Shoreline Assessment Job Aid

NOAA's Shoreline Assessment Manual outlines methods you can use to plan and conduct shoreline assessment after an oil spill. You can incorporate your assessment results into your decision-making process for shoreline cleanup. This job aid is a supplement to the manual. It contains visual examples of many of the terms you would use during shoreline assessments. A PDF version of the job aid is available at page bottom.

Use the links at the top or bottom of the page to learn about these aspects of shoreline assessment:

• Introduction A basic overview of shoreline assessment.
  
• Beach Profiles for sand and gravel beaches.
  
• Charts for visually estimating the percent coverage of spilled oil.
  
• Photos showing examples in the following categories:
  
  • Surface Oil Distribution - Percent Cover
    
  • Surface Oiling Descriptors - Thickness
    
  • Surface Oiling Descriptors - Type
    
  • Subsurface Oiling Descriptors - Type
    
  • Sediment Types
    
  • Shoreline Types (by ESI Rank)
    
  • Cleanup Methods

Photographs in this job aid and its related photo galleries were contributed by Miles O. Hayes and Jacqueline Michel of Research Planning, Inc.

Related Web Sections

Shoreline Assessment Forms Forms you can download, print out, and then use to record your observations during a shoreline survey following an oil spill.

Order the Job Aid booklet

Job Aid Order Form Use this form to order the laminated booklet form of the job aid.

Related Downloads

Shoreline Assessment Manual This manual outlines methods for conducting shoreline assessments and using the results to make cleanup decisions. (Document format: PDF, size: 3.8 M)

Shoreline Assessment Job Aid A PDF version of the entire job aid. Updated August, 2007. (Document format: PDF, size: 3.0 M)