Publications
Explore scientific publications from the USGS St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center.
Filter Total Items: 950
Reduced Atlantic reef growth past 2 °C warming amplifies sea-level impacts Reduced Atlantic reef growth past 2 °C warming amplifies sea-level impacts
Coral reefs form complex physical structures that can help to mitigate coastal flooding risk1,2. This function will be reduced by sea-level rise (SLR) and impaired reef growth caused by climate change and local anthropogenic stressors3. Water depths above reef surfaces are projected to increase as a result, but the magnitudes and timescales of this increase are poorly constrained, which...
Authors
Chris Perry, Didier de Bakker, Alice Webb, Steeve Comeau, Ben Harvey, Chris Cornwall, Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip, Esmerelda Perez-Cervantes, John Morris, Ian Enochs, Lauren Toth, Aaron O'Dea, Erin Dillon, Erik Meesters, William F. Precht
Coral restoration can drive rapid increases in reef accretion potential Coral restoration can drive rapid increases in reef accretion potential
Coral-reef degradation is disrupting the balance between reef accretion and erosion and threatening the persistence of essential coral-reef habitats. In south Florida, most reefs are already net eroding, and without intervention, valuable ecosystem services may be lost. Coral restoration holds the potential to reverse those trends; however, typical restoration monitoring does not...
Authors
Lauren Toth, Selena Johnson, Erin Lyons, Jason Spadaro, Anastasios Stathakopoulos, Sierra Kathleen Bloomer, Jennifer Mallon, Connor Monroe Jenkins, Sara D. Williams, Ian Combs, Zachary Craig, Erinn Muller
Proactive assisted gene flow for Caribbean corals in an era of rapid coral reef decline Proactive assisted gene flow for Caribbean corals in an era of rapid coral reef decline
Coral reefs are one of the most well-documented marine ecosystems under increasing threat from climate change. Catastrophic episodes of coral bleaching and subsequent mortality caused by prolonged heat stress (1) highlight the need to test and implement new approaches to prevent species loss and retain ecosystem function (2). One of these approaches is assisted gene flow (AGF)—the...
Authors
Andrew Baker, Iliana Baums, Sarah W. Davies, Andrea G. Grottoli, Carly D. Kenkel, Sheila A. Kitchen, Ilsa Kuffner, Mikhail V. Matz, Margaret W. Miller, Erinn Muller, John E. Parkinson, Carlos Prada, Andrew A. Shantz, R. van Hooidonk, R. Scott Winters
Automated generation of an urban synthetic elevation checkpoint network across the North Carolina coastline, USA Automated generation of an urban synthetic elevation checkpoint network across the North Carolina coastline, USA
Lidar and structure from motion-derived digital elevation and surface models have widespread application. Consideration of a topographic model's vertical root mean squared error (RMSEz) and systematic directional bias is important for many of these applications, particularly landscape change detection and measurement. Due to logistic, resource, and time constraints, wide area remotely...
Authors
Alexander Seymour, Christine Kranenburg, Kara S. Doran
Future of coral bleaching research Future of coral bleaching research
Coral bleaching is the largest global threat to coral reef ecosystem persistence this century. Advancing our understanding of coral bleaching and developing solutions to protect corals and the reefs they support are critical. In the present article, we, the US National Science Foundation–funded Coral Bleaching Research Coordination Network, outline future directions for coral bleaching...
Authors
Andrea Grottoli, Ann Hulver, R. Vega Thurber, R. Toonen, E. Schmeltzer, Ilsa Kuffner, K. Barott, Iliana Baums, K. Castillo, Leila Chapron, M. Coffroth, D. Combosch, A. Correa, Eric Crandall, Megan Donahue, Jose Eirin-Lopez, Thomas Felis, C. Ferrier-Pages, Hugo Harrison, Scott Heron, Danwei Huang, Adriana Humanes, Carly D. Kenkel, Thomas Krueger, Joshua Madin, Mikhail Matz, Lisa McManus, Monica Medina, Erinn Muller, J. Padilla-Gamino, Hollie Putnam, Y Sawall, Tom Shlesinger, Michael Sweet, Christian Voolstra, V. Weis, Christian Wild, H. Wu
A coral core archive designed for transparency and accessibility A coral core archive designed for transparency and accessibility
No abstract available.
Authors
Avi Strange, Oliwia Jasnos, Lauren Toth, Nancy Prouty, Thomas DeCarlo
Evaluating the influence of constructed subtidal reefs on marsh shoreline erosion, sediment deposition, and wave energy Evaluating the influence of constructed subtidal reefs on marsh shoreline erosion, sediment deposition, and wave energy
Salt marshes play a critical role in providing economic and ecological benefits but are susceptible to shoreline erosion. Natural and nature-based features (NNBF), such as breakwater reefs, are often used to reduce shoreline exposure to wave action and provide biogenic benefits. However, waves and water level are also responsible for the sediment supply necessary for marsh accretion, a...
Authors
Kathryn Smith, Jonathan Pitchford, Eric L. Sparks, Michael J. Archer, Matthew Virden, Joseph Terrano, Christopher G. Smith
Assessment of active sand volumes at Rockaway Beach and Fire Island in New York and Seven Mile Island in New Jersey Assessment of active sand volumes at Rockaway Beach and Fire Island in New York and Seven Mile Island in New Jersey
Between 2018 and 2023, the U.S. Geological Survey assessed shoreface sediment availability at three Atlantic Coast barrier island study sites in support of a National Fish and Wildlife Foundation project entitled, “Monitoring Hurricane Sandy Beach and Marsh Resilience in New York and New Jersey.” The three study sites are Seven Mile Island, New Jersey, Rockaway Beach peninsula, New York...
Authors
Noreen Buster, Jennifer Miselis, Emily Wei, Arnell Forde
Resolution sensitivities for subgrid modeling of coastal flooding Resolution sensitivities for subgrid modeling of coastal flooding
Flooding due to storm surge can propagate through coastal regions to threaten the built and natural environments. This propagation is controlled by geographic features of varying scales, from the largest oceans to the smallest marsh channels and sandy dunes. Numerical models to predict coastal flooding have been improved via the use of subgrid corrections, which use information about the...
Authors
Johnathan Lucas Woodruff, Joel C. Dietrich, Damrongsak Wirasaet, Andrew B. Kennedy, Diogo Bolster, Richard A. Luettich
Shifting baselines of coral-reef species composition from the Late Pleistocene to the present in the Florida Keys Shifting baselines of coral-reef species composition from the Late Pleistocene to the present in the Florida Keys
The ongoing global-scale reassembly of modern coral reefs is unprecedented compared with the observed stability of most late Quaternary reef assemblages. One notable exception is the marine isotope stage (MIS) 5e (ca 130–116 thousand years ago [ka]) reefs in the Florida Keys, where the ubiquitous shallow-water coral, Acropora palmata, was near absent. Little is known, however, about...
Authors
Lauren Toth, Anastasios Stathakopoulos, Scarlette Shan-Hwei Hsia, David Weinstein
Insights from growing Globorotalia truncatulinoides and Globorotalia menardii in the laboratory Insights from growing Globorotalia truncatulinoides and Globorotalia menardii in the laboratory
The vast majority of planktic foraminiferal culture studies have been carried out on spinose species of foraminifera, with relatively few studies on non-spinose species. We conducted a pilot study to test whether live specimens of the non-spinose planktic foraminifera, Globorotalia truncatulinoides and Globorotalia menardii, could be successfully harvested from offshore plankton tow...
Authors
Caitlin Reynolds, Jennifer Fehrenbacher, Kaustubh Thirumalai, Eric J. Tappa, Julie Richey
Discovery of late Holocene-aged Acropora palmata reefs in Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida, USA: The past as a key to the future? Discovery of late Holocene-aged Acropora palmata reefs in Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida, USA: The past as a key to the future?
Emblematic of global coral-reef ecosystem decline, the coral ecosystem-engineer Acropora palmata is now rare throughout much of the western Atlantic. Understanding when and where this foundation species occurred during the past can provide information about the environmental limits defining its distribution through space and time. In this paper, the present, historical and newly dated...
Authors
Anastasios Stathakopoulos, Lauren Toth, Peter Modys, Selena Johnson, Ilsa Kuffner