Coastal Science
Coastal Science
The NYWSC carries out multidisciplinary science activities across the State’s diverse coastal waters and landscapes on the Atlantic Ocean and the Great Lakes, including the many interconnected waterways, the barrier beaches that form and erode continually, the open waterways that are prone to the effects of major storms and hurricanes, and upland surface-water and groundwater source areas. These areas are also some of the most productive ecosystems in the State and host most of the population and economic development of the State. As a result, the interplay of environmental- and human-health concerns is a prominent thread that connects much of the coastal science activities of the USGS and involves cooperation not only among science disciplines but also across the Nation and internationally. Major topics of study include nearshore environmental health (ecosystem health and water and sediment quality), beach and barrier dynamics, tide and wave hydrodynamics, wetlands, climate and land-use change, and flood hazards.
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Hurricane Sandy -- Science to support coastal resilience
Coastal Hydrology and Storm Surge Storm-surge is one of the most powerful and destructive elements of major storm events. Excessively high tides associated with storms can flood and inundate coastal areas, often moving sediment and altering coastal landscapes and drainages. USGS provides critical expertise in measuring storm surge and assessing conditions both before and after the storm. Through d
Development of a Coordinated Water Resources Monitoring Strategy for the South Shore Estuary Reserve, Long Island NY
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is collaborating with the New York Department of State (NYDOS) Office of Planning and Development to prepare a new Long Island South Shore Estuary Reserve (SSER) Coordinated Water Resources Monitoring Strategy (CWRMS). Since 2000, when the last CWRMS was published, numerous research projects and studies are demonstrating several new threats to the ecologic health
Continuous and Spatially Distributed Dissolved Oxygen Monitoring in Long Island Estuaries in Support of Coastal Resource Management.
Problem Dissolved oxygen (DO) is an important indicator of water quality that until recently has been cost-prohibitive to monitor extensively in both space and time. Continuous water-quality data, particularly in coastal environments with bidirectional tidal flow, is necessary for resource managers to understand the dynamic changes in water quality that occur tidally, daily, seasonally, and durin
Detection and Quantification of Oxygenated Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (oxy-PAHs) in Groundwater Near the Former Manufactured Gas Plant in Bay Shore, N.Y.
Introduction As a result of storage and disposal practices at a former Manufactured Gas Plant, or MGP, in Bay Shore, NY, a variety of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) have been detected at high concentrations in the surficial, upper glacial aquifer of Long Island. Levels of PAHs initially detected over 10 years ago were in the parts-per-thousand range within a groundwater contaminant plume.
Evaluation of a barrier-island breach created by Hurricane Sandy at Fire Island National Seashore, N.Y.
Hurricane Sandy has created three open breaches in the barrier island system along the south shore of Long Island, N.Y. In response, the National Park Service has sought assistance from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) New York Water Science Center (NYWSC) to help evaluate the open breach condition in Federal Wilderness near the Old Inlet area of Fire Island National Seashore, N.Y. The NYWSC ev
Monitoring of Waterways for Mosquito Insecticides, Suffolk County, New York
Introduction Mosquitoes are the principle vector of the West Nile Virus (WNV) which causes infections in humans and animals and has emerged as a public health threat throughout Long Island, NY. The WNV was first detected among birds and mosquitoes by the Suffolk County Department of Health Services (SCDHS) in 2000. In response to the public health concern, the USGS in cooperation with the SCDHS
Monitoring Tidal Water Elevation and Water Quality to Assess Tidal Wetland Loss in Four Embayments of Long Island Sound, New York
Introduction Recent trends analysis examining the effectiveness of tidal wetland regulations and the regulatory program of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) revealed that the regulations and regulatory program were highly effective in stemming the historic "fill and build" activities. However, the trends also revealed that tidal wetlands—specifically, low mars
Estuarine Physical Response to Storms—Jamaica Bay
Problem Coastal communities are susceptible to damage from coastal storms and associated storm surge, and although tidal wetlands provide a buffer against shoreline erosion and aid in shoreline stabilization, they too are vulnerable to the action of storms. Tidal wetland dynamics need to be better understood, as they are also intrinsically valuable as nursery, feeding, and refuge areas for many
Southeastern New York Tide-Telemetry and Coastal-Flood-Warning System
The coastal areas of southeastern New York (fig. 1) are highly vulnerable to tidal flooding (fig. 2). Timely evacuation of people from flood-threatened areas in advance of approaching hurricanes and nor'easters (northeast coastal storms) requires adequate flood-warning time. To begin addressing this need for immediate information on coastal flooding, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperati
Assessment of Nutrient Loading to Jamaica Bay, Gateway National Recreation Area, New York
Significant changes in nitrogen loads to Jamaica Bay have likely occurred with progressive improvements to Water Pollution Control Plants (WCWPs) that discharge into the Bay. Data available from the New York City Department of Environmental Protection and others will be used to determine loads from WPCPs, combined sewer overflows, and the atmosphere. Selected wells within the USGS water quality
Shallow groundwater quality in the Patchogue River basin, Suffolk County, New York
Background The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Village of Patchogue and the New York Department of State, collected water-quality samples from 10 shallow wells within the village to document the effects of onsite wastewater disposal on groundwater discharging into the Patchogue River. The onsite disposal of wastewater within the Patchogue River basin - a riverine estuary th
Simulation of the Shallow Ground-Water Flow System at Fire Island National Seashore, Long Island, New York
Fire Island National Seashore (FIIS) is located on the barrier island along the extreme southern shore of western and central Suffolk County, New York. Interspersed throughout FIIS are seventeen residential beach communities that in the summer months greatly increase in population due to the arrival of summer residents and vacationers. Wastewater from the numerous homes and businesses in the bar