National Assessment of Coastal Change Hazards
Research to identify areas that are most vulnerable to coastal change hazards including beach and dune erosion, long-term shoreline change, and sea-level rise.

Coastlines are constantly changing landscapes that pose fascinating science questions as well as unique management challenges. The National Assessment of Coastal Change Hazards (NACCH) provides robust scientific findings that help to identify areas that are most vulnerable to diverse coastal change hazards including beach and dune erosion, long-term shoreline change, and sea-level rise. Through extensive observation, modeling and prediction of these processes, scientists gauge how U.S. shores have historically shifted, and how past changes will affect their vulnerability to future hazards.
Storm-Induced Coastal Change Hazards - Research to understand the magnitude and variability of extreme storm impacts on sandy beaches in order to improve real-time and scenario-based predictions of coastal change to support management of coastal infrastructure, resources, and safety.
Long-Term Coastal Change - Nationally-consistent compilation of historic shoreline positions and maps of changes along open-ocean sandy shores of the conterminous U.S. and parts of Alaska and Hawaii.
Coastal Vulnerability to Sea-Level Rise - Historical and recent observations of coastal change are combined with model simulations of beaches, barrier islands, wetlands, and coastal aquifers to determine the probability of coastal change due to sea-level rise.
Coastal Change Hazards Portal - Online access to data and tools enables users to apply coastal change hazards assessments to their specific needs.
Integration of Processes over Different Spatial and Temporal Scales - Integration of the different scales of coastal processes to better understand future vulnerability to storms, long-term erosion, and sea-level rise.
Below are research tasks and science projects associated with this project.
Integration of Processes over Different Spatial and Temporal Scales
Forecasting Coastal Change
National Assessment of Coastal Vulnerability to Sea Level Rise
Long-Term Coastal Change
Below are publications associated with this project.
National assessment of shoreline change—Summary statistics for updated vector shorelines and associated shoreline change data for the north coast of Alaska, U.S.-Canadian Border to Icy Cape
Coupling centennial-scale shoreline change to sea-level rise and coastal morphology in the Gulf of Mexico using a Bayesian network
National assessment of shoreline change: a GIS compilation of vector shorelines and associated shoreline change data for the north coast of Alaska, U.S.-Canadian border to Icy Cape
National assessment of shoreline change: historical change along the north coast of Alaska, U.S.-Canadian border to Icy Cape
A method for determining average beach slope and beach slope variability for U.S. sandy coastlines
National assessment of hurricane-induced coastal erosion hazards: Northeast Atlantic Coast
Using a Bayesian Network to predict shore-line change vulnerability to sea-level rise for the coasts of the United States
Hurricane Sandy: observations and analysis of coastal change
Scaling coastal dune elevation changes across storm-impact regimes
Evaluation of wave runup predictions from numerical and parametric models
National assessment of shoreline change: historical shoreline change along the Pacific Northwest coast
Geomorphic and human influence on large-scale coastal change
Below are data or web applications associated with this project.
Coastal Change Hazards Portal
Oblique Aerial Photography Viewer
iCoast
Coastal Change Hazards Portal
Below are news stories associated with this project.
Research to identify areas that are most vulnerable to coastal change hazards including beach and dune erosion, long-term shoreline change, and sea-level rise.

Coastlines are constantly changing landscapes that pose fascinating science questions as well as unique management challenges. The National Assessment of Coastal Change Hazards (NACCH) provides robust scientific findings that help to identify areas that are most vulnerable to diverse coastal change hazards including beach and dune erosion, long-term shoreline change, and sea-level rise. Through extensive observation, modeling and prediction of these processes, scientists gauge how U.S. shores have historically shifted, and how past changes will affect their vulnerability to future hazards.
Storm-Induced Coastal Change Hazards - Research to understand the magnitude and variability of extreme storm impacts on sandy beaches in order to improve real-time and scenario-based predictions of coastal change to support management of coastal infrastructure, resources, and safety.
Long-Term Coastal Change - Nationally-consistent compilation of historic shoreline positions and maps of changes along open-ocean sandy shores of the conterminous U.S. and parts of Alaska and Hawaii.
Coastal Vulnerability to Sea-Level Rise - Historical and recent observations of coastal change are combined with model simulations of beaches, barrier islands, wetlands, and coastal aquifers to determine the probability of coastal change due to sea-level rise.
Coastal Change Hazards Portal - Online access to data and tools enables users to apply coastal change hazards assessments to their specific needs.
Integration of Processes over Different Spatial and Temporal Scales - Integration of the different scales of coastal processes to better understand future vulnerability to storms, long-term erosion, and sea-level rise.
Below are research tasks and science projects associated with this project.
Integration of Processes over Different Spatial and Temporal Scales
Forecasting Coastal Change
National Assessment of Coastal Vulnerability to Sea Level Rise
Long-Term Coastal Change
Below are publications associated with this project.
National assessment of shoreline change—Summary statistics for updated vector shorelines and associated shoreline change data for the north coast of Alaska, U.S.-Canadian Border to Icy Cape
Coupling centennial-scale shoreline change to sea-level rise and coastal morphology in the Gulf of Mexico using a Bayesian network
National assessment of shoreline change: a GIS compilation of vector shorelines and associated shoreline change data for the north coast of Alaska, U.S.-Canadian border to Icy Cape
National assessment of shoreline change: historical change along the north coast of Alaska, U.S.-Canadian border to Icy Cape
A method for determining average beach slope and beach slope variability for U.S. sandy coastlines
National assessment of hurricane-induced coastal erosion hazards: Northeast Atlantic Coast
Using a Bayesian Network to predict shore-line change vulnerability to sea-level rise for the coasts of the United States
Hurricane Sandy: observations and analysis of coastal change
Scaling coastal dune elevation changes across storm-impact regimes
Evaluation of wave runup predictions from numerical and parametric models
National assessment of shoreline change: historical shoreline change along the Pacific Northwest coast
Geomorphic and human influence on large-scale coastal change
Below are data or web applications associated with this project.
Coastal Change Hazards Portal
Oblique Aerial Photography Viewer
iCoast
Coastal Change Hazards Portal
Below are news stories associated with this project.