MONDAY MASHUP: Mapping Great Lakes coastal erosion

Jun 28 2010 One Comment

A screen shot of time-lapsed exhibit shows 40 years of coastal erosion along the western coast of Lake Michigan.

More than 10,000 miles of coastline brings economic, residential and recreational opportunities to the Great Lakes region.

But settlement and natural processes take a toll on the ever-changing shoreline.

With support from a federal program, Great Lake states create strategies to manage coastal concerns like erosion, which destroys beachfront property and disrupts local economies.

Some states have mashups that show the extent of the erosion problem.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison and Wisconsin Sea Grant developed a series of interactive exhibits and maps to highlight some of issues.

One exhibit pairs Lake Michigan coastal maps with time-lapsed technology to illustrate 40 years of erosion in Ozaukee County. The shoreline has receded more than 50 feet in most areas along the coast.

The Ohio Geological Survey recently mapped its preliminary coastal erosion data for 2010.

Take time to read the instructions before opening up this mashup. And don’t forget to enable pop-ups.

Best course of action: Zoom into an area of Lake Erie, select the “View Map” lightning button and click on one of the large red blocks to download a document with specific coastal erosion information for that area.

Win a prize if you’re the first to suggest or create a Great Lakes mashup used on Echo’s Monday Mashup. What’s the prize? Well, it’s not a Great Lakes cruise.  But  we’ll send you a token of thanks AND publicly acknowledge your contribution in MONDAY MASHUP. Send it to Monday Mashups editor Rachael Gleason at GreatLakesEcho@gmail.com.
© 2012, Great Lakes Echo, Michigan State University Knight Center for Environmental Journalism. Republish under these guidelines

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