Transect Lines for Assateague Island, Maryland and Virginia

Assessing the physical change to shorelines and wetlands is critical in determining the resiliency of wetland systems that protect adjacent habitat and communities. The wetland and back-barrier shorelines of Assateague Island, located in Maryland and Virginia, changed as a result of wave action and storm surge that occurred during Hurricane Sandy, which made landfall on October 29, 2012. The impact of Hurricane Sandy will be assessed and placed in its historical context to understand the future vulnerability of wetland systems.
Making these assessments will rely on data extracted from current and historical resources such as maps, aerial photographs, satellite imagery, and lidar elevation data, which document physical changes over time.
This USGS Data Series publication includes several open-ocean shorelines, back-island shorelines, back-island shoreline points, sand area polygons, and sand lines for Assateague Island that were extracted from ortho imagery (ortho aerial photography)dated from April 12, 1989 to September 5, 2013.