Coastal Applications of CanVis
Over the past two years, Center staff members have worked with managers throughout the country to help them use CanVis to create visualizations for a variety of projects, including the placement of condominiums, the regulation of docks and piers, and the projected impacts of sea level rise. The examples that follow illustrate the actual or proposed changes confronting coastal communities and the use of CanVis in illustrating those changes.
Illustrating the Visual Impact of Small Docks and Piers in Falmouth, Massachusetts
Officials in the Town of Falmouth, Massachusetts, were concerned about the aesthetic and natural-resource impacts of an increasing number of docks on Green Pond. They wanted a tool that would allow them to illustrate dock and pier “build-out” under the existing regulations. They also wanted to show the visual outcome of proposed changes to current dock and pier regulations.
An initial visualization project was completed using Visual Nature Studio software. However, technical and funding limitations were encountered when staff members from the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management sought to apply this software program to other ponds in the area. A solution was found when Center personnel showed how CanVis can be used to combine dock objects, photography, and Google Earth imagery into simulated illustrations of cumulative impacts, which can then be shown at planning meetings and town meetings.
Revealing the Effects of High-Rise Condominiums on Water Views
The historic port area of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, affords picturesque views of the Delaware River, so when high-rise condominiums started appearing on the port’s finger piers, issues arose about the effects on scenic vistas. “We have difficulty promoting the values of coastal management to citizens who can’t get to the water’s edge, either visually or physically,” says Shamus Malone, the assistant manager for Pennsylvania’s Coastal Resource Management Program.
Center staff members helped Malone and his colleagues illustrate the aesthetic impacts of the additional proposed condos. First, CanVis object files were developed from photographs of existing condos in the area. Next, these objects were added to an image of the waterfront. At an annual Great Lakes regional meeting sponsored by NOAA’s Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, these “before and after” visualizations showed the aesthetic consequences of building high-rise structures along a coastal riverfront.
Simulating Extended Docks in Washington
The City of Seattle recently had an opportunity to use CanVis when their Department of Planning and Development received several requests to extend the length of shallow water docks to better accommodate larger boats. CanVis was used to visually “clone” existing docks, adding 50 percent to their length. The resulting visual image was striking.
Demonstrating the Effects of Sea Level Rise
Coastal resource managers nationwide are increasingly concerned about the impacts of sea level rise on water levels and are considering actions that could be taken to better understand and mitigate this phenomenon. Coastal professionals working in Washington’s Puget Sound have used CanVis to visualize sea level rise, picture the height of existing seawalls, and visually “add” new seawalls to specific areas.
The illustration below on the left shows the historic Charleston Battery in South Carolina. The CanVis illustration on the right simulates the potential impact of sea level rise on this landmark, which has great cultural and economic importance for the region.
Subdividing Property in a Floodplain
Upcoming legislative changes will result in the potential subdivision of the 100-year floodplain along the Okanogan River in Okanogan County, Washington. Coastal resource managers anticipate an increase in residential development in an area that is now mainly orchards, pasture, and undeveloped lands. More worrisome from the perspective of whitewater rafting enthusiasts is the visual impact this development will have on the solitary pleasures of rafting the wild river.
CanVis was used to illustrate how the river viewscape will be affected if residential development is added to a portion of the watershed.
Many of these examples are highlighted on the Digital Coast website.
Additional examples can be found on the Agroforestry Center website.
Contact us at canvis@csc.noaa.gov.
