Sullivan’s Island Overview
The site is broken down into a couple of different sections. Each covers a different coastal topic. Some will overlap and where they do there will be links to move you between sections. All of the original data is public domain (someone already did the hard part) and comes from NOAA (primarily The Digital Coast but other groups as well), the USGS, and from my own field work. The site will change continually so consider it a work in progress or site-under-construction.
One thing that will come up as a driver in most of the topics is Sea Level Rise. I have a page or two concentrating on what levels Sullivan’s Island is experiencing it and what the future SLR for Sullivan’s Island may be.
Shoreline Change
Shoreline change is always a popular topic and there are lots of different ways to capture the data and also look at the change. Accurately and consistently measuring the shoreline location is not easy, it is kind of a science into itself. So this is where I will start. Next I will tackle the different (and new) ways to assess the shorelines and trends.
GPS Shorelines - Recent
Historic Shorelines - Aerial Imagery and Wet/Dry Lines
Lidar-derived - Elevation Based Shorelines
Analysis - I appologize - this section contains a more advanced look at the data. I have also put an overview in for a better synopsis of the trends.
Flood Risks
Flood risk is one of Geoscience’s specialties and it includes a unique way to view risk in the future based on a compilation of sea level rise curves, tidal levels, and storm types. You can get more information about the technique HERE. The first two “flooding risk” categories are really drivers in the daily risk that we face and have an influence on the quality of life at our homes and their value. The bottom two bullets are what we typically think of as ‘coastal’ risks and have health and safety implications.
Shallow Coastal Flooding Risk - “Monthly High Water“
Yearly Storm Risk from Historic Levels
Hurricane Risks - this is for emergency planning
Rainfall/Stormwater Flooding - an important day to day aspect of life on Sullivan’s Island
Marsh & Habitat Changes and Trends
Marsh Change is a passion of mine and this section includes several ways to look at the change happening on the less traveled, but no less important, side of the island.