data. Provided a new digital shoreline coverage that serves as the base shoreline for shoreline conditions.
Data was collected by a two person field crew (both collecting data and one operating boat) using two hand-held Trimble GeoExplorers and GeoXT Units, while navigating along the shoreline. A data dictionary designed for the inventory was installed on each GPS unit. One data collector records natural features including land use, bank height, bank cover, presence of marsh and beach, presence of tree fringe, and shoreline stability. The second person (the boat handler) collects data on the hardened structures: riprap, bulkhead dilapidated bulkhead, unconventional, debris, breakwaters, groins and jetties, and point structures: docks, boathouses, outfalls, and public and private boat ramps. Point features were surveyed with a 5 second observation recorded at 1 reading/second. Linear features were surveyed kinematically at a rate of one observation every 3 seconds.
Data from the GPS units were postprocessed on a PC with Trimble Pathfinder Office software. Postprocessing included differential correction using CORS (Continuous Operating Reference Stations) data. Corrected data is converted into ArcInfo coverages and transferred to a PC for further processing.
Westmoreland County shoreline was extracted from the VBMP digital terrain model (DTM) using Arcview. The shoreline was converted to and ArcInfo coverage and projected from Virginia State Plane to UTM zone 18.
ArcMap 9.2 software on a PC was used to attribute the base shoreline. Boat track points and arcs, VBMP imagery, and the base shoreline were displayed in ArcMap. Shoreline arcs were split using the edit tool and the spatial adjustment attribute transfer tool was used to move the attributes from the boat track to the shoreline. Arcs were split on the shoreline perpendicular to the original locations on the boat track. VBMP imagery provided additional information for placement of features. Shapefiles were visually checked for attribute accuracy between coded shoreline and boat track data.
Thirty 1:12,000 scale plate were created for Westmoreland County. Each plate has three maps: riparian land use, bank and buffer conditions, and shoreline features. VBMP imagery is displayed in the background to provide users with additional information. Maps are created using ArcMap software.
Data received a final check in hardcopy format. Changes were made as necessary to data.
Internal feature number.
ESRI
Feature geometry.
ESRI
Along the shore is present in conjuncture with the dominant land use
0-5 ft from the toe to the edge of the fastland
5-10 ft. from the toe to the edge of the fastland
10-30 ft. from the toe to the edge of the fastland
> 30 ft. from the toe to the edge of the fastland
<25% cover: vegetational or structural cover
25-75% cover: Vegetational or structural cover
>75% cover: vegetaional or structural cover
Bank stability
Minimal erosion on bank face
Includes slumping, scarps, and exposed roots
Erosion at the base of the bank
Presence of marsh
Presence of the grass Phragmites australis
Presence of sand beach
Presence of sand beach
Date of data capture
Areas that were inaccessible by boat were coded remotely using imagery
Riparian land use along the bank
Stands greater than18 ft. high/Width greater than 30 ft.
Stands less than 18 ft.
Includes grassland and pastures
Croplands
Includes single and multi-family dwellings
Includes large industry and manufacturing operations
Lot cleared to bare soil
Areas where roads or parking areas are adjacent to the shoreline
same as BANK_COVER
same as BANK_HGT_
STRUCTURE (shoreline structures)
Placed in front of an eroding marsh
Can include tires, tubes, rubble, etc.
Composed of non-traditional materials
Structures parallel to the shoreline
Structures perpendicular to the shoreline
Structure perpendicular to the shoreline
A structure built on the shore or projecting into the water that allows vessels to be moored alongside
Both >50 slips and <50 slips and may include bulkheads or wharves
PNTSTRUC (point structures)
P.O. Box 1346
The Comprehensive Coastal Inventory Program (CCI) at VIMS performs a service by distributing data generated by either CCI or public agencies which offer data without restrictions or charge. CCI assumes no responsibility for data accuracy or precision, metadata completeness or correctness for digital information. CCI assumes no liability for misuse of any data which may arise as a result of any alteration, conversion, or combination with other data sources. As well, the timeliness and scale of these products must be considered when evaluating appropriate use.
P.O. Box 1346