Maps depicting likelihood of shore protection along the Virginia coast

From a new article in Environmental Research Letters

A $2 million effort to map the likelihood of shore protection as sea level rises is summarized in a new article entitled "State and local governments plan for development of most land vulnerable to rising sea level along the U.S. Atlantic Coast." The maps divide coastal low lands into four categories: developed (shore protection almost certain), intermediate (shore protection likely), undeveloped (shore protection unlikely), and conservation (no shore protection).

Northern Virginia and most of the Hamnpton Roads areas are intensely developed except for park and conservation lands, and almost certain to be protected. Near the North Carolina border, however, Virginia Beach plans to keep the area south of its "Rural Line" largely undeveloped. The City of Chesapeake, by contrast, plans to develop much of its rural lands. Development is not immediately expected for much of the Eastern Shore and along many of the tributaries to Chesapeake Bay. No policies are in place, however, to prevent such development either. Along the Atlantic ocean, almost all of the barrier islands are off limits to development. For further details, see the report by Titus, Hershner et al. or the summary of Virginia findings.

The maps from this study can be downloaded individually by clicking on a thumbnail map below; the entire set is also available in a zipped file. These jpg files were designed for printing at 300 dots per inch on 8-1/2 X 11 inch paper. If you simply click on the links below and try to read them on your computer screen, some of them may look strange, depending on your internet browser. If so, please save the jpg map onto your computer's hard drive and then open the file with the program you normally use to read jpg files.