Distance to Coast (1 km)

Overview

This dataset represents the modeled global distance from each raster cell to the nearest marine coastline.

Distance to Coast is one of the most important environmental variables influencing:

• Atmospheric chloride deposition
• Marine aerosol transport
• Coastal exposure severity
• Atmospheric corrosion potential
• Chloride persistence
• Coastal environmental gradients

The raster represents the shortest horizontal distance from each location to the nearest marine coastline and is used extensively within ISO 9223 atmospheric corrosion workflows.

Units:

• Kilometers (km)

Background

Distance to Coast is a primary environmental variable used in atmospheric corrosion modeling because marine aerosols and chloride deposition generally decrease with increasing distance from the ocean.

Distance to Coast directly influences:

• Marine aerosol transport
• Atmospheric chloride deposition
• Coastal corrosion severity
• Atmospheric conductivity
• Environmental exposure classification
• Coastal infrastructure risk

Nearshore environments typically experience elevated chloride deposition and greater atmospheric corrosion potential compared to inland continental environments.

This dataset was developed to provide globally consistent coastal proximity information suitable for corrosion engineering, environmental modeling, and GIS-based exposure assessment.

Modeling Methodology

The distance framework utilizes global coastline datasets and marine boundary processing techniques to calculate the shortest distance to the nearest marine shoreline.

Primary inputs include:

• Global coastline vectors
• Marine boundary datasets
• GMT coastal proximity products
• Coastal geometry datasets

The modeling framework incorporates:

Coastal Geometry Processing

• Global shoreline extraction
• Marine boundary identification
• Coastal topology correction
• Coastline continuity verification

Distance Analysis

• Euclidean distance calculations
• Global proximity analysis
• Coastal distance raster generation
• Spatial interpolation workflows

Atmospheric Corrosion Integration

• Chloride transport modeling
• Inland aerosol decay functions
• Coastal exposure weighting
• Environmental severity mapping

Marine Aerosol Support

• Coastal proximity assessment
• Chloride persistence modeling
• Offshore-to-onshore transition analysis
• Marine source region identification

The resulting framework provides globally consistent coastal distance estimates suitable for atmospheric corrosion and environmental exposure applications.

Interpretation Guidelines

Shorter distances generally indicate increased marine aerosol influence and elevated atmospheric corrosion potential.

Spatial Resolution

Data Sources

Primary environmental inputs include:

• GMT Intermediate Coast Distance Dataset
• Global coastline datasets
• Generic Mapping Tools (GMT) coastal products
• Supplemental marine boundary datasets

Derived environmental layers supported by this dataset include:

• Chloride Deposition
• Bathymetry and Terrain Elevation
• Wind Exposure Modeling
• Atmospheric Corrosion Layers

Intended Applications

This dataset may be used for:

• Atmospheric corrosion assessment
• Chloride deposition modeling
• Coastal exposure analysis
• Marine aerosol transport studies
• Environmental exposure assessment
• GIS visualization
• Environmental modeling
• Enterprise API workflows

Related Datasets

Corrosion Layers

• ISO 9223 Steel Corrosion Rate
• ISO 9223 Zinc Corrosion Rate
• ISO 9223 Aluminum Corrosion Rate
• ISO 9223 Copper Corrosion Rate

Supporting Atmospheric Layers

• Mean Chloride Deposition
• Mean Sulfate Deposition
• Mean Annual Temperature
• Mean Relative Humidity
• Time of Wetness (TOW)

Supporting Coastal & Terrain Layers

• Distance to Coast
• Bathymetry 2024 – Terrain Elevation
• WindRIX Terrain–Wind Exposure Index
• Wind Resultant Direction (0–360°)
• Wind Speed

Attribution

Joseph Mazzella
AtmosphericIQ LLC
Engineering Director, Inc.

Dataset Citation

Mazzella, J. (2026). Distance to Coast Raster (1 km). AtmosphericIQ LLC / Engineering Director, Inc.

Supporting Dataset Citations

Generic Mapping Tools (GMT)

Wessel, P., Smith, W.H.F., Scharroo, R., Luis, J., & Wobbe, F. (2013). Generic Mapping Tools: Improved Version Released. EOS, Transactions American Geophysical Union, 94(45), 409–410.
https://doi.org/10.1002/2013EO450001

GMT Coastal Proximity Dataset

GMT Intermediate Coast Distance Dataset. Global Coastal Proximity Data Derived from Generic Mapping Tools (GMT) Coastline Processing Workflows.

NASA MERRA-2

NASA Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO). MERRA-2 Atmospheric Reanalysis Dataset.
https://gmao.gsfc.nasa.gov/reanalysis/MERRA-2/

ISO 9223 Standard

ISO 9223:2012. Corrosion of metals and alloys — Corrosivity of atmospheres — Classification, determination and estimation.
https://www.iso.org/standard/53499.html

Version Information