Digital Shoreline Analysis System version 4.1 Transects with Short-Term Rate Calculations for the New Jersey North region from Sandy Hook to Little Egg Inlet, New Jersey (NewJerseyN_ST.shp)

Sandy ocean beaches are a popular recreational destination, often surrounded by communities containing valuable real estate. Development is on the rise despite the fact that coastal infrastructure is subjected to flooding and erosion. As a result, there is an increased demand for accurate information regarding past and present shoreline changes. To meet these national needs, the Coastal and Marine Geology Program of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is compiling existing reliable historical shoreline data along open-ocean sandy shores of the conterminous United States and parts of Alaska and Hawaii under the National Assessment of Shoreline Change project.
There is no widely accepted standard for analyzing shoreline change. Existing shoreline data measurements and rate calculation methods vary from study to study and prevent combining results into state-wide or regional assessments. The impetus behind the National Assessment project was to develop a standardized method of measuring changes in shoreline position that is consistent from coast to coast. The goal was to facilitate the process of periodically and systematically updating the results in an internally consistent manner.

滨海沙质海滩是热门休闲度假胜地，周边往往坐落着坐拥高价值不动产的社区。尽管沿海基础设施易受洪水与侵蚀破坏，沿岸开发仍呈上升趋势。由此，社会对精准掌握海岸线历史与现状变化信息的需求日益增长。为满足这一国家层面的需求，美国地质调查局（U.S. Geological Survey, USGS）下属的海岸与海洋地质项目正依托《海岸线变化国家评估》项目，对美国本土（毗连美国）以及阿拉斯加、夏威夷部分区域的开放洋域沙质海岸沿线现有可靠历史海岸线数据进行汇编。
目前学界尚未形成广泛认可的海岸线变化分析标准。现有海岸线数据测量方法与岸线变化速率计算方法因研究而异，导致无法将不同研究结果整合至州级或区域级评估中。本项目的设立初衷是开发一套跨海岸统一的标准化海岸线位置变化测量方法，以保持内部一致性的方式，定期、系统地更新评估结果。