Geologic and Morphologic Evolution of Coastal Margins
Science Center Objects
A combination of geophysics, sediment sampling, and chronology techniques are used to characterize the regional geomorphologic response of coastal systems to environmental changes.
A perspective model of the morphology and geologic framework near Petit Bois Island showing the relationships between seafloor features and the subsurface. The barrier islands rest on the island plaftorm. Petis Bois Pass and offshore shoals are clearly visible from the acoustic surveys. The bathymetry, sidescan sonar, and sediment cores provide information about the extent and texture of the seafloor features. In the subsurface, positions of various features, such as buried channels, can be seen relative to the seafloor morphology. (Public domain.)
The Geologic and Morphologic Evolution of Coastal Margins (GeoEvo) project seeks to understand the historic (years to decades) and geologic (decades to millennia) evolution of coastal systems. Investigations utilize a combination of geophysics, sediment sampling, and chronology techniques to characterize the regional geomorphologic response of coastal systems to environmental changes. Understanding how and why coasts have changed in the past can provide insight into modern coastal behavior, future coastal evolution, the extent and quality of sediment resources, and spatial variability in the resilience of coastal ecosystems, all of which inform coastal resource management.
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.
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.
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.
Barrier Island Comprehensive Monitoring
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.
Subsidence and Coastal Geomorphic Change in South-Central Louisiana
New methods will investigate coastal subsidence on and around barrier islands before and after restoration.
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Date published: January 12, 2018Subsidence and Coastal Geomorphic Change in South-Central Louisiana
New methods will investigate coastal subsidence on and around barrier islands before and after restoration. Research is part of the Geologic and Morphologic Evolution of Coastal Margins project.
Contacts: James Flocks, Julie BernierAttribution: St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center -
Date published: January 12, 2018Barrier Island Comprehensive Monitoring
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. Research is part of the Geologic and Morphologic Evolution of Coastal Margins...
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Date published: January 10, 2018Status: ActiveIntegrating 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. Research is part of the ...
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Date published: January 10, 2018Status: ActiveScience 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. Research is part of the Geologic and Morphologic...
Contacts: James Flocks -
Date published: January 10, 2018Status: ActiveGeologic 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.
Analysis of shoreline and geomorphic change for Breton Island, Louisiana, from 1869 to 2014
Many barrier islands in the United States are eroding and losing elevation substantively because of storm surge, waves, and sea-level changes. This is particularly true for the deltaic barrier system in Louisiana. Breton Island is near the mouth of the Mississippi River at the southern end of the Chandeleur barrier island chain in southeast...
Terrano, Joseph F.; Flocks, James G.; Smith, Kathryn E. L.
Effects of proposed sediment borrow pits on nearshore wave climate and longshore sediment transport rate along Breton Island, Louisiana
As part of a plan to preserve bird habitat on Breton Island, the southernmost extent of the Chandeleur Islands and part of the Breton National Wildlife Refuge in Louisiana, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plans to increase island elevation with sand supplied from offshore resources. Proposed sand extraction sites include areas offshore...
Dalyander, Patricia (Soupy); Mickey, Rangley C.; Long, Joseph W.; Flocks, James G.
Near-surface stratigraphy and morphology, Mississippi Inner Shelf, northern Gulf of Mexico
Over the past decade, the Mississippi Barrier Islands have been the focus of a comprehensive geologic investigation by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in collaboration with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the National Park Service (NPS). The islands (Dauphin, Petite Bois, Horn, East Ship, West Ship, and Cat) are part of the Gulf...
Flocks, James G.; Kindinger, Jack; Kelso, Kyle W.; Bernier, Julie C.; DeWitt, Nancy T.; FitzHarris, Michael
Geologic control on the evolution of the inner shelf morphology offshore of the Mississippi barrier islands, northern Gulf of Mexico, USA
Between 2008 and 2013, high-resolution geophysical surveys were conducted around the Mississippi barrier islands and offshore. The sonar surveys included swath and single-beam bathymetry, sidescan, and chirp subbottom data collection. The geophysical data were groundtruthed using vibracore sediment collection. The results provide insight into the...
Flocks, James G.; Kindinger, Jack G.; Kelso, Kyle W.
Archive of sediment data from vibracores collected in 2010 offshore of the Mississippi barrier islands
In 2010, scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center collected sediment cores from coastal waters offshore of the Mississippi barrier islands. With funding support from the Northern Gulf of Mexico (NGOM) Ecosystem Change and Hazard Susceptibility project, 65 subaqueous sediment cores were collected...
Kelso, Kyle W.; Flocks, James G. Refining the link between the Holocene development of the Mississippi River Delta and the geologic evolution of Cat Island, MS: implications for delta-associated barrier islands
The geologic evolution of barrier islands is profoundly influenced by the nature of the deposits underlying them. Many researchers have speculated on the origin and evolution of Cat Island in Mississippi, but uncertainty remains about whether or not the island is underlain completely or in part by deposits associated with the past growth of the...
Miselis, Jennifer L.; Buster, Noreen A.; Kindinger, Jack G.
The shallow stratigraphy and sand resources offshore from Cat Island, Mississippi
In collaboration with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center collected over 487 line kilometers (> 300 miles) of high-resolution geophysical data around Cat Island, Mississippi, to improve understanding of the island's geologic evolution and identify...
Kindinger, Jack G.; Miselis, Jennifer L.; Buster, Noreen A.
Sediment data collected in 2010 from Cat Island, Mississippi
Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, in collaboration with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, conducted geophysical and sedimentological surveys in 2010 around Cat Island, Mississippi, which is the westernmost island in the Mississippi-Alabama barrier island chain. The objective of the study...
Buster, Noreen A.; Kelso, Kyle W.; Miselis, Jennifer L.; Kindinger, Jack G.
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...
Kindinger, Jack G.; Buster, Noreen A.; Flocks, James G.; Bernier, Julie C.; Kulp, Mark A.
Bathymetry and acoustic backscatter data collected in 2010 from Cat Island, Mississippi
Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center (SPCMSC), in collaboration with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), conducted geophysical and sedimentological surveys around Cat Island, the westernmost island in the Mississippi-Alabama barrier island chain (fig. 1). The objectives of the...
Buster, Noreen A.; Pfeiffer, William R.; Miselis, Jennifer L.; Kindinger, Jack G.; Wiese, Dana S.; Reynolds, B.J.
Archive of digital chirp subbottom profile data collected during USGS cruise 10BIM04 offshore Cat Island, Mississippi, September 2010
In September of 2010, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), conducted a geophysical survey to investigate the geologic controls on barrier island framework of Cat Island, Miss., as part of a broader USGS study on Barrier Island Mapping (BIM). These surveys were funded through the...
Forde, Arnell S.; Dadisman, Shawn V.; Kindinger, Jack G.; Miselis, Jennifer L.; Wiese, Dana S.; Buster, Noreen A.
Archive of single beam and swath bathymetry data collected nearshore of the Gulf Islands National Seashore, Mississippi, from West Ship Island, Mississippi, to Dauphin Island, Alabama: Methods and data report for USGS Cruises 08CCT01 and 08CCT02, July 2008, and 09CCT03 and 09CCT04, June 2009
During the summers of 2008 and 2009 the USGS conducted bathymetric surveys from West Ship Island, Miss., to Dauphin Island, Ala., as part of the Northern Gulf of Mexico (NGOM) Ecosystem Change and Hazard Susceptibility project. The survey area extended from the shoreline out to approximately 2 kilometers and included the adjacent passes (fig. 1...
DeWitt, Nancy T.; Flocks, James G.; Pendleton, Elizabeth A.; Hansen, Mark E.; Reynolds, B.J.; Kelso, Kyle W.; Wiese, Dana S.; Worley, Charles R.