This compilation of exposed open-ocean and sheltered mainland-lagoon shorelines and rates of shoreline change for the north coast of Alaska (U.S.-Canadian border to Icy Cape) is part of a series that already includes published shoreline data for the open-ocean sandy shorelines of the Gulf of Mexico, Southeast Atlantic, California, New England and Mid-Atlantic, Hawaiian, and Pacific Northwest coasts (Morton and others, 2004; Morton and Miller, 2005; Hapke and others, 2006, 2010; Romine and others, 2012; Kratzmann and others, 2013). The Alaska shoreline data differ from shoreline data in previously published U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) reports in this series as follows:

1. Only two historical shorelines (from the 1940s and 2000s eras) were available for the Alaska study area, whereas four or more shorelines (from 1850 to 2002) were available for the other assessments. Thus, end-point rates for only one analysis period are reported here, compared to a combination of long-term and short-term rates as reported in other studies.
2. Modern (2000s era) shorelines in this study represent a visually derived land-water interface position versus an elevation based, tidally referenced shoreline position.
3. Both exposed open-ocean and sheltered mainland-lagoon shorelines and rates of change are included in this study compared to other locations where only exposed open-ocean sandy shorelines or bluff edges were evaluated.