POST-HURRICANE COASTAL MAPPING AND CHANGE ANALYSIS: NATIONAL COASTAL MAPPING PROGRAM

Abstract

Hurricane and other extreme storm impacts pose one of the greatest threats to coastal environments, populations, and infrastructure. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) National Coastal Mapping Program (NCMP), executed by the Joint Airborne Lidar Bathymetry Technical Center of Expertise (JALBTCX), collects and processes high resolution aerial imagery and lidar data that provide regional datasets to support assessments of coastal change. The NCMP surveying methods and data products are invaluable tools for coastal management and have the potential to produce rapid-response data following extreme storm impacts. Emergency post-storm deployment of this system was used following Hurricane Matthew's impact in October 2016 where the NCMP surveyed from Key Biscayne, FL to the VA/MD border between October 27th and December 2nd, collecting topographic and bathymetric lidar along the coast in a 1.5 km swath. Approximately one year later, Hurricane Irma impacted the Florida east and west coast in September 2017. The NCMP surveyed the entire Florida east coast, including the Keys, in addition to Collier County on the West Coast of Florida from September 22 to October 25.