Oil spill planning and response remains the primary use of these
maps, however they are finding ever-widening use in such areas
as coastal resource inventories and assessments, coastal
planning, and recreational planning. The Time Period section in
this metadata record represents the dates when the data and
information were collected to prepare the GIS products and
atlases. Hence, the actual observation of the resource status
was completed on, or most likely before, this date. See the
atlas-specific metadata for actual survey and data publication
dates. SHORELINE CLASSIFICATION - ESI maps include a shoreline
ranking, based on a scale relating sensitivity, natural
persistence of oil, and ease of cleanup. The shoreline
classification scheme combines an understanding of the physical
and biological character of the shoreline environment, as well
as the substrate type and grain size. Relationships among
physical processes, substrate type, and associated biota produce
specific geomorphic/ecological shoreline types,