Multiscale Framework for Assessing Land Cover Change on Barrier Islands from Extreme Storms and Restoration.

Enwright, N.M.; Dalyander, P.S.; Stuht, C.M.; Han, M.; Palmsten, M.L.; Davenport, T.M.; Kingwill, C.J.; Steyer, G.D., and La Peyre, M.K., 2025. Multiscale framework for assessing land cover change on barrier islands from extreme storms and restoration. Often found along the estuarine-marine interface, barrier islands and mainland coastal zones are shaped by tides, currents, extreme storms, and relative sea-level rise. These systems provide ecosystem services such as storm surge and wave attenuation, erosion protection to inland areas, habitat for fish and wildlife, recreation, and tourism. Given the importance of these ecosystems coupled with their dynamic nature, information on how these coastal systems are changing can help to inform natural resource management. Remote sensing advancements have led to an abundance of data for monitoring change in coastal settings. This study developed a multiscale framework that can provide trajectory information from screening-level analyses by using existing or custom moderate spatial resolution land cover maps. Using the north-central Gulf Coast as a case study, the trajectory of land cover area for barrier islands and mainland coastal zones was assessed using several geospatial data sets, including: (1) long-term moderate-resolution remote sensing products with an annual (or more frequent) temporal frequency; (2) a restoration database (e.g., beach/dune restoration, sediment placement, and dune enhancement); and (3) a tropical storm database. Due to the coarser spatial resolution of data sets used for screening-level analyses, detailed or application-specific analyses are often needed to reduce uncertainty in smaller changes that may not be captured. These may include land cover change analyses (i.e. this study), periodic land cover maps with higher spatial resolution and more detailed land cover classes, or elevation-related analyses (e.g., dune change or inundation change). Using this framework, abrupt changes in land cover on Dauphin Island, Alabama, resulting from extreme storms were detected using moderate spatial resolution screening-level data, while restoration impact analyses may require higher resolution data. Further, land cover change analyses that incorporate change allocation provide robust information for understanding land cover change in dynamic coastal settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]