Beach Profiling: Tracking the changes at Crane Beach
What is Beach Profiling?
A Beach Profiling program, launched in summer 2018 at Crane Beach, is helping Trustees ecologists track the changing shape of a dynamic coastal landscape, and establish a baseline of conditions in preparation for climate change-driven erosion. The program is run by dedicated volunteers who return to the beach each month, rain or shine, on the day of the lowest tide.
Armed with a pair of yardsticks connected by a length of rope, each team measures the rise and fall of the beach from a marked spot near the top, down to the shoreline, “inchworming” with the device. It’s a technique that dates back to 1961 and is known as the “Emery Method,” utilizing two graded poles and the Earth's horizon as a reference point to achieve accuracy.
Measurements are taken in three-meter intervals once a month, starting from the fixed control point and taking a straight line down to the water line, a line know as a "transect".
what does the data look like? Why is it important?
ABOVE: The data collected by beach profilers is sent monthly to Trustees ecologists who compile and graph the numbers to monitor the changes.
This illustration, using some of the data gathered by the volunteers, is an example of how the shape shifts over time. Currently three “transects,” or vertical stretches of beach, are measured each month.
Each month, data is collected and graphed by Trustees ecologists. Data for three transects, or locations, along Crane Beach has been gathered and compiled since August 2018. To understand how to read and visualize what these line graphs are showing, first look at the graphic to the right. Using five months of data this illustration depicts how the lines represent different “profiles,” or horizontal slopes, of that particular portion of beach, stretching from the rack line all the way to the water.
The actual line graphs for all three transects are provided below. Every colored line on the graphs represent a different monthly data collection day, while the dots on each line refer to a three-meter interval where a measurement was taken.
This beach profiling at Crane launched the summer after Woods Hole Group completed a climate vulnerability assessment of Trustees coastal properties, flagging beaches as one of the most “at risk” natural areas, and stating that Crane’s popular beach and plover habitat will likely see regular flooding by 2030. Together with ongoing horizontal tracking, done by walking the length of the beach along the start of the dunes and the mean high tide line with a GPS, these vertical profiles help ecologists quantify—and communicate—how the beach is changing on a regular basis. The incoming data is allowing Trustees ecologists to map a vertical profile of the beach and establish a baseline of conditions, in preparation for an unsettled future.
Explore the data
Click an image below to jump to the graph for that transect. For a map showing the locations of each transect, click here.
How can I get involved?
To find current coastal volunteer opportunities, visit our volunteer website by clicking here.