Historical and newly acquired data were used to assess and monitor changes in the aerial and subaqueous extent of islands, habitat types, sediment properties, environmental processes, and vegetation composition.
This research is part of the Geologic and Morphologic Evolution of Coastal Margins project.
The historical conversion of Louisiana's wetlands, cheniers, and barrier islands to open water has been well-documented in numerous studies and anecdotal observations. The goal of the State of Louisiana Barrier Island Comprehensive Monitoring (BICM) program is to provide long-term data on the barrier islands of Louisiana that could be used to plan, design, evaluate, and maintain current and future barrier-island restoration projects. The USGS has partnered with the Louisiana Coastal Protection Restoration Authority (CPRA) to help achieve these goals. The BICM program used both historical and newly acquired (2006 to 2010) data to assess and monitor changes in the aerial and subaqueous extent of islands, habitat types, sediment texture and geotechnical properties, environmental processes, and vegetation composition. BICM datasets included aerial still and video photography (multiple time series) for shoreline positions, habitat mapping, and land loss; light detection and ranging (lidar) surveys for topographic elevations; single-beam and swath bathymetry; and sediment grab samples. Products produced using BICM data and analyses included (but were not limited to) storm-impact assessments, rate of shoreline and bathymetric change, shoreline-erosion and accretion maps, high-resolution elevation maps, coastal-shoreline and barrier-island habitat-classification maps, and coastal surficial-sediment characterization maps. The methods, data, and results for each of these tasks were published in six data volumes that are summarized in Kindinger and others (2013).
The BICM program study area encompasses the mainland shoreline of the southern Louisiana coast with special emphasis on the sandy beaches and barrier islands. For this study, the Louisiana coast was divided into four distinct regions based on geologic and physiographic setting: (1) the Pontchartrain Basin, (2) the Mississippi River Delta Plain, (3) the Acadiana Bays, and (4) the Chenier Plain. As the project developed, BICM further subdivided the coastline into eight regions: the Lakes Region; Chandeleur Islands; Modern, Lafourche, and Teche Deltas; Acadiana Bays; and the eastern and western Chenier Plain.
The Barrier Island Comprehensive Monitoring (BICM) program was implemented under the Louisiana Coastal Area Science and Technology (LCA S&T) office as a component of the System Wide Assessment and Monitoring (SWAMP) program (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, USACE, 2004). The BICM project was developed by the state of Louisiana (CPRA, formerly Department of Natural Resources [DNR]) to complement other Louisiana coastal monitoring programs such as the Coast wide Reference Monitoring System-Wetlands (CRMS-Wetlands) and was a collaborative research effort by CPRA, University of New Orleans (UNO), and the USGS.
Objectives
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Determine the elevation, longevity, and conservation mass of the barrier islands;
-
Determine major habitat types and the distribution and quantity of each habitat on the barrier islands over time;
-
Determine geotechnical properties of sediments on the barrier islands and surrounding waters to access compatibility of the sediment and the sediment-dispersal pattern to evaluate fill performance;
-
Relate available data on environmental forces that affect the ecology and morphology of the barrier islands to other BICM datasets;
-
Determine species composition and diversity of vegetation within major habitat types on the barrier islands.
-
Barrier-shoreline post-storm assessment (aerial videography and photography);
-
Historical shoreline changes and barrier-island land loss;
-
Bathymetry and historical seafloor change;
-
Light detection and ranging (lidar) surveys for the Louisiana coast’s sandy shorelines and barrier islands;
-
Habitat mapping and change analysis;
-
Characterization of Louisiana coastal surface-sediment samples.
Methods
The methods, data, and results for each of these tasks were published in six data volumes that are summarized in Kindinger and others (2013).
Data Synthesis
Although the objectives of BICM were delineated into six tasks, none of them stand completely alone as single entities. Instead, the tasks are interrelated, and data from one task were commonly incorporated into analyses within other tasks. For example, while the group tasked with collecting and acquiring historical and modern shorelines created their scientific products, the bathymetry group was producing similar products in many of the same areas. Identifying the shoreline location of a barrier island is a result of using the nearshore bathymetry, aerial photography, and lidar topography. These data are also used to map the geomorphology of the area. Islands consist of sandy sediments, and the nearshore sediment texture is a reflection of the source of sediments and the energy of the area. Nearshore surficial sediments were collected as a discrete task within BICM; however, maps depicting sediment properties along with bathymetry and shoreline position provide a basis for interpreting and understanding sediment transport, sediment-source location, sediment depositional sinks, and energy of the environment. Concurrently, another group was tasked with describing habitat classification, habitat change, and land-loss trends. Changes in nearshore bathymetry and barrier-island shape are driven by sediment deposition or erosion caused by nearshore currents and changes in energy, particularly by storms. As a result of these changes, some island habitats can change dramatically while other areas may remain stable over time. Time-series analysis of data collected for all tasks is imperative to monitor these dynamic environments.
The Louisiana coast is a complex system that encompasses highly variable geomorphic and geologic settings. Regional discussions found in Kindinger and others (2013) summarize the extensive data-collection efforts and present brief interpretive analyses for four coastal Louisiana geographic regions. In addition, several coastal-wide and topical themes were selected that integrate the data and analyses within a broader coastal context: (1) barrier-shoreline evolution driven by rapid relative sea-level rise (RSLR), (2) hurricane impacts to the Chandeleur Islands and likelihood of island recovery, (3) impact of tropical storms on barrier shorelines, (4) Barataria Bay tidal-inlet management, and (5) habitat changes related to RSLR. The final theme addresses potential future goals of the BICM program, including rotational annual to semi-decadal monitoring, proposed new-data collection, how to incorporate technological advances with previous data-collection and monitoring protocols, and standardizing methods and quality-control assessments for continued coastal monitoring and restoration.
This research is part of the Geologic and Morphologic Evolution of Coastal Margins project. Listed below are links to that project and related resarch tasks.
Geologic and Morphologic Evolution of Coastal Margins
Subsidence and Coastal Geomorphic Change in South-Central Louisiana
Integrating Mapping and Modeling to Support the Restoration of Bird Nesting Habitat at Breton Island National Wildlife Refuge
Science Support for the Mississippi Coastal Improvement Project
Geologic Evolution of Cat Island, Mississippi
Geologic and Morphologic Evolution of Coastal Margins
Below are publications associated with this project.
Louisiana Barrier Island Comprehensive Monitoring (BICM) Program Summary Report: Data and Analyses 2006 through 2010
Accuracy of EAARL lidar ground elevations using a bare-earth algorithm in marsh and beach grasses on the Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana
Sand Resources, Regional Geology, and Coastal Processes of the Chandeleur Islands Coastal System: an Evaluation of the Breton National Wildlife Refuge
Evolution and preservation potential of fluvial and transgressive deposits on the Louisiana inner shelf: Understanding depositional processes to support coastal management
Delta lobe degradation and hurricane impacts governing large-scale coastal behavior, South-central Louisiana, USA
Subsurface control on seafloor erosional processes offshore of the Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana
Below are partners associated with this project.
- Overview
Historical and newly acquired data were used to assess and monitor changes in the aerial and subaqueous extent of islands, habitat types, sediment properties, environmental processes, and vegetation composition.
Data-coverage map for each State of Louisiana Barrier Island Comprehensive Monitoring (BICM) task: barrier-shoreline post-storm assessment, historical shoreline changes, bathymetric and historical seafloor change, lidar surveys for the Louisiana coast, habitat mapping and change analysis, and characterization of coastal surface-sediment samples. (Public domain.) This research is part of the Geologic and Morphologic Evolution of Coastal Margins project.
The historical conversion of Louisiana's wetlands, cheniers, and barrier islands to open water has been well-documented in numerous studies and anecdotal observations. The goal of the State of Louisiana Barrier Island Comprehensive Monitoring (BICM) program is to provide long-term data on the barrier islands of Louisiana that could be used to plan, design, evaluate, and maintain current and future barrier-island restoration projects. The USGS has partnered with the Louisiana Coastal Protection Restoration Authority (CPRA) to help achieve these goals. The BICM program used both historical and newly acquired (2006 to 2010) data to assess and monitor changes in the aerial and subaqueous extent of islands, habitat types, sediment texture and geotechnical properties, environmental processes, and vegetation composition. BICM datasets included aerial still and video photography (multiple time series) for shoreline positions, habitat mapping, and land loss; light detection and ranging (lidar) surveys for topographic elevations; single-beam and swath bathymetry; and sediment grab samples. Products produced using BICM data and analyses included (but were not limited to) storm-impact assessments, rate of shoreline and bathymetric change, shoreline-erosion and accretion maps, high-resolution elevation maps, coastal-shoreline and barrier-island habitat-classification maps, and coastal surficial-sediment characterization maps. The methods, data, and results for each of these tasks were published in six data volumes that are summarized in Kindinger and others (2013).
Habitat-change map (1996 to 2005) for Timbalier Island, Lafourche Delta. This is a final product of data collected during the State of Louisiana Barrier Island Comprehensive Monitoring (BICM) program used first to classify habitats and then to determine change in habitats over time along the Louisiana coast (BICM Volume 5). Seafloor-change maps created by digitizing historical bathymetry and collecting data during the State of Louisiana Barrier Island Comprehensive Monitoring (BICM) program for the northern Chandeleur Islands from (A) the 1870s to the 1920s and from (B) the 1920s to 2006/2007. Warm colors denote erosion, and cool colors show deposition of sediment around the islands (modified from BICM Volume 5). The BICM program study area encompasses the mainland shoreline of the southern Louisiana coast with special emphasis on the sandy beaches and barrier islands. For this study, the Louisiana coast was divided into four distinct regions based on geologic and physiographic setting: (1) the Pontchartrain Basin, (2) the Mississippi River Delta Plain, (3) the Acadiana Bays, and (4) the Chenier Plain. As the project developed, BICM further subdivided the coastline into eight regions: the Lakes Region; Chandeleur Islands; Modern, Lafourche, and Teche Deltas; Acadiana Bays; and the eastern and western Chenier Plain.
The Barrier Island Comprehensive Monitoring (BICM) program was implemented under the Louisiana Coastal Area Science and Technology (LCA S&T) office as a component of the System Wide Assessment and Monitoring (SWAMP) program (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, USACE, 2004). The BICM project was developed by the state of Louisiana (CPRA, formerly Department of Natural Resources [DNR]) to complement other Louisiana coastal monitoring programs such as the Coast wide Reference Monitoring System-Wetlands (CRMS-Wetlands) and was a collaborative research effort by CPRA, University of New Orleans (UNO), and the USGS.
Oblique aerial-photo time series of a portion of the Chandeleur Islands: top photo is from July 18, 2001 (courtesy, USGS), middle photo is one day after Hurricane Katrina, and bottom photo is 22 months after Hurricane Katrina. Arrows denote same geographical location (BICM Volume 1). Objectives
-
Determine the elevation, longevity, and conservation mass of the barrier islands;
-
Determine major habitat types and the distribution and quantity of each habitat on the barrier islands over time;
-
Determine geotechnical properties of sediments on the barrier islands and surrounding waters to access compatibility of the sediment and the sediment-dispersal pattern to evaluate fill performance;
-
Relate available data on environmental forces that affect the ecology and morphology of the barrier islands to other BICM datasets;
-
Determine species composition and diversity of vegetation within major habitat types on the barrier islands.
-
Barrier-shoreline post-storm assessment (aerial videography and photography);
-
Historical shoreline changes and barrier-island land loss;
-
Bathymetry and historical seafloor change;
-
Light detection and ranging (lidar) surveys for the Louisiana coast’s sandy shorelines and barrier islands;
-
Habitat mapping and change analysis;
-
Characterization of Louisiana coastal surface-sediment samples.
Methods
The methods, data, and results for each of these tasks were published in six data volumes that are summarized in Kindinger and others (2013).
Data Synthesis
Although the objectives of BICM were delineated into six tasks, none of them stand completely alone as single entities. Instead, the tasks are interrelated, and data from one task were commonly incorporated into analyses within other tasks. For example, while the group tasked with collecting and acquiring historical and modern shorelines created their scientific products, the bathymetry group was producing similar products in many of the same areas. Identifying the shoreline location of a barrier island is a result of using the nearshore bathymetry, aerial photography, and lidar topography. These data are also used to map the geomorphology of the area. Islands consist of sandy sediments, and the nearshore sediment texture is a reflection of the source of sediments and the energy of the area. Nearshore surficial sediments were collected as a discrete task within BICM; however, maps depicting sediment properties along with bathymetry and shoreline position provide a basis for interpreting and understanding sediment transport, sediment-source location, sediment depositional sinks, and energy of the environment. Concurrently, another group was tasked with describing habitat classification, habitat change, and land-loss trends. Changes in nearshore bathymetry and barrier-island shape are driven by sediment deposition or erosion caused by nearshore currents and changes in energy, particularly by storms. As a result of these changes, some island habitats can change dramatically while other areas may remain stable over time. Time-series analysis of data collected for all tasks is imperative to monitor these dynamic environments.
Map showing locations and grain sizes of surficial-sediment samples collected for the State of Louisiana Barrier Island Comprehensive Monitoring (BICM) program along one stretch of the modern Mississippi River Delta (modified from BICM Volume 6). Habitat-change map (1996 to 2005) for Timbalier Island, Lafourche Delta. This is a final product of data collected during the State of Louisiana Barrier Island Comprehensive Monitoring (BICM) program used first to classify habitats and then to determine change in habitats over time along the Louisiana coast (BICM Volume 5). The Louisiana coast is a complex system that encompasses highly variable geomorphic and geologic settings. Regional discussions found in Kindinger and others (2013) summarize the extensive data-collection efforts and present brief interpretive analyses for four coastal Louisiana geographic regions. In addition, several coastal-wide and topical themes were selected that integrate the data and analyses within a broader coastal context: (1) barrier-shoreline evolution driven by rapid relative sea-level rise (RSLR), (2) hurricane impacts to the Chandeleur Islands and likelihood of island recovery, (3) impact of tropical storms on barrier shorelines, (4) Barataria Bay tidal-inlet management, and (5) habitat changes related to RSLR. The final theme addresses potential future goals of the BICM program, including rotational annual to semi-decadal monitoring, proposed new-data collection, how to incorporate technological advances with previous data-collection and monitoring protocols, and standardizing methods and quality-control assessments for continued coastal monitoring and restoration.
-
- Science
This research is part of the Geologic and Morphologic Evolution of Coastal Margins project. Listed below are links to that project and related resarch tasks.
Geologic and Morphologic Evolution of Coastal Margins
A combination of geophysics, sediment sampling, and chronology techniques are used to characterize the regional geomorphologic response of coastal systems to environmental changes.Subsidence and Coastal Geomorphic Change in South-Central Louisiana
New methods will investigate coastal subsidence on and around barrier islands before and after restoration.Integrating Mapping and Modeling to Support the Restoration of Bird Nesting Habitat at Breton Island National Wildlife Refuge
In response to storms, reduced sediment supply, and sea-level rise, Breton Island is rapidly deteriorating, impacting the available nesting habitat of endangered seabirds. This study provides critical information regarding the physical environment of the island system.Science Support for the Mississippi Coastal Improvement Project
Since 2007, the USGS (with NPS and USACE) has been mapping the seafloor and substrate around the Mississippi barrier islands to characterize the near-surface stratigraphy and identify the influence it has on island evolution and fate.Geologic Evolution of Cat Island, Mississippi
The geologic evolution of Cat Island has been influenced by deltaic, lagoonal/estuarine, tidal, and oceanographic processes, resulting in a complex stratigraphic record.Geologic and Morphologic Evolution of Coastal Margins
A combination of geophysics, sediment sampling, and chronology techniques are used to characterize the regional geomorphologic response of coastal systems to environmental changes. - Publications
Below are publications associated with this project.
Louisiana Barrier Island Comprehensive Monitoring (BICM) Program Summary Report: Data and Analyses 2006 through 2010
The Barrier Island Comprehensive Monitoring (BICM) program was implemented under the Louisiana Coastal Area Science and Technology (LCA S&T) office as a component of the System Wide Assessment and Monitoring (SWAMP) program. The BICM project was developed by the State of Louisiana (Coastal Protection Restoration Authority [CPRA], formerly Department of Natural Resources [DNR]) to complement otherAuthorsJack L. Kindinger, Noreen A. Buster, James G. Flocks, Julie Bernier, Mark A. KulpAccuracy of EAARL lidar ground elevations using a bare-earth algorithm in marsh and beach grasses on the Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana
The NASA Experimental Advanced Airborne Lidar (EAARL) is an airborne lidar (light detection and ranging) instrument designed to map coastal topography and bathymetry. The EAARL system has the capability to capture each laser-pulse return over a large signal range and can digitize the full waveform of the backscattered energy. Because of this ability to capture the full waveform, the EAARL system cAuthorsKara S. Doran, Asbury H. Sallenger, Billy J. Reynolds, C. Wayne WrightSand Resources, Regional Geology, and Coastal Processes of the Chandeleur Islands Coastal System: an Evaluation of the Breton National Wildlife Refuge
Breton National Wildlife Refuge, the Chandeleur Islands chain in Louisiana, provides habitat and nesting areas for wildlife and is an initial barrier protecting New Orleans from storms. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in partnership with the University of New Orleans Pontchartrain Institute for Environmental Sciences undertook an intensive study that included (1) an analysis of island change basEvolution and preservation potential of fluvial and transgressive deposits on the Louisiana inner shelf: Understanding depositional processes to support coastal management
The barrier-island systems of the Mississippi River Delta plain are currently undergoing some of the highest rates of shoreline retreat in North America (???20 m/year). Effective management of this coastal area requires an understanding of the processes involved in shoreline erosion and measures that can be enacted to reduce loss. The dominant stratigraphy of the delta plain is fluvial mud (siltsAuthorsJ. Flocks, M.D. Miner, D. C. Twichell, D. L. Lavoie, J. KindingerDelta lobe degradation and hurricane impacts governing large-scale coastal behavior, South-central Louisiana, USA
A large deficit in the coastal sediment budget, high rates of relative sea-level rise (???0.9 cm/year), and storm-induced current and wave erosion are forcing barrier shoreface retreat along the periphery of the Mississippi River delta plain. Additionally, conversion of interior wetlands to open water has increased the bay tidal prism, resulting in degradation of barrier islands due to inlet widenAuthorsM.D. Miner, M.A. Kulp, D. M. FitzGerald, J. G. Flocks, H.D. WeathersSubsurface control on seafloor erosional processes offshore of the Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana
The Chandeleur Islands lie on the eastern side of the modern Mississippi River delta plain, near the edge of the St. Bernard Delta complex. Since abandonment approximately 2,000 years b.p., this delta complex has undergone subsidence and ravinement as the shoreline has transgressed across it. High-resolution seismic-reflection, sidescan-sonar, and bathymetry data show that seafloor erosion is inflAuthorsDavid Twichell, Elizabeth A. Pendleton, Wayne E. Baldwin, James G. Flocks - Partners
Below are partners associated with this project.