Canadian Coastal Information System (CIS) - Nearshore, Beaufort Sea Coast 1984, 1999 and 2000

• Main Authors: Couture, Nicole, Fraser, Paul, Whalen, Dustin
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: Canadian Cryospheric Information Network 2015
• Subjects: Arctic; Beaufort Sea; Coastal dynamics; Coastal ice; Coastline; Northwest Territories; Yukon; Beaufort Regional Environmental Assessment; Canada; Bedford
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5443/12121; https://www.polardata.ca/pdcsearch/?doi_id=12121

Shore-zone classification data for the Canadian Beaufort Sea coast form part of a GIS database, the Coastal Information System (CIS), developed and maintained by the Geological Survey of Canada (GSC-Atlantic), Natural Resources Canada, at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography in Dartmouth, NS. Coastal attributes in the CIS have been interpreted and mapped from low-level, oblique, aerial photography and video imagery with accompanying audio commentary. The CIS is hierarchical in that coastal forms are classified based on four increasingly detailed levels of description. The coastal data consist of line segments with attributes describing the physical form and material at scales ranging from 1:10 000 to 1:250 000. In the CIS, the coast is divided into three shore-parallel zones (backshore, foreshore, nearshore). Each zone is segmented separately based on homogeneous physical characteristics. A glossary has been developed to control the language used to describe each zone. The use of objective physical criteria for coastal classification enhances the utility of the CIS for a wide variety of applications. The nearshore is defined as the lowest or outer zone of the shore or beach extending seaward an indefinite but generally short distance from the outer limit of the foreshore. It is the subtidal zone extending from lower low-water at large (spring) tides through the surf-zone, defining the area of wave breaking and littoral currents. Typical mapped nearshore forms include bars, channels, ebb-tidal deltas, deltas, rock outcrop, or ice scour features. Materials, though less commonly recognizable in the nearshore, may include combinations of ice, organics, mud, sand, gravel and boulders, rock, or artificial materials such as concrete, wood, or steel. Combinations of zonal form and material types can be queried to build more sophisticated classifications based on multiple criteria or empirical indices. For more information please refer to the datafile entitled: CCIN12121_20150218_Nearshore_Extended_Metadata_FGDC.xml : Purpose: These data have been applied to shore-zone description and classification for assessment of coastal stability and hazards. Additional applications may include coastal management and planning, oil-spill sensitivity mapping, physical access mapping, or qualitative coastal change analysis, among others. : Summary: Not Applicable