• Introduction
  • Maryland's Coastal Hazards
  • Definitions
• Laws, Regulations,
  and Permits
  • Federal Laws & Regulations
  • State/Local
  • Permitting Process
• Education and Outreach
  • Education Materials
  • Training Opportunities
• Assistance
  • Technical Assistance
  • Financial Assistance
• Coastal Hazard Management
  • Technology, Data, and Research
  • Modeling and Monitoring
  • Planning
  • Case Studies in Coastal Management
  • Living Shorelines
• Interactive Mapping
  • Overview
  • Shoreline Changes Online
  • Strategic Shoreline Erosion Assessment
  • Comprehensive Shoreline Inventory for the State of Maryland
  • Shoreline and Littoral Conditions Maps
• News and Events

TECHNOLOGY, DATA, AND RESEARCH

Advances in technology, data, and research over the past several years, have greatly enhanced the State’s capacity to assess coastal hazard vulnerability and identify appropriate means of response.

TECHNOLOGY

Technological advances with respect to remote sensing and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have greatly improved the identification and mapping of hazardous areas that in turn has increased the sophistication of pre-disaster hazard planning and mitigation activities.

Remote Sensing:

Maryland has put forth significant effort to collect and interpret information through satellite imaging, aerial photography, and light detection and ranging (LIDAR). These methods of gathering data remotely provide large or landscape scale views of Maryland’s land use, geography, topography etc. that are often used in conjunction with GIS data layers.

Geographic Information Systems:

GIS is both a database designed to handle geographic data as well as a set of computer operations that can be used to analyze the data. GIS provides computer-based methods of recording, analyzing, combining, and displaying geographic information such as roads, streams, habitat types, sensitive areas, soil types, or any other feature that can be mapped on the ground. GIS are especially useful in planning and land-use decisions on a landscape scale. To sample and purchase environmental GIS data and information go to DNR Geospatial Download.

GIS utilized in coastal hazard planning in Maryland provides an unprecedented opportunity to integrate multiple datasets to derive and visualize solutions to complex emergency management issues and hazard mitigation opportunities. These products greatly assisted coastal managers with illustrating the magnitude of the impacts from natural disasters and other hazards.

Internet Mapping Applications:

GIS can now be used in conjunction with the web to bring dynamic maps and GIS data to the desktop of planners and the public. Internet mapping technologies allows users to access and manipulate GIS from remote servers. The basic interface of any ArcIMS application includes a suite of tools that allow a user to pan, zoom in or out, make measurements, make maps, and query attribute tables. Example of these applications include: MD Shoreline Changes Online, MERLIN, and Chesapeake Bay and Mid Atlantic from Space.

DATA

An ongoing Comprehensive Shoreline Inventory project has enabled the State to more accurately describe and assess the condition of the coastline. The acquisition of high-resolution topographic data, LIDAR, has also provided the State with state-of-the-art technology to map the landscape, topography, and identify vulnerable low-lying lands.

Comprehensive Shoreline Inventory

Maryland ’s Coastal Program has supported efforts to collect a Comprehensive Shoreline Inventory to capture baseline shoreline conditions throughout Maryland’s coastal counties. Shoreline features and conditions are identified through a three-tiered shoreline assessment approach. The Inventory divides the shorezone into three regions:

• Immediate riparian zone (land use),

• Bank (bank characteristics such as height, bank type, etc., and shoreline buffers), and

• Shoreline features (shoreline attributes including bulkheads, riprap, marina, boat ramps, docks, etc.).

 

Data from the survey are processed to create three GIS coverages and displayed as maps, which are viewable online at http://ccrm.vims.edu/gisdatabases.html.

LIDAR ( LIght Detection And Ranging)

In Maryland, federal, state and local partners have worked cooperatively and put forth considerable resources to improve digital ortho-based mapping capabilities by acquiring high-resolution digital LIDAR imagery.

LIDAR provides elevation information at a scale never before offered and is improving the study and identification of flood and surge hazards. The utilization of LIDAR has multiple research and management benefits and can be applied to a range of tools and analyses including floodplain and hydrologic modeling, sea level rise studies, non-point source identification and resolution and sighting storm water restoration and “best management practices.”

LIDAR acquisition was initiated in the low-lying counties of the Eastern Shore Maryland due to their vulnerability to coastal flooding events and potential impacts from sea level rise. To date, over 1.5 million dollars in funds have been provided by Maryland’s Coastal Program, County funds, and NOAA Coastal Services Center grants to acquire the raw data.  

RESEARCH AND ASSESSMENTS

Cooperative research efforts between State and Federal agencies investigating the impacts of coastal hazards have provided resource planners with valuable insight into the magnitude of the problem. Examples of coastal hazard studies include sea level rise inundation modeling, economic evaluations, and updated shoreline change information.

Shoreline Change Studies

Shoreline erosion along the Chesapeake Bay, its tributaries, and Atlantic coastline has been an issue of concern for the citizens of Maryland for centuries. Studies into the causes and extent of shoreline change in Maryland date back almost 100 years. The timeline below provides a overview of the historical studies on shoreline erosion.

1914	J.F. Hunter of the Maryland Geological Survey (MGS) first studied erosion. Hunter looked at erosion on three Chesapeake Bay islands ( Sharps Island, James Island, and Tilghman Island) and concluded that erosion losses among the three ranged from five to eight acres per year.
1949	J.T. Singewald and T.H. Slaughter, both of MGS, conducted the first comprehensive study of erosion in Maryland, entitled “Shore Erosion in Tidewater Maryland.” They examined 2,000 miles of shoreline and estimated erosion-induced land losses of 275 acres per year.
1975	Next major assessment, “Historical Shoreline and Erosion Rate Maps” (Conkwright, 1975), built on the Singewald and Slaughter study and included a calculation of erosion and accretion rates for 1,594 miles of shoreline along the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries. Subsequent work expanded this study to include all 4,360 miles of tidal shoreline in Maryland. The results of the final assessment divide erosion statistics by county and indicate that 31% of Maryland’s coastline is eroding. A 1990 study by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers used existing data to confirm an estimated land loss throughout Maryland of 260 acres per year.
1997	MGS initiated a project to update the erosion rates calculated throughout the 20 th century. The multi-phase study was undertaken to support research and management of sources of non-point source pollutants, buffer areas of critical concern, and to reduce vulnerability to coastal hazards and was funded by Maryland Coastal Programs.
2003	Project completed under the direction of Lamere Hennessee. The study updated digital shoreline positions and calculations of linear rates of shoreline erosion across the State.
2005	The updated Shoreline Changes Study and historical shorelines are provided through an interactive mapping application for coastal managers, planners, and homeowners. To view erosion data over the web click here.

Sea Level Rise Assessments

Recognizing the need to begin planning for sea level rise, a NOAA Coastal Management Fellow with Maryland's Coastal Program developed a Sea Level Rise Response Strategy for the State of Maryland. The strategy sets forth the policy and implementation framework for reducing the State's overall vulnerability to sea level rise in the coming years. A portion of this Strategy recognized the need for better studies to identify these potential impacts. The following studies represent two efforts defining the issues and impacts.

Assessing the Economic Cost of Sea Level Rise

In 2001, as a continuation of DNR’s larger sea level rise research efforts, the Coastal Program contracted with Towson University to assess the potential economic impact of sea level rise induced flooding and inundation within pilot study areas in three low-lying coastal areas. Using high-resolution elevation data derived from LIDAR, one, two and three-foot elevation contours were developed to determine the potential reaches of sea level rise over a 100-year time frame within three “broadly representative” non-urbanized communities along the Chesapeake Bay. The contour maps of areas potentially subject to sea level rise impacts were subsequently supplemented with an economic analysis to assess the potential economic impacts associated with increased flooding and inundation.

Determining Sea Level Inundation Potential

DNR is currently working in cooperation with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to develop a sea level rise inundation model for Worcester County, Maryland. USGS recently developed a sea level rise inundation model using LIDAR for the Blackwater Wildlife Refuge in Dorchester County and the transference of the methodology and study findings to a more physically built environment is proving to be an excellent research endeavor. The project is designed to support a number of the State’s sea level rise and coastal hazard planning goals. Objectives of the study include:

• Quantifying the range of potential inundation resulting from sea level rise in the next 100 years;

• Gaining a better understanding of wetland migration patterns;

• Illustrating potential changes in shoreline position;

• Identifying areas to target for wetland protection and restoration activities; and

• Identifying threats to public infrastructure (i.e., road, bridges).

The model is being built using three sea level rise scenarios. The first scenario is the status quo or the historic rate of sea level rise in the region. The two remaining are based on a range of rates per the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The model couples sea level rise projections with storm surge categories. Storm surge resulting from Hurricane Isabel has also been incorporated into the model to demonstrate and simulate a real time storm event. The model will provide useful information to local planners and elected officials who are charged with implementing several action items related to sea level rise planning contained in the Coastal Bays Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan for Maryland’s Coastal Bays National Estuary Program.

Flood Hazard Studies

Maryland is prone to three types of flooding: non-tidal flooding (river and streams), tidal flooding (tides and storm surges), and coastal high hazard flooding (additional wave action to tidal flooding). The State has a long history of flood hazard mitigation, which is coordinated by the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) Flood Hazard Mitigation Program. MDE is responsible for floodplain mapping and studies, Floodplain Management GIS and the Comprehensive Flood Mitigation Grant Program (CFMGP).

Floodplain Map Modernization

MDE has submitted a Business Plan (136 kb file) for Map Modernization to FEMA outlining the State’s vision for modernization of the State’s flood studies and maps for the 5-year period 2004-2008. Maryland’s vision for floodplain management is closely coupled with its vision for map modernization. MDE seeks to reduce costs associated with traditional detailed studies by developing a new set of "live" studies (digital verses paper product), which can be modified as watershed conditions change. Any proposed changes can be modeled to keep the maps current as permits are issued. High resolution topographic information derived from LIDAR will be utilized to develop more accurate maps products.

HAZUS-Multi Hazard

Another ongoing flood mapping effort involves HAZUS-Multi Hazard (MH), a risk assessment software program for analyzing potential losses from floods, hurricane winds and earthquakes. HAZUS-MH estimates damage before, or after, a disaster occurs and takes into account various impacts of a hazard event such as:

• Physical damage to residential and commercial buildings, critical facilities, etc.;

• Economic loss from lost jobs, business interruptions, repair and reconstruction costs; and

• Social impacts to people including requirements for shelters and medical aid.

MDE recently partnered with Salisbury University to complete a statewide analysis of flood vulnerability estimated through the HAZUS-MH flood module. The Level One analysis completed in June 2005, estimates flood damage from a 100-year coastal or riverine flood event. The final report, “An Assessment of Maryland’s Vulnerability to Flood Damage” is now available.

State Multi-Hazard Vulnerability Assessment

State hazard mapping and mitigation is coordinated mainly by the Maryland Emergency Management Agency (MEMA). MEMA implements federal mandates of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and facilitates State regulatory and mitigation programs. MEMA Mitigation Program administers the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP), the Flood Mitigation Assistance Program (FMAP), and the Pre-Disaster Mitigation Program (PDM) and is the primary coordinating agency for FEMA disaster response, recovery, and relief funding and is the first responder to any disaster in the State.

MEMA prepares the State Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan and supports and oversees the completion of local mitigation plans required by FEMA under the Disaster Mitigation Act of 2000 (157 kb file). Associate with the State Hazard Mitigation Plan is hazard risk and vulnerability mapping. For more information on the State plan, contact the State Hazard Mitigation Officer at:

Maryland Emergency Management Agency
State Emergency Operations Center
5401 Rue Saint Lo Drive
Reisterstown, MD 21136
Phone: (410) 517-5108
Web Page: www.mema.state.md.us