Sediment Transport in Coastal Environments Active
Our research goals are to provide the scientific information, knowledge, and tools required to ensure that decisions about land and resource use, management practices, and future development in the coastal zone and adjacent watersheds can be evaluated with a complete understanding of the probable effects on coastal ecosystems and communities, and a full assessment of their vulnerability to natural and human-driven changes.
Coastal resource managers face a wide range of problems related to sediment transport. Sediment management or questions related to sediment transport are involved in dredging operations, preventing or planning for coastal erosion, evaluation of the impacts of anthropogenic alterations on coastal ecosystems, restoration of coastal habitats, and planning for climate change. To address these questions, coastal managers typically require both site-specific information about sediment transport processes, and predictive models of the outcome of potential management actions.
Understanding of sediment transport processes and the ability to model sediment transport have advanced significantly in recent decades, but important limitations remain. It is still a common practice to report results of sediment transport modeling with limited or no calibration, due to lack of suitable data for calibration. The relative importance of factors governing sediment transport varies between coastal environments due to differences in both sediment properties and physical forcing. The development of robust models of sediment transport applicable to all aquatic environments, and the movement of sediment between them, requires data from a range of settings for testing.
Project Objectives
- to utilize USGS Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program expertise to investigate problems in coastal sediment transport that are relevant to sediment management issues, including protection of coastal ecosystems, reducing the risk of natural hazards, and adapting to or predicting effects of climate change
- to utilize the results obtained in these studies to improve understanding of sediment transport processes, and incorporate this improved understanding in predictive models
- to conduct research and advise resource managers on the impacts of human activities and the effectiveness of restoration measures on river, estuarine, and marine habitats in collaboration with federal, state, and local agencies, and academic partners.
Current Research Topics
Click to learn more about our research:
- Drag and sediment transport: conditions at the bottom boundary
- Coastal watershed and estuary restoration in the Monterey Bay area
- Sediment transport in submarine canyons
- Columbia River estuary
- San Francisco Bay geomorphology
- Sediment transport between estuarine habitats in San Francisco Bay
- Transport of invasive microorganisms
Below are the study topics associated with this project.
Below are data sets associated with this project.
Below are multimedia items associated with this project.
Sediment Transport in San Francisco Bay
The Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers deliver half the amount of sediment they did 50 years ago to San Francisco Bay. Just as sea-level rise is accelerating, the demand for sediment is growing.
Below are publications associated with this project.
Southwest Washington littoral drift restoration—Beach and nearshore morphological monitoring
Small-scale turbidity currents in a big submarine canyon
Field measurements of oceanic turbidity currents, especially diluted currents, are extremely rare. We present a dilute turbidity current recorded by instrumented moorings 14.5 km apart at 1300 and 1860 m water depth. The sediment concentration within the flow was 0.017%, accounting for 18 cm/s gravity current speed due to density excess. Tidal currents of ∼30 cm/s during the event provided a "tail
Currents, drag, and sediment transport induced by a tsunami
The offshore export of sand during exceptional discharge from California rivers
Temporal and spatial patterns in wind stress and wind stress curl over the central Southern California Bight
Validation of a coupled wave-flow model in a high-energy setting: the mouth of the Columbia River
2010 bathymetric survey and digital elevation model of Corte Madera Bay, California
Wave exposure of Corte Madera Marsh, Marin County, California: A field investigation
Bathymetry and digital elevation models of Coyote Creek and Alviso Slough, South San Francisco Bay, California
Wind-enhanced resuspension in the shallow waters of South San Francisco Bay: Mechanisms and potential implications for cohesive sediment transport
Seasonal-scale nearshore morphological evolution: Field observations and numerical modeling
Beach morphology monitoring in the Columbia River Littoral Cell: 1997-2005
Below are news stories associated with this project.
- Overview
Our research goals are to provide the scientific information, knowledge, and tools required to ensure that decisions about land and resource use, management practices, and future development in the coastal zone and adjacent watersheds can be evaluated with a complete understanding of the probable effects on coastal ecosystems and communities, and a full assessment of their vulnerability to natural and human-driven changes.
Coastal resource managers face a wide range of problems related to sediment transport. Sediment management or questions related to sediment transport are involved in dredging operations, preventing or planning for coastal erosion, evaluation of the impacts of anthropogenic alterations on coastal ecosystems, restoration of coastal habitats, and planning for climate change. To address these questions, coastal managers typically require both site-specific information about sediment transport processes, and predictive models of the outcome of potential management actions.
Understanding of sediment transport processes and the ability to model sediment transport have advanced significantly in recent decades, but important limitations remain. It is still a common practice to report results of sediment transport modeling with limited or no calibration, due to lack of suitable data for calibration. The relative importance of factors governing sediment transport varies between coastal environments due to differences in both sediment properties and physical forcing. The development of robust models of sediment transport applicable to all aquatic environments, and the movement of sediment between them, requires data from a range of settings for testing.
Project Objectives
- to utilize USGS Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program expertise to investigate problems in coastal sediment transport that are relevant to sediment management issues, including protection of coastal ecosystems, reducing the risk of natural hazards, and adapting to or predicting effects of climate change
- to utilize the results obtained in these studies to improve understanding of sediment transport processes, and incorporate this improved understanding in predictive models
- to conduct research and advise resource managers on the impacts of human activities and the effectiveness of restoration measures on river, estuarine, and marine habitats in collaboration with federal, state, and local agencies, and academic partners.
Current Research Topics
Click to learn more about our research:
- Drag and sediment transport: conditions at the bottom boundary
- Coastal watershed and estuary restoration in the Monterey Bay area
- Sediment transport in submarine canyons
- Columbia River estuary
- San Francisco Bay geomorphology
- Sediment transport between estuarine habitats in San Francisco Bay
- Transport of invasive microorganisms
- Science
Below are the study topics associated with this project.
- Data
Below are data sets associated with this project.
- Multimedia
Below are multimedia items associated with this project.
Sediment Transport in San Francisco Bay
The Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers deliver half the amount of sediment they did 50 years ago to San Francisco Bay. Just as sea-level rise is accelerating, the demand for sediment is growing.
- Publications
Below are publications associated with this project.
Filter Total Items: 78Southwest Washington littoral drift restoration—Beach and nearshore morphological monitoring
A morphological monitoring program has documented the placement and initial dispersal of beach nourishment material (280,000 m3) placed between the Mouth of the Columbia River (MCR) North Jetty and North Head, at the southern end of the Long Beach Peninsula in southwestern Washington State. A total of 21 topographic surveys and 8 nearshore bathymetric surveys were performed between July 11, 2010,AuthorsAndrew W. Stevens, Guy Gelfenbaum, Peter Ruggiero, George M. KaminskySmall-scale turbidity currents in a big submarine canyon
Field measurements of oceanic turbidity currents, especially diluted currents, are extremely rare. We present a dilute turbidity current recorded by instrumented moorings 14.5 km apart at 1300 and 1860 m water depth. The sediment concentration within the flow was 0.017%, accounting for 18 cm/s gravity current speed due to density excess. Tidal currents of ∼30 cm/s during the event provided a "tail
AuthorsJingping Xu, James P. Barry, Charles K. PaullCurrents, drag, and sediment transport induced by a tsunami
We report observations of water surface elevation, currents, and suspended sediment concentration (SSC) from a 10-m deep site on the inner shelf in northern Monterey Bay during the arrival of the 2010 Chile tsunami. Velocity profiles were measured from 3.5 m above the bed (mab) to the surface at 2 min intervals, and from 0.1 to 0.7 mab at 1 Hz. SSC was determined from the acoustic backscatter of tAuthorsJessica R. Lacy, David M. Rubin, Daniel BuscombeThe offshore export of sand during exceptional discharge from California rivers
Littoral cells along active tectonic margins receive large inputs of sand and gravel from coastal watersheds and commonly lose this sediment to submarine canyons. One hypothesis is that the majority of coarse (sand and gravel) river sediment discharge will be emplaced within and immediately “resupply” local littoral cells. A competing hypothesis is that the infrequent, large floods that supply theAuthorsJonathan A. Warrick, Patrick L. BarnardTemporal and spatial patterns in wind stress and wind stress curl over the central Southern California Bight
In 2001, the U.S. Geological Survey, together with several other federal and municipal agencies, began a series of field programs to determine along and cross-shelf transport patterns over the continental shelves in the central Southern California Bight. As a part of these programs, moorings that monitor winds were deployed off the Palos Verdes peninsula and within San Pedro Bay for six 3–4 monthAuthorsMarlene A. Noble, Kurt J. Rosenberger, Leslie K. Rosenfeld, George L. RobertsonValidation of a coupled wave-flow model in a high-energy setting: the mouth of the Columbia River
A monthlong time series of wave, current, salinity, and suspended-sediment measurements was made at five sites on a transect across the Mouth of Columbia River (MCR). These data were used to calibrate and evaluate the performance of a coupled hydrodynamic and wave model for the MCR based on the Delft3D modeling system. The MCR is a dynamic estuary inlet in which tidal currents, river discharge, aAuthorsEdwin P.L. Elias, Guy R. Gelfenbaum, André J. van der Westhuysen2010 bathymetric survey and digital elevation model of Corte Madera Bay, California
A high-resolution bathymetric survey of Corte Madera Bay, California, was collected in early 2010 in support of a collaborative research project initiated by the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission and funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The primary objective of the Innovative Wetland Adaptation in the Lower Corte Madera Creek Watershed Project is to develop sAuthorsAmy C. Foxgrover, David P. Finlayson, Bruce E. Jaffe, John Y. Takekawa, Karen M. Thorne, Kyle A. SpragensWave exposure of Corte Madera Marsh, Marin County, California: A field investigation
Tidal wetlands provide valuable habitat, are an important source of primary productivity, and can help to protect the shoreline from erosion by attenuating approaching waves. These functions are threatened by the loss of tidal marshes, whether due to erosion, sea-level rise, or land-use practices. Erosion protection by wetlands is expected to vary geographically, because wave attenuation in marsheAuthorsJessica R. Lacy, Daniel J. HooverBathymetry and digital elevation models of Coyote Creek and Alviso Slough, South San Francisco Bay, California
In 2010, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center completed three cruises to map the bathymetry of the main channel and shallow intertidal mudflats in the southernmost part of south San Francisco Bay. The three surveys were merged to generate comprehensive maps of Coyote Creek (from Calaveras Point east to the railroad bridge) and Alviso Slough (from the bay toAuthorsAmy C. Foxgrover, David P. Finlayson, Bruce E. Jaffe, Theresa A. FregosoWind-enhanced resuspension in the shallow waters of South San Francisco Bay: Mechanisms and potential implications for cohesive sediment transport
We investigated the driving forces of sediment dynamics at the shoals in South San Francisco Bay. Two stations were deployed along a line perpendicular to a 14 m deep channel, 1000 and 2000 m from the middle of the channel. Station depths were 2.59 and 2.19 m below mean lower low water, respectively. We used acoustic Doppler velocimeters for the simultaneous determination of current velocities, tuAuthorsAndreas Brand, Jessica R. Lacy, Kevin Hsu, Daniel Hoover, Steve Gladding, Mark T. StaceySeasonal-scale nearshore morphological evolution: Field observations and numerical modeling
A coupled waves-currents-bathymetric evolution model (DELFT-3D) is compared with field measurements to test hypotheses regarding the processes responsible for alongshore varying nearshore morphological changes at seasonal time scales. A 2001 field experiment, along the beaches adjacent to Grays Harbor, Washington, USA, captured the transition between the high-energy erosive conditions of winter anAuthorsP. Ruggiero, D.-J.R. Walstra, G. Gelfenbaum, Ormondt M. vanBeach morphology monitoring in the Columbia River Littoral Cell: 1997-2005
This report describes methods used, data collected, and results of the Beach Morphology Monitoring Program in the Columbia River Littoral Cell (CRLC) from 1997 to 2005. A collaborative group primarily consisting of the US Geological Survey and the Washington State Department of Ecology performed this work. Beach Monitoring efforts consisted of collecting topographic and bathymetric horizontal andAuthorsPeter Ruggiero, Jodi L. Eshleman, Etienne Kingsley, David M. Thompson, Brian Voigt, George M. Kaminsky, Guy Gelfenbaum - News
Below are news stories associated with this project.