Using digital elevation data to predict slopes of coastal sand dunes in Berrien County, Michigan

In 1989 the state of Michigan amended the Sand Dune Protection and Management Act to include the designation of critical dunes. Some of the most spectacular dunes along the Lake Michigan shore are also the most vulnerable; therefore, the distinction of critical dunes is given to these areas in an effort to mitigate the negative impacts of change. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality is the agency charged with regulating all site alterations in these areas. The MDEQ's decision to approve or deny a property owner a permit is based primarily on the slope of the dune, which is collected in the field. Using a digital elevation model and land cover data, I believe that MDEQ agents could quickly and efficiently gather the slope measures they need to complete the permit process. In the past, accuracy issues have hindered the widespread use of DEMS in management; however, in recent years the accuracy of the underlying elevation data has significantly improved with the development of lidar. I propose that lidar used in conjunction with calculated slope and land cover, in a linear regression model, could enable users to predict true slope more accurately than a model that uses NED as its source data and those same variables.