Snapping up and down the coast

To get a visual representation of how three areas of coastal Delaware are changing, University of Delaware researchers asked the public to take pictures of the shoreline with their smartphones as part of CoastSnap Delaware. 

The Delaware Sea Grant (DESG)-funded project is part of a global community science program. Scientists and coastal managers use the images submitted by the general public from the same locations over a period of time to determine how the coast is changing. 

In Delaware, the CoastSnap stations are outfitted with mounts where participants can set their smartphones and snap pictures at Broadkill Beach, Herring Point in Cape Henlopen State Park, and the south side of Indian River Inlet. Those locations were chosen to get both bay and ocean shorelines in areas with management concerns.

The project Delaware was initiated by Art Trembanis, professor of marine science and policy. The original program was created by Mitchell Harley, a Senior Lecturer at the University of New South Wales in Australia. 

“When I started the proposal, there were only a few sites outside of Australia. In the few years since, they’ve been popping up constantly,” said Trembanis. 

Catherine Hughes, a master’s student studying geological science at UD, and Luis Pérez Squeo, a graduate student at Oregon State University, were two additional students involved in the project along with an undergraduate intern. Pérez Squeo used funds from Puerto Rico Sea Grant to travel to Delaware and work with Trembanis over the summer of 2021. He focused on the computer code that extracts changes in the shoreline from the submitted photos, and Hughes maintained the sustainability of the project by putting together a manual and writing a paper on the project so that it can continue into the future after the project ends. 

In addition, project co-primary Investigator Ashley Norton, a UD alumna who works for the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, and Danielle Swallow, Coastal Hazards Specialist with DESG, were instrumental in helping establish CoastSnap in Delaware. 

The data collected from Nov. 27, 2020 through Jan. 1, 2022 showed Herring Point with the most engagement, with over 316 submissions, while Broadkill Beach had 50 submissions and Indian River Inlet had 67. 

The contributions were submitted through Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, as well as email and the CoastSnap app. 

The top contributor was Mike Mahaffie with 20 submissions. 

The most notable changes happened at Broadkill Beach. When a nor’easter hit in early November, the photos showed the dune was pushed back significantly. In response, the research team had to move the location of the CoastSnap station because it started to get encroached upon. 

“That is a clear indicator of the severity and intensity of erosion going on there,” said Trembanis. “We want to have the CoastSnap stations in a fixed spot, but with that location, we’ve had to move it once. I suspect that before the calendar year is out, we might need to move it again.” 

While the photos are used to study changes to the shoreline over time, Trembanis noted the images can be used for other applications. 

“If you’re interested in density of visitors and usage on the beach, you can start asking, ‘What times of the day are people here? What parts of the beach are people using? How’s the vegetation change?’ There’s a lot that can be looked at from these same images,” said Trembanis.  

The next steps for the project include moving beyond CoastSnap to try and implement an aerial point of view of the shore. Hughes said “AirSnap” would use drones to take oblique images of the coastline at specific coordinates and altitudes.

In addition, Pérez Squeo is hoping to establish CoastSnap stations in Puerto Rico and is identifying suitable locations. 

“After Hurricane Maria, where a lot of the coastline was eroded in Puerto Rico, it is important for us to establish CoastSnap sites to look at how our coastlines are changing,” said Pérez Squeo. 

The research team encourages visitors and members of the community to check out the stations. To contribute to the science, simply snap a photo and share to help further the understanding of the constantly changing coastlines. 

Article by Adam Thomas