CHAPTER 10
Collating the Past for Assessing the Future: Analysis of the Subtidal
and Intertidal Data Records Within GIS
C.I.S. Pater
ABSTRACT: This chapter considers the potential for integrating disparate data
sources for the analysis of temporal change in the near-shore environment of the Wash
embayment. The two principle sources of subtidal and intertidal data are the charts
published by the UK Hydrographic Office and the surveys of the Port of Boston. From
this data, a qualitative assessment has been conducted of modelled and charted
topography. Attention is given to the time scale over which charts may be used and of
the quality of the data contained. From this recommendations are given to the way in
which both the chart resource and other surveying schemes may be used effectively
within GIS and in turn, Shoreline Management Plans.
Introduction
The Wash, opening to the North Sea, is the largest embayment in England covering an
area of 66,500 hectares (Fig. 1). The embayment, a location of net sediment accretion
and experiences a macrotidal environment with a mean spring tidal range of 7.1
metres. The subtidal morphology of the Wash is complex with a multitude of
relatively stable channels running between extensive sand banks, generated from the
reworking of Holocene deposits. The maximum depth of the Wash (47 metres) is
located at the mouth of the embayment and represents the flooding of a lowland clay
vale by eustatic sea level change. The intertidal area covers 29,770 hectares and
contains a mixture of highly dynamic, soft sediment environments including mudflats,
sand bars and the largest area of saltmarsh (4,230 hectares), in the UK (Davidson,
1995). Saltmarsh is a habitat with a very significant ecology in terms of seasonal use
by migratory and resident bird species, as a result statutory and non-statutory
133
D.R. Green and S.D. King (eds.), Coastal and Marine Geo-Information Systems, 133–148.
© 2003 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands.
Collating the Past for Assessing the Future: Analysis of the Subtidal
and Intertidal Data Records Within GIS
C.I.S. Pater
ABSTRACT: This chapter considers the potential for integrating disparate data
sources for the analysis of temporal change in the near-shore environment of the Wash
embayment. The two principle sources of subtidal and intertidal data are the charts
published by the UK Hydrographic Office and the surveys of the Port of Boston. From
this data, a qualitative assessment has been conducted of modelled and charted
topography. Attention is given to the time scale over which charts may be used and of
the quality of the data contained. From this recommendations are given to the way in
which both the chart resource and other surveying schemes may be used effectively
within GIS and in turn, Shoreline Management Plans.
Introduction
The Wash, opening to the North Sea, is the largest embayment in England covering an
area of 66,500 hectares (Fig. 1). The embayment, a location of net sediment accretion
and experiences a macrotidal environment with a mean spring tidal range of 7.1
metres. The subtidal morphology of the Wash is complex with a multitude of
relatively stable channels running between extensive sand banks, generated from the
reworking of Holocene deposits. The maximum depth of the Wash (47 metres) is
located at the mouth of the embayment and represents the flooding of a lowland clay
vale by eustatic sea level change. The intertidal area covers 29,770 hectares and
contains a mixture of highly dynamic, soft sediment environments including mudflats,
sand bars and the largest area of saltmarsh (4,230 hectares), in the UK (Davidson,
1995). Saltmarsh is a habitat with a very significant ecology in terms of seasonal use
by migratory and resident bird species, as a result statutory and non-statutory
133
D.R. Green and S.D. King (eds.), Coastal and Marine Geo-Information Systems, 133–148.
© 2003 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands.