Publications

A narrow zone of red mangroves fringes the shorelines of four small bays in Hurricane Hole, within Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument (VICRNM) on St. John. In two of these bays, Otter Creek and Water Creek, a particularly high abundance and diversity of corals are growing directly on or near the prop roots (Fig. 1a,b,c). To date, 28 coral species have been found: Stephanocoenia intersepta

Despite their relatively small surface area, ocean margins may have a significant impact on global biogeochemical cycles and, potentially, the global air-sea fluxes of carbon dioxide. Margins are characterized by intense geochemical and biological processing of carbon and other elements and exchange large amounts of matter and energy with the open ocean. The area-specific rates of productivity, bi

From September 2 through 4, 2008, the U.S. Geological Survey and St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD) conducted geophysical surveys in Lakes Cherry, Helen, Hiawassee, Louisa, and Prevatt, central Florida. This report serves as an archive of unprocessed digital boomer seismic reflection data, trackline maps, navigation files, GIS information, FACS logs, and formal FGDC metadata. Filte

National assessment of hurricane-induced coastal change vulnerability

Land-surface subsidence and erosion are the principal processes that form accommodation space in interior coastal wetlands when they are converted to open water. The relative contribution of subsidence and erosion to wetland loss can be estimated by comparing elevations and vertical offsets of stratigraphic contacts that are correlated between adjacent sediment cores. Accommodation-space measureme

Coastal flats worldwide that are periodically exposed to arid climates and periodically flooded by marine waters are unique depositional environments because they receive sediments surficially and interstitially from both land and sea.  The wind-tidal flats bordering Laguna Madre, Texas, which fit this unique category, are modified by eolian processes when subaerially exposed, and by wave and curr

In June of 1990 and July of 1991, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducted geophysical surveys to investigate the shallow geologic framework of the Mississippi-Alabama-Florida shelf in the northern Gulf of Mexico, from Mississippi Sound to the Florida Panhandle. Work was done onboard the Mississippi Mineral Resources Institute R/V Kit Jones as part of a project to study coastal erosion and offs

In April and July of 1981, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducted geophysical surveys to investigate the shallow geologic framework of the Alabama-Mississippi-Louisiana Shelf in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Work was conducted onboard the Texas A&M University R/V Carancahua and the R/V Gyre to develop a geologic understanding of the study area and to locate potential hazards related to offshor

Category 3 Hurricane Ivan came ashore near Gulf Shores, Alabama, on September 16, 2004. The barrier islands of the northern Gulf of Mexico near the Florida/Alabama border were exposed to the strongest winds. The communities of Gulf Shores, Pine Island and Orange Beach, AL, are, in places, very low lying with their dunes rising up only several meters. These dunes were unable to contain the 3-4 mete

These remotely sensed, geographically referenced elevation measurements of Lidar-derived first surface (FS) topography were produced as a collaborative effort between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), Florida Integrated Science Center (FISC), St. Petersburg, FL; the National Park Service (NPS), South Florida-Caribbean Network, Miami, FL; and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA

An area of oxygen-depleted bottom- and subsurface-water (hypoxia = dissolved oxygen < 2 mg/L-1) occurs seasonally on the Louisiana Shelf near the Mississippi River. The area of hypoxia, also known as the “dead zone,” forms when spring and early summer freshwater flow from the Mississippi River supplies a large amount of nutrients to the shelf while creating a freshwater lens, or cap, above the she

Understanding storm-induced coastal change and forecasting these changes require knowledge of the physical processes associated with the storm and the geomorphology of the impacted coastline. The primary physical processes of interest are the wind field, storm surge, and wave climate. Not only does wind cause direct damage to structures along the coast, but it is ultimately responsible for much of