Sediments are the foundation of coastal systems, including barrier islands. Their behavior is driven by not only sediment availability, but also sediment exchanges between barrier island environments. We collect geophysical, remote sensing, and sediment data to estimate these parameters, which are integrated with models to improve prediction of coastal response to extreme storms and sea-level rise.
Featured Publication
Undeveloped and developed phases in the centennial evolution of a barrier-marsh-lagoon system: The case of Long Beach Island, New Jersey
News
Mendenhall Postdoctoral Fellow Rose Palermo receives prestigious award from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Barrier Islands as Connected Systems
With a wealth of knowledge about how shorelines, beaches, and dunes respond to storms and the variability of inner shelf geology, the USGS Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program is poised to extend its morphologic and geologic expertise across the shoreface and back-barrier data gaps. Shoreface geology is particularly important to assess since it may record evidence of processes that we otherwise don’t have the opportunities or capabilities to observe. With these goals in mind, we measure geology and morphology in coastal environments to reconstruct past environmental histories and estimate the magnitude and rate of sediment exchanges (e.g., fluxes) over a range of time scales. Integration of these observations with models allows us to predict past and future behavior of barrier-island systems in a changing climate and provides information to help our partners mitigate coastal hazards and identify coastal restoration priorities.
Project Objectives:
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Incorporate shoreface morphology and geology into coastal-change assessments
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Conduct repeat geophysical surveys to estimate sediment fluxes with better accuracy and temporal resolution
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Understand how coastal systems respond to storms, variations in sediment supply and rate of sea-level rise over short (1-10s year) and long (100-1000 year) time scales
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Make predictions of future (long-term) coastal vulnerability and resilience rooted in robust morphologic and geologic observations
Learn more about the Coastal Sediment Availability and Flux project
Storm-Related Barrier Island Morphological Evolution
Barrier Island Sensitivity to Changes in Sediment Supply
Shoreface Morphology and Geology
Modeling Barrier Island Evolution, Shoreface Morphology, and Overwash
Coastal Sediment Availability and Flux (CSAF) Capabilities
Secrets of the Sediment on Barrier Islands
Join the USGS St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center as they uncover the secrets of the sediment on barrier islands in Pinellas County, Florida. This video was originally created for use at the 2021 virtual St. Petersburg Science Festival.
Below are news stories associated with this project.
USGS Mendenhall Postdoctoral Researcher Rose Palermo receives prestigious award from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Dr. Rose Palermo was selected to receive the George “Gera” Pavlovich Panteleyev Award from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). This award is presented to a student who best exemplifies the commitment to improving the graduate education experience and graduate student life at WHOI.
- Overview
Sediments are the foundation of coastal systems, including barrier islands. Their behavior is driven by not only sediment availability, but also sediment exchanges between barrier island environments. We collect geophysical, remote sensing, and sediment data to estimate these parameters, which are integrated with models to improve prediction of coastal response to extreme storms and sea-level rise.
Featured Publication
Undeveloped and developed phases in the centennial evolution of a barrier-marsh-lagoon system: The case of Long Beach Island, New Jersey
News
Mendenhall Postdoctoral Fellow Rose Palermo receives prestigious award from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Barrier Islands as Connected Systems
With a wealth of knowledge about how shorelines, beaches, and dunes respond to storms and the variability of inner shelf geology, the USGS Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program is poised to extend its morphologic and geologic expertise across the shoreface and back-barrier data gaps. Shoreface geology is particularly important to assess since it may record evidence of processes that we otherwise don’t have the opportunities or capabilities to observe. With these goals in mind, we measure geology and morphology in coastal environments to reconstruct past environmental histories and estimate the magnitude and rate of sediment exchanges (e.g., fluxes) over a range of time scales. Integration of these observations with models allows us to predict past and future behavior of barrier-island systems in a changing climate and provides information to help our partners mitigate coastal hazards and identify coastal restoration priorities.
Project Objectives:
-
Incorporate shoreface morphology and geology into coastal-change assessments
-
Conduct repeat geophysical surveys to estimate sediment fluxes with better accuracy and temporal resolution
-
Understand how coastal systems respond to storms, variations in sediment supply and rate of sea-level rise over short (1-10s year) and long (100-1000 year) time scales
-
Make predictions of future (long-term) coastal vulnerability and resilience rooted in robust morphologic and geologic observations
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.Sediments are the foundation of coastal systems, including barrier islands. Their behavior is driven by not only sediment availability, but also sediment exchanges between barrier island environments. We collect geophysical, remote sensing, and sediment data to estimate these parameters, which are integrated with models to improve prediction of coastal response to extreme storms and sea-level rise. Learn more about the Coastal Sediment Availability and Flux project capabilities here. -
- Science
Learn more about the Coastal Sediment Availability and Flux project
Storm-Related Barrier Island Morphological Evolution
Storms quickly and dramatically alter barrier island environments by changing adjacent seafloor morphology, eroding beaches, scarping or leveling dunes, and sometimes creating new inlets. Measuring the magnitude of barrier island sediment movement during and after storms allows us to track rates of beach recovery, dune growth, and inlet-related alterations to barrier island sediment supply.Barrier Island Sensitivity to Changes in Sediment Supply
Observations and models show that maintaining barrier islands requires a balance between sea-level rise and sediment supply. However, most estimates of sediment supply are not based on modern conditions, which could result in less accurate predictions of sediment fluxes. We explore how natural and human alterations impact modern sediment fluxes, or changes, on barrier islands – research that has...Shoreface Morphology and Geology
Exchanges of sediment between the shoreface and barrier islands allow barrier islands to adjust to changes in water level, such as those associated with storms or sea-level rise. Characterizing shoreface morphology and geology allows us to explore how past and present processes have impacted modern barrier island sediment transport and what that means for future barrier island evolution.Modeling Barrier Island Evolution, Shoreface Morphology, and Overwash
Barrier island field observations provide information about past and current environmental conditions and changes over time; however, they can’t tell us about the future. Models can predict possible future behaviors but are only as good as their input data. By integrating both observations and models, we can extend observations and arrive at more realistic predictions of barrier island behavior...Coastal Sediment Availability and Flux (CSAF) Capabilities
As part of the Coastal Sediment Availability and Flux project, we use innovative technology and integrate a variety of techniques to characterize barrier island environments, reconstruct their past history, and predict their future vulnerability. - Data
- Multimedia
Secrets of the Sediment on Barrier Islands
Join the USGS St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center as they uncover the secrets of the sediment on barrier islands in Pinellas County, Florida. This video was originally created for use at the 2021 virtual St. Petersburg Science Festival.
- Publications
- Web Tools
- Software
- News
Below are news stories associated with this project.
USGS Mendenhall Postdoctoral Researcher Rose Palermo receives prestigious award from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Dr. Rose Palermo was selected to receive the George “Gera” Pavlovich Panteleyev Award from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). This award is presented to a student who best exemplifies the commitment to improving the graduate education experience and graduate student life at WHOI.