The Barrier Island Evolution Project addresses a research gap between the short time scale of individual storms (hours to days) and the longer time scales associated with the historic and geologic evolution of the coastal system (decades to millennia).
The Barrier Island Evolution Project addresses a research gap between the short time scale of individual storms (hours to days) and the longer time scales associated with the historic and geologic evolution of the coastal system (decades to millennia). The project integrates two of the Coastal and Marine Geology Program's strengths in studying coastal-change hazards—assessment of storm impacts and characterization of coastal geologic framework. Combining these strengths with modeling of morphology will make possible predictions of barrier-island behavior over time scales useful to resource managers (1–5 years).
Geomorphic Analysis and Data Collection
Medium-term coastal evolution involves the interaction of submerged and subaerial geomorphology, oceanography, sediment supply and other geologic constraints, and biological interactions associated with marshes and dune grasses. The resulting sediment budgets determine the balance of topographic and bathymetric elevations and dictate how barrier island trajectories will proceed in the future.
Numerical Modeling and Oceanography
Numerical models compliment the collection of geophysical data by hindcasting and forecasting sediment transport pathways, natural island trajectories, and berm/island interactions over larger and higher resolution domains and time periods.
Geologic Analysis
Quantifying changes in morphology and sediment distribution over short time scales will demonstrate how geologic variability influences medium-term barrier island response and near-term barrier island trajectories and help to refine sedimentological boundary conditions for morphologic evolution models.
Applied Research
Assessments will include depiction of trends (the past points to the future), updated observations (topography/bathymetry), and predicted sensitivity of barrier island evolution to possible climatologies and restoration plans.
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Barrier Island Evolution - Applied Research
Barrier Island Evolution - Geologic Analysis
Barrier Island Evolution - Geomorphic Analysis and Data Collection
Barrier Island Evolution - Numerical Modeling and Oceanography
Below are data or web applications associated with this project.
Point cloud from low-altitude aerial imagery from unmanned aerial system (UAS) flights over Coast Guard Beach, Nauset Spit, Nauset Inlet, and Nauset Marsh, Cape Cod National Seashore, Eastham, Massachusetts on 1 March 2016 (LAZ file)
Below are publications associated with this project.
Analysis of seafloor change around Dauphin Island, Alabama, 1987–2015
Examples of storm impacts on barrier islands
Sediment lithology and radiochemistry from the back-barrier environments along the northern Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana—March 2012
Correction of elevation offsets in multiple co-located lidar datasets
Coastal single-beam bathymetry data collected in 2015 from the Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana
A methodology for modeling barrier island storm-impact scenarios
Coastal bathymetry data collected in 2013 from the Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana
Use of structured decision-making to explicitly incorporate environmental process understanding in management of coastal restoration projects: Case study on barrier islands of the northern Gulf of Mexico
Application of ground penetrating radar for identification of washover deposits and other stratigraphic features: Assateague Island, MD
Probabilistic assessment of erosion and flooding risk in the northern Gulf of Mexico
Ground-penetrating radar and differential global positioning system data collected from Long Beach Island, New Jersey, April 2015
Analysis of seafloor change at Breton Island, Gosier Shoals, and surrounding waters, 1869–2014, Breton National Wildlife Refuge, Louisiana
- Overview
The Barrier Island Evolution Project addresses a research gap between the short time scale of individual storms (hours to days) and the longer time scales associated with the historic and geologic evolution of the coastal system (decades to millennia).
Overview of processes and timescales addressed by the Barrier Island Evolution Project. (Public domain.) The Barrier Island Evolution Project addresses a research gap between the short time scale of individual storms (hours to days) and the longer time scales associated with the historic and geologic evolution of the coastal system (decades to millennia). The project integrates two of the Coastal and Marine Geology Program's strengths in studying coastal-change hazards—assessment of storm impacts and characterization of coastal geologic framework. Combining these strengths with modeling of morphology will make possible predictions of barrier-island behavior over time scales useful to resource managers (1–5 years).
Geomorphic Analysis and Data Collection
Medium-term coastal evolution involves the interaction of submerged and subaerial geomorphology, oceanography, sediment supply and other geologic constraints, and biological interactions associated with marshes and dune grasses. The resulting sediment budgets determine the balance of topographic and bathymetric elevations and dictate how barrier island trajectories will proceed in the future.
Numerical Modeling and Oceanography
Numerical models compliment the collection of geophysical data by hindcasting and forecasting sediment transport pathways, natural island trajectories, and berm/island interactions over larger and higher resolution domains and time periods.
Geologic Analysis
Quantifying changes in morphology and sediment distribution over short time scales will demonstrate how geologic variability influences medium-term barrier island response and near-term barrier island trajectories and help to refine sedimentological boundary conditions for morphologic evolution models.
Applied Research
Assessments will include depiction of trends (the past points to the future), updated observations (topography/bathymetry), and predicted sensitivity of barrier island evolution to possible climatologies and restoration plans.
- Science
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Barrier Island Evolution - Applied Research
Assessments include depiction of trends (the past points to the future), updated observations (topography/bathymetry), and predicted sensitivity of barrier island evolution to possible climatologies and restoration plans.Barrier Island Evolution - Geologic Analysis
Quantifying changes in morphology and sediment distribution over short time scales will demonstrate how geologic variability influences medium-term barrier island response and near-term barrier island trajectories and help to refine sedimentological boundary conditions for morphologic evolution models.Barrier Island Evolution - Geomorphic Analysis and Data Collection
Medium-term coastal evolution involves the interaction of submerged and subaerial geomorphology, oceanography, sediment supply and other geologic constraints, and biological interactions associated with marshes and dune grasses which may capture or release sediments. The resulting sediment budgets determine the balance of topographic and bathymetric elevations and dictate how barrier island...Barrier Island Evolution - Numerical Modeling and Oceanography
Numerical models compliment the collection of geophysical data by hindcasting and forecasting sediment transport pathways, natural island trajectories, and berm/island interactions over larger and higher resolution domains and time periods. - Data
Below are data or web applications associated with this project.
Point cloud from low-altitude aerial imagery from unmanned aerial system (UAS) flights over Coast Guard Beach, Nauset Spit, Nauset Inlet, and Nauset Marsh, Cape Cod National Seashore, Eastham, Massachusetts on 1 March 2016 (LAZ file)
This point cloud was derived from low-altitude aerial images collected from an unmanned aerial system (UAS) flown in the Cape Cod National Seashore on 1 March, 2016. The objective of the project was to evaluate the quality and cost of mapping from UAS images. The point cloud contains 434,098,030 unclassifed and unedited geolocated points. The points have horizontal coordinates in NAD83(2011) UTM Z - Publications
Below are publications associated with this project.
Filter Total Items: 59Analysis of seafloor change around Dauphin Island, Alabama, 1987–2015
Dauphin Island is a 26-km-long barrier island located southwest of Mobile Bay, Alabama, in the north-central Gulf of Mexico. The island contains sandy beaches, dunes, maritime forests, freshwater ponds and intertidal wetlands, providing habitat for many endangered and threatened species. Dauphin Island also provides protection for and maintains estuarine conditions within Mississippi Sound, supporAuthorsJames G. Flocks, Nancy T. DeWitt, Chelsea A. StalkExamples of storm impacts on barrier islands
This chapter focuses on the morphologic variability of barrier islands and on the differences in storm response. It describes different types of barrier island response to individual storms, as well as the integrated response of barrier islands to many storms. The chapter considers case study on the Chandeleur Island chain, where a decadal time series of island elevation measurements have documentAuthorsNathaniel G. Plant, Kara S. Doran, Hilary F. StockdonSediment lithology and radiochemistry from the back-barrier environments along the northern Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana—March 2012
Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center collected a set of 8 sediment cores from the back-barrier environments along the northern Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana, in March 2012. The sampling efforts were part of a larger USGS study to evaluate effects on the geomorphology of the Chandeleur Islands following the construction of an artificialAuthorsMarci E. Marot, Christopher G. Smith, C. Scott Adams, Kathryn A. RichwineCorrection of elevation offsets in multiple co-located lidar datasets
IntroductionTopographic elevation data collected with airborne light detection and ranging (lidar) can be used to analyze short- and long-term changes to beach and dune systems. Analysis of multiple lidar datasets at Dauphin Island, Alabama, revealed systematic, island-wide elevation differences on the order of 10s of centimeters (cm) that were not attributable to real-world change and, therefore,AuthorsDavid M. Thompson, P. Soupy Dalyander, Joseph W. Long, Nathaniel G. PlantCoastal single-beam bathymetry data collected in 2015 from the Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana
As part of the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) Barrier Island Comprehensive Monitoring Program, scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center conducted a single-beam bathymetry survey around the Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana, in June 2015. The goal of the program is to provide long-term data on Louisiana’s barrier iAuthorsChelsea A. Stalk, Nancy T. DeWitt, Julie Bernier, Jack G. Kindinger, James G. Flocks, Jennifer L. Miselis, Stanley D. Locker, Kyle W. Kelso, Thomas M. TutenA methodology for modeling barrier island storm-impact scenarios
A methodology for developing a representative set of storm scenarios based on historical wave buoy and tide gauge data for a region at the Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana, was developed by the U.S. Geological Survey. The total water level was calculated for a 10-year period and analyzed against existing topographic data to identify when storm-induced wave action would affect island morphology. TheseAuthorsRangley C. Mickey, Joseph W. Long, Nathaniel G. Plant, David M. Thompson, P. Soupy DalyanderCoastal bathymetry data collected in 2013 from the Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana
As part of the Barrier Island Evolution Research Project, scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center conducted nearshore geophysical surveys around the northern Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana, in July and August of 2013. The objective of the study is to better understand barrier-island geomorphic evolution, particularly storm-related depositioAuthorsNancy T. DeWitt, Jennifer L. Miselis, Jake J. Fredericks, Julie Bernier, Billy J. Reynolds, Kyle W. Kelso, David M. Thompson, James G. Flocks, Dana S. WieseUse of structured decision-making to explicitly incorporate environmental process understanding in management of coastal restoration projects: Case study on barrier islands of the northern Gulf of Mexico
Coastal ecosystem management typically relies on subjective interpretation of scientific understanding, with limited methods for explicitly incorporating process knowledge into decisions that must meet multiple, potentially competing stakeholder objectives. Conversely, the scientific community lacks methods for identifying which advancements in system understanding would have the highest value toAuthorsP. Soupy Dalyander, Michelle B. Meyers, Brady Mattsson, Gregory Steyer, Elizabeth Godsey, Justin McDonald, Mark R. Byrnes, Mark FordApplication of ground penetrating radar for identification of washover deposits and other stratigraphic features: Assateague Island, MD
A combination of ground penetrating radar (GPR) data, core data, and aerial photographs were analyzed to better understand the evolution of two portions of Assateague Island, Maryland. The focus of the study was to investigate the applicability of using GPR data to image washover deposits in the stratigraphic record. High amplitude reflections observed in two shore-perpendicular GPR profiles wereAuthorsNicholas Zaremba, Christopher G. Smith, Julie Bernier, Arnell S. FordeProbabilistic assessment of erosion and flooding risk in the northern Gulf of Mexico
We assess erosion and flooding risk in the northern Gulf of Mexico by identifying interdependencies among oceanographic drivers and probabilistically modeling the resulting potential for coastal change. Wave and water level observations are used to determine relationships between six hydrodynamic parameters that influence total water level and therefore erosion and flooding, through considerationAuthorsNathaniel G. Plant, Thomas Wahl, Joseph W. LongGround-penetrating radar and differential global positioning system data collected from Long Beach Island, New Jersey, April 2015
Scientists from the United States Geological Survey, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, and students from the University of Hawaii at Manoa collected sediment cores, sediment surface grab samples, ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) data from within the Edwin B. Forsythe NaAuthorsNicholas J. Zaremba, Kathryn E.L. Smith, James M. Bishop, Christopher G. SmithAnalysis of seafloor change at Breton Island, Gosier Shoals, and surrounding waters, 1869–2014, Breton National Wildlife Refuge, Louisiana
Characterizing bathymetric change in coastal environments is an important component in understanding shoreline evolution, especially along barrier island platforms. Bathymetric change is a function of the regional sediment budget, long-term wave and current patterns, and episodic impact from high-energy events such as storms. Human modifications may also cause changes in seafloor elevation. This sAuthorsJames G. Flocks, Joseph F. Terrano