North Carolina – Chowan River Basin Shoreline Inventory
The Comprehensive Coastal Inventory Program (CCI) at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) applied a protocol developed for surveying shoreline conditions in Virginia and Maryland to the tidal portion of the Chowan River basin. The protocol includes a method for collecting, classifying, mapping, and reporting conditions to assess riparian shorelines. The Chowan River Riparian Shoreline Assessment is intended to provide data to assist with land use and shoreline management. The effort on the Chowan is the first initiative in North Carolina that uses this protocol.
This inventory is published entirely in digital format. A text report includes an outline of methods. Color maps illustrate the conditions surveyed. Tables quantify data on a plate by plate basis. An inventory of digital images collected during the survey is posted and refers to photographic annotations on the maps. The Chowan River bottom survey was conducted using a 600 kHz side scan sonar system to distinguish bottom features within a sample section of the Chowan River. Bottom features include woody debris, submerged aquatic vegetation, and various hard structures. This was only performed for one segment of the Chowan located at Plate 19 on the index.