Digital Coast and

Abstract

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has readily accepted the challenge of championing the Coastal National Spatial Data Infrastructure, the “framework” spatial information of the coastal resource management community. This effort is described as the Digital Coast. The Digital Coast information framework includes a seamless transition between land and sea with regard to elevation and bathymetry. As with all information initiatives, it is not enough just to build the information described. This information must be built to national standards to be of greatest utility to the user and to avoid needless duplication of effort. Additionally, the data must be well documented and readily available to professional coastal resource managers and average citizens alike. The Digital Coast must be available via the Internet, and the user community must have the knowledge necessary to fully utilize and extend the value of the information to their unique applications. The initiative calls together the Department of Commerce’s (DOC) National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), and other Federal agencies to work with the states, the private sector, and academia to create a seamless Digital Coast. The initiative will work to organize these spatial data using the protocols described by Presidential Executive Order 12906 and by using procedures endorsed by the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC). Digital Coast is the coastal and ocean component of the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) and, as such, will directly contribute to the development of The National Map.