NNBFs in Coastal Virginia at less than 10 feet land elevation

Metadata:

• Identification_Information
• Data_Quality_Information
• Spatial_Data_Organization_Information
• Spatial_Reference_Information
• Entity_and_Attribute_Information
• Metadata_Reference_Information

Identification_Information:

Citation:

Citation_Information:

Title: NNBFs in Coastal Virginia at less than 10 feet land elevation

Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: vector digital data

Description:

Abstract:

Layer containing polygons delineating NNBFs including beaches, dunes, non-tidal and tidal wetlands, wooded areas, and scrub-shrub areas. Data is sourced from various datasets including VIMS Center for Coastal Resources Management (CCRM) Comprehensive Coastal Inventory (CCI) and Tidal Marsh Inventory (TMI), VIMS Shoreline Studies program, 2016 Virginia Land Cover Dataset, and the 2017 National Wetlands Inventory.

Purpose:

To depict the extent of natural and nature-based features (NNBFs) across coastal Virginia. Coverage is limited to land areas at less than 10 feet in elevation contiguous with the shoreline.

Status:

Maintenance_and_Update_Frequency: None planned

Spatial_Domain:

Bounding_Coordinates:

West_Bounding_Coordinate: -77.473698

East_Bounding_Coordinate: -75.241897

North_Bounding_Coordinate: 38.893836

South_Bounding_Coordinate: 36.534814

Keywords:

Theme:

Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: None

Theme_Keyword: Land cover, NNBF, natural and nature-based features

Theme:

Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: ISO 19115 Topic Categories

Theme_Keyword: elevation

Theme_Keyword: environment

Place:

Place_Keyword_Thesaurus: None

Place_Keyword:

Virginia Coastal areas lying at less than 10 feet in elevation. Chesapeake Bay, Accomack, Caroline, Charles City, Chesterfield, City of Chesapeake, City of Colonial Heights, City of Fredericksburg, City of Hampton, City of Hopewell, City of Petersburg, City of Richmond, Essex, Fairfax, Gloucester, Hanover, Henrico, Isle of Wight, James City, King George, Lancaster, Mathews, Middlesex, New Kent, Newport News, Norfolk, Northampton, Northumberland, Poquoson, Portsmouth, Prince George, Prince William, Richmond, Spotsylvania, Stafford, Suffolk, Surry, Virginia Beach, Westmoreland, Williamsburg, York

Access_Constraints: None

Use_Constraints:

These data should not be used for jurisdictional permit determinations beyond providing general NNBF presence. These data have not been surveyed to property boundaries. These data and related items of information have not been formally disseminated by NOAA, and do not represent any agency determination, view, or policy.

Point_of_Contact:

Contact_Information:

Contact_Organization_Primary:

Contact_Organization:

Center for Coastal Resources Management, Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS)

Contact_Person: Jessica Hendricks

Contact_Position: Scientist

Contact_Address:

Address_Type: mailing and physical

Address: 1375 Greate Road, P.O. Box 1346

City: Gloucester Point

State_or_Province: VA

Postal_Code: 23062

Country: US

Contact_Voice_Telephone: 804-684-7140

Data_Set_Credit: CCRM, VIMS Shoreline Studies Program, VGIN, NWI

Native_Data_Set_Environment: Version 6.2 (Build 9200) ; Esri ArcGIS 10.6.1.9270

Data_Quality_Information:

Lineage:

Source_Information:

Type_of_Source_Media: None

Source_Contribution:

Shoreline Inventories, Center for Coastal Resources Management (CCRM), Comprehensive Coastal Inventory (CCI).

Source_Information:

Type_of_Source_Media: None

Source_Contribution:

VIMS Shoreline Studies Dune Inventory Reports and Dune Evolution Reports (2001-2006)

Source_Information:

Type_of_Source_Media: None

Source_Contribution: 2016 Virginia Land Cover Dataset

Source_Information:

Type_of_Source_Media: None

Source_Contribution: CCRM Living Shoreline Permit Database

Source_Information:

Type_of_Source_Media: None

Source_Contribution: CCRM Tidal Marsh Inventory

Source_Information:

Type_of_Source_Media: None

Source_Contribution: 2017 National Wetlands Inventory

Source_Information:

Type_of_Source_Media: None

Source_Contribution:

Danielson, Jeffrey and Tyler, Dean. 2016. Topobathymetric Model for Chesapeake Bay Region - District of Columbia, States of Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, 1859 to 2015. U.S. Geological Survey. Accessed through https://www.usgs.gov/land-resources/eros/coned/science/hurricane-sandy-region-topobathymetric-elevation-model-chesapeake?qt-science_center_objects=0#qt-science_center_objects

Process_Step:

Process_Description:

Beaches information was created by combining two sources of data: CCI and 2016 Virginia Land Use and Land Cover.
CCI beaches are indicated as linear features to portray their location only and coded as “Wide” if at least 10 feet of dry sand was visible above high tide. Beaches coded as “Wide” were buffered by 20 feet to give a general footprint; other beaches were buffered by 5 feet.
Land Cover areas coded as barren and adjacent to the land/water interface mapped by CCI were designated as beaches. These polygons were then checked using Virginia Base Mapping Program high-resolution aerial imagery to verify presence of beach.

Process_Date: 20180501

Process_Step:

Process_Description:

Wooded and scrub-shrub areas were extracted from 2016 Virginia Land Cover Dataset. 'Forest' and 'Tree' areas were combined into a new category 'Wooded'.
'Wooded' areas that were overlain by wetlands or extended into the water were deleted.

Process_Date: 20180601

Process_Step:

Process_Description:

Dunes data was sourced from historic VIMS Shoreline Studies reports from 2006 and dune locations were verified and digitized using VBMP imagery.

Process_Date: 20180601

Process_Step:

Process_Description: Tidal Wetlands obtained from CCRM Tidal Marsh Inventory

Process_Date: 20180701

Process_Step:

Process_Description:

Non-tidal wetlands were obtained from the 2017 National Wetlands Inventory from US FWS.
Narrowed the scope of wetlands included in this analysis by eliminating wetlands classed as: lake, riverine, freshwater pond, and other. Non-tidal wetlands that were overlain by CCI TMI data were deleted.
Wetlands coded "PFO" by FWS were classified as "Forested Wetlands"; those coded as "SS" were classified as "Scrub-Shrub." All remaining wetlands polygons were classified as "Emergent."

Process_Date: 20180701

Process_Step:

Process_Description:

Living shoreline projects were obtained from CCRM Permit Database.
Project points were located off the shoreline. Points were relocated to lie on the CCI shoreline and then buffered using the project length indicated in the project database. The section of shoreline located within the project buffer was then buffered by 1m (to make into a polygon) and then coded and checked.

Process_Date: 20180701

Process_Step:

Process_Description:

Minimum and maximum land elevations underlying each NNBF polygon was determined using the Topobathymetric Model for the Chesapeake Bay region.

Process_Date: 20190902

Process_Step:

Process_Description:

To rank NNBFs, a score was created for four components including the flooding mitigation services, benefits to buildings, benefits to critical facilities, and opportunity to fulfill programmatic incentives offered to localities. Fields containing scores and the final composite ranking score are present in this layer and described for each field.

Process_Date: 20191213

Spatial_Data_Organization_Information:

Direct_Spatial_Reference_Method: Vector

Point_and_Vector_Object_Information:

SDTS_Terms_Description:

SDTS_Point_and_Vector_Object_Type: GT-polygon composed of chains

Point_and_Vector_Object_Count: 360153

Spatial_Reference_Information:

Horizontal_Coordinate_System_Definition:

Planar:

Map_Projection:

Map_Projection_Name: WGS 1984 Web Mercator Auxiliary Sphere

Map_Projection_Parameters:

Other_Projection's_Definition:

PROJCS["WGS_1984_Web_Mercator_Auxiliary_Sphere",GEOGCS["GCS_WGS_1984",DATUM["D_WGS_1984",SPHEROID["WGS_1984",6378137.0,298.257223563]],PRIMEM["Greenwich",0.0],UNIT["Degree",0.0174532925199433]],PROJECTION["Mercator_Auxiliary_Sphere"],PARAMETER["False_Easting",0.0],PARAMETER["False_Northing",0.0],PARAMETER["Central_Meridian",0.0],PARAMETER["Standard_Parallel_1",0.0],PARAMETER["Auxiliary_Sphere_Type",0.0],UNIT["Meter",1.0],AUTHORITY["EPSG",3857]]

Planar_Coordinate_Information:

Planar_Coordinate_Encoding_Method: coordinate pair

Coordinate_Representation:

Abscissa_Resolution: 0.0001

Ordinate_Resolution: 0.0001

Planar_Distance_Units: meter

Geodetic_Model:

Horizontal_Datum_Name: D WGS 1984

Ellipsoid_Name: WGS 1984

Semi-major_Axis: 6378137.0

Denominator_of_Flattening_Ratio: 298.257223563

Entity_and_Attribute_Information:

Detailed_Description:

Entity_Type:

Entity_Type_Label: nnbf_apr2020_wm

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: OBJECTID

Attribute_Definition: Internal feature number.

Attribute_Definition_Source: Esri

Attribute_Domain_Values:

Unrepresentable_Domain:

Sequential unique whole numbers that are automatically generated.

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: Shape

Attribute_Definition: Feature geometry.

Attribute_Definition_Source: Esri

Attribute_Domain_Values:

Unrepresentable_Domain: Coordinates defining the features.

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: NNBF_Type

Attribute_Definition:

Indicates the category defining the natural or nature-based feature.

Attribute_Definition_Source: CCRM

Attribute_Domain_Values:

Enumerated_Domain:

Enumerated_Domain_Value: Beach

Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition:

For beaches delineated in the CCI: Beaches are persistent sandy shores that are visible during high tides. These features can be wide or thin lenses of sand. Beaches are coded as linear features at the wet/dry line to portray their location only. ‘Wide’ beaches have at least 10 feet of dry sand persistently visible above high tides. Beach features coded along tidal marsh shorelines are persistent, sandy features located on the water side of tidal marsh vegetation. Sand washed into tidal marshes is not coded as a beach if the marsh vegetation &/or marsh edge is still clearly visible. This classification of beaches along tidal marsh shorelines can include professional judgment. For beaches delineated using Virginia 2016 Land Cover dataset: beaches are areas that are coded as ‘Barren’ and are contiguous to the water/land interface.

Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source:

VIMS Shoreline & Tidal Marsh Inventory Glossary, Center for Coastal Resources Management

Enumerated_Domain:

Enumerated_Domain_Value: Dune

Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition:

A mound of unconsolidated sandy soil contiguous to mean high water. Landward and lateral limits are marked by a change in grade from >10% to <10%. Primary dunes must support specific plant species or communities named in Coastal Primary Sand Dune Protection Act of 1980.

Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source:

Hardaway, C. S., Milligan, D. A., Varnell, L. M., Thomas, G. R., Priest, W. L., Meneghini, L. M., Barnard, T. A., & Wilcox, C. A. (2004) Accomack County Dune Inventory. Virginia Institute of Marine Science, College of William and Mary. https://doi.org/10.21220/V5QM7R

Enumerated_Domain:

Enumerated_Domain_Value: Hybrid Living Shoreline with Breakwater

Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition:

VMRC permitted shoreline projects utilizing beach sand nourishment and/or installation of an offshore breakwater.

Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source: Center for Coastal Resources Management

Enumerated_Domain:

Enumerated_Domain_Value: Hybrid Living Shoreline with Marsh Sill

Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition:

VMRC permitted shoreline projects utilizing marsh vegetation planting and installation of a marsh sill or marsh toe.

Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source: Center for Coastal Resources Management

Enumerated_Domain:

Enumerated_Domain_Value: Hybrid Living Shoreline with Oyster Sill

Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition:

VMRC permitted shoreline projects utilizing marsh vegetation planting and installation of an oyster sill/habitat. Sills constructed using oyster shells, oyster shell bags, oyster castles, ready reef, or filtrexx logs.

Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source: Center for Coastal Resources Management

Enumerated_Domain:

Enumerated_Domain_Value: Scrub-shrub

Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition:

Natural or semi-natural woody vegetated areas with stems generally less than 6 meters tall; evergreen and deciduous species of true shrubs, young trees, and those that are small or stunted due to environmental conditions as defined by the EPA.

Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source:

Virginia Geographic Information Network (VGIN) Land Cover Dataset 2016 Technical Plan of Operations

Enumerated_Domain:

Enumerated_Domain_Value: Wooded

Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition:

Areas defined in the Land Cover dataset as tree or forest. Tree and forest covers are defined as natural or semi-natural woody vegetation with >30% canopy cover and including deciduous, evergreen, and mixed foliage types.

Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source:

Virginia Geographic Information Network (VGIN) Land Cover Dataset 2016 Technical Plan of Operations

Enumerated_Domain:

Enumerated_Domain_Value: Forested Wetland

Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition: Tidal and non-tidal wetlands dominated by trees.

Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source: 2017 National Wetlands Inventory

Enumerated_Domain:

Enumerated_Domain_Value: Scrub-shrub Wetland

Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition: Tidal and non-tidal wetlands dominated by shrubs.

Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source: 2017 National Wetlands Inventory

Enumerated_Domain:

Enumerated_Domain_Value: Emergent Wetland

Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition: Tidal and non-tidal wetlands dominated by emergent vegetation.

Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source: 2017 National Wetlands Inventory

Enumerated_Domain:

Enumerated_Domain_Value: Tidal Marsh

Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition:

Tidal marshes at least 20 sq. ft. in area, meeting the definition established in Virginia’s Tidal Wetlands Act, and not otherwise considered a marsh island. In all cases, wetland vegetation must be relatively well established, although not necessarily healthy.

Enumerated_Domain_Value_Definition_Source:

VIMS Shoreline & Tidal Marsh Inventory Glossary, Center for Coastal Resources Management

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: NNBF_ID

Attribute_Definition: Identifier.

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: NNBF_MINft

Attribute_Definition:

The minimum ground elevation in feet that the NNBF overlays. Elevations derived from LIDAR data.

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: NNBF_MAXft

Attribute_Definition:

The maximum ground elevation in feet that the NNBF overlays. Elevations derived from LIDAR data.

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: Opportunity

Attribute_Definition:

To rank NNBFs, a score was created to represent the opportunity that each NNBF has to encounter tidal flooding waters and was determined using the elevation range for each NNBF. Using the past 19-years of water levels records from the Sewell’s Point tidal gage, the percent of flooding events that reached each elevation range was calculated. This is used to determine the probability that a particular NNBF would encounter tidal flooding waters.

Attribute_Definition_Source: CCRM

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: Capacity

Attribute_Definition:

Capacity is how well the each NNBF type (e.g., beach, tidal marsh) can mitigate coastal flooding based on its physical characteristics. Capacity was scored low, medium and high for three categories, added, and then normalized on a 0-1 scale. Scores were based on best professional judgement and literature review.

Attribute_Definition_Source: CCRM

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: Tot_Capacity

Attribute_Definition:

Scores for capacity and opportunity were multiplied together to create a flooding mitigation score.

Attribute_Definition_Source: CCRM

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: Cap_Rank

Attribute_Definition:

Total capacity scores were grouped into low, medium, and high based on a best effort to create an even distribution of the features in each category.

Attribute_Definition_Source: CCRM

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: Cap_Rank_Txt

Attribute_Definition: Text for web viewer.

Attribute_Definition_Source: CCRM

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: IPs_xing

Attribute_Definition:

The number of IPs that intersect the NNBF was counted.
Inundation Pathways (IPs) represent the lowest elevation areas connecting the shoreline to each at-risk building in the focus area.

Attribute_Definition_Source: CCRM

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: CritFac_xing

Attribute_Definition:

Buildings associated with critical facilities such as hospitals and police stations were coded using the USGS National Structures Dataset.
The number of critical community facility IPs that intersect the NNBF was counted. Any NNBF that intercepted a critical community facility IP was scored “yes.”

Attribute_Definition_Source: CCRM

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: IP_xing_rank

Attribute_Definition:

Scores for the number of buildings benefitting from and NNBF were grouped into low, medium, and high based on the data.
• Low = NNBFs that did not have any IPs flowing through them (approximately 60% of NNBFs). • Medium = NNBFs with 1 building IP (approximately 15% of NNBFs) • High = NNBFs with 2 or more building IPs (approximately 22% of NNBFs)

Attribute_Definition_Source: CCRM

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: IP_xing_txt

Attribute_Definition: Text for web viewer.

Attribute_Definition_Source: CCRM

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: Locality

Attribute_Definition: Name of the locality(ies) within which the NNBF is located.

Attribute_Definition_Source: CCRM

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: CritFac_rank

Attribute_Definition: NNBFs were ranked based on a no/yes score.

Attribute_Definition_Source: CCRM

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: CritFac_txt

Attribute_Definition: Text for the web viewer.

Attribute_Definition_Source: CCRM

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: WQCred_Pot

Attribute_Definition:

This project we focused on the generation of two main classes of co-benefits: FEMA Community Rating System (CRS) credits, and water quality/TMDL credits. All NNBFs except for beaches and dunes were coded as providing water quality benefits.

Attribute_Definition_Source: CCRM

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: Coben_rank

Attribute_Definition:

Scores for the number of co-benefit potential from and NNBF were grouped into low, medium, and high based on the data.
Low = No FEMA/CRS credit potential AND No Water Quality Credit Potential Medium = 1 of the two above credit programs may apply. High = Both of the above credit programs may apply.

Attribute_Definition_Source: CCRM

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: Coben_txt

Attribute_Definition: Text for web viewer.

Attribute_Definition_Source: CCRM

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: Coben_count

Attribute_Definition:

Count of the number of co-benefit generating programs that may apply for the NNBF.

Attribute_Definition_Source: CCRM

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: Overall_Rank

Attribute_Definition:

Overall rank is the sum of the scores from each of the four benefit categories: NNBF Total Capacity, Number of Buildings Benefitting, Community Facility benefit, and Potential for Co-benefit generation.

Attribute_Definition_Source: CCRM

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: Overall_txt

Attribute_Definition: Text for web viewer.

Attribute_Definition_Source: CCRM

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: dune_IPxing

Attribute_Definition:

Dunes were scored slightly differently regarding IPs crossings. Because dunes are high points in the landscape and IPs flow through only low areas of the landscape, most dunes have few IPs that traverse them. Despite this, expert judgment and literature review demonstrate flooding mitigation benefits from dunes. Therefore, dunes are scored based on the number of IPs/buildings that are within 100 feet of the dune.

Attribute_Definition_Source: CCRM

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: IP_all_max_xing

Attribute_Definition:

The maximum number of IPs intersecting the NNBF. The maximum number of either IP_xing or dune_IP_xing.

Attribute_Definition_Source: CCRM

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: RPABuff_xing

Attribute_Definition:

Indication of whether the NNBF intersects the RPA 100-ft Chesapeake Bay buffer.

Attribute_Definition_Source: CCRM

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: Fld_ZoneNew

Attribute_Definition: FEMA Flood Hazard Zone that the NNBF intersects.

Attribute_Definition_Source: CCRM

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: NNBF_Source

Attribute_Definition:

Description of the data source for geographic information of the NNBF type.

Attribute_Definition_Source: CCRM

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: VMRC_2

Attribute_Definition: The VMRC permit number for living shoreline projects.

Attribute_Definition_Source: CCRM

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: Living_Shl_Type

Attribute_Definition:

If NNBF is a living shoreline (or includes a living shoreline), the type. Sourced from CCRM databased and VMRC.

Attribute_Definition_Source: CCRM

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: gridcode

Attribute_Definition: Land cover class.

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: coben_all_txt

Attribute_Definition: Text for web viewer.

Attribute_Definition_Source: CCRM

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: crs_bdb

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: crs_waterside_1

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: crs_water_fld

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: CRSCred_Pot

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: Shape_Length

Attribute_Definition: Length of feature in internal units.

Attribute_Definition_Source: Esri

Attribute_Domain_Values:

Unrepresentable_Domain: Positive real numbers that are automatically generated.

Attribute:

Attribute_Label: Shape_Area

Attribute_Definition: Area of feature in internal units squared.

Attribute_Definition_Source: Esri

Attribute_Domain_Values:

Unrepresentable_Domain: Positive real numbers that are automatically generated.

Metadata_Reference_Information:

Metadata_Date: 20200918

Metadata_Contact:

Contact_Information:

Contact_Organization_Primary:

Contact_Organization:

Comprehensive Coastal Inventory, Center for Coastal Resources Management, Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS)

Contact_Person: Jessica Hendricks

Contact_Position: Scientist

Contact_Address:

Address_Type: mailing and physical

Address: 1375 Greate Road, P.O. Box 1346

City: Gloucester Point

State_or_Province: VA

Postal_Code: 23062

Country: US

Contact_Voice_Telephone: 804-684-7140

Metadata_Standard_Name: FGDC Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata

Metadata_Standard_Version: FGDC-STD-001-1998

Metadata_Time_Convention: local time