Oceanfront research at Fire Island, New York, is primarily focused on understanding the long- and short-term behavior of the ocean-facing terrestrial barrier island system, including human influences. The USGS has had ongoing research activities on Fire Island since the late 1990s, providing science to help inform management decisions. Recent efforts include monitoring the response to and recovery from Hurricane Sandy, including the opening and evolution of Wilderness Breach.
Hurricane Sandy
Hurricane Sandy was a unique storm for Fire Island because the metrics we typically use to measure storm impacts didn’t capture the magnitude of the event. USGS developed new metrics and models to quantify storm impacts and subsequent recovery.
Beach Elevation Profiles
Elevation profiles were surveyed one day prior to Hurricane Sandy, immediately after, and resurveyed through 2017.
Research
Research on the various componenets of the Fire Island system is being conducted at multiple USGS Centers and across projects.
For more than 15 years, the USGS has actively studied natural and human changes to the shoreline, beaches, and dunes at Fire Island. This research program has refined our understanding of the long (decades to centuries)- and short-term (storm events, seasons, years) geomorphological changes on the barrier island that influence natural, cultural, and recreational resources within Fire Island National Seashore, state and county parks, and communities along the island. Furthermore, these efforts have guided impact and recovery assessments that were undertaken in response to Hurricane Sandy in 2012. In addition to helping us understand how the island has evolved in the recent past, these observations serve as critical input to numerical and statistical models that predict future island behavior and guide coastal management and decision-making.
Long-Term Change
Long-term coastal change can occur over historical (10s to 100 years) and geological time scales (100s-1000s years). At Fire Island, the historical record of the position of the island goes back to the 1800s. Changes since then are quantified using historical maps, aerial photos, and modern coastal mapping techniques.
Storm Impacts
Storms are important drivers of coastal change; although they create hazards for coastal communities and infrastructure, they are also critical for moving sand landward from the oceanside of a barrier island to increase island elevation or width and build resiliency.
Beach Recovery
Since Hurricane Sandy, we have developed techniques to monitor short-term changes to the upper beach where both storm impacts and subsequent beach recovery are easily observed and measured.
Breach Evolution
Following the opening of a breach in the Otis Pike Fire Island High Dune Wilderness during Hurricane Sandy, we have actively monitored the breach through repeat bathymetric and topographic surveys. These surveys are being used to develop a numerical model and evaluate processes driving the morphological change of the breach.
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Coastal System Change at Fire Island, New York
Back-barrier and Estuarine - Coastal System Change at Fire Island, New York
Oceanside Beaches and Dunes - Coastal System Change at Fire Island, New York
Open Ocean/Marine - Coastal System Change at Fire Island, New York
Nearshore - Coastal System Change at Fire Island, New York
- Overview
Oceanfront research at Fire Island, New York, is primarily focused on understanding the long- and short-term behavior of the ocean-facing terrestrial barrier island system, including human influences. The USGS has had ongoing research activities on Fire Island since the late 1990s, providing science to help inform management decisions. Recent efforts include monitoring the response to and recovery from Hurricane Sandy, including the opening and evolution of Wilderness Breach.
Hurricane Sandy
Hurricane Sandy was a unique storm for Fire Island because the metrics we typically use to measure storm impacts didn’t capture the magnitude of the event. USGS developed new metrics and models to quantify storm impacts and subsequent recovery.
Beach Elevation Profiles
Elevation profiles were surveyed one day prior to Hurricane Sandy, immediately after, and resurveyed through 2017.
ResearchResearch on the various componenets of the Fire Island system is being conducted at multiple USGS Centers and across projects.
For more than 15 years, the USGS has actively studied natural and human changes to the shoreline, beaches, and dunes at Fire Island. This research program has refined our understanding of the long (decades to centuries)- and short-term (storm events, seasons, years) geomorphological changes on the barrier island that influence natural, cultural, and recreational resources within Fire Island National Seashore, state and county parks, and communities along the island. Furthermore, these efforts have guided impact and recovery assessments that were undertaken in response to Hurricane Sandy in 2012. In addition to helping us understand how the island has evolved in the recent past, these observations serve as critical input to numerical and statistical models that predict future island behavior and guide coastal management and decision-making.
Long-Term Change
Long-term coastal change can occur over historical (10s to 100 years) and geological time scales (100s-1000s years). At Fire Island, the historical record of the position of the island goes back to the 1800s. Changes since then are quantified using historical maps, aerial photos, and modern coastal mapping techniques.
Storm Impacts
Storms are important drivers of coastal change; although they create hazards for coastal communities and infrastructure, they are also critical for moving sand landward from the oceanside of a barrier island to increase island elevation or width and build resiliency.
Beach Recovery
Since Hurricane Sandy, we have developed techniques to monitor short-term changes to the upper beach where both storm impacts and subsequent beach recovery are easily observed and measured.
Breach Evolution
Following the opening of a breach in the Otis Pike Fire Island High Dune Wilderness during Hurricane Sandy, we have actively monitored the breach through repeat bathymetric and topographic surveys. These surveys are being used to develop a numerical model and evaluate processes driving the morphological change of the breach.
- Science
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Coastal System Change at Fire Island, New York
Fire Island is a 50-km long barrier island along the south shore of Long Island, New York. The island is comprised of seventeen year-round communities; federal, state, and county parks; and supports distinct ecosystems alongside areas of economic and cultural value. In addition to providing resources to its residents, the barrier island also protects the heavily-populated mainland from storm waves...Back-barrier and Estuarine - Coastal System Change at Fire Island, New York
Regional-scale modeling forecasts how atmospheric forcing and oceanographic circulation influence estuarine circulation and water levels, sediment transport, and wetland change.Oceanside Beaches and Dunes - Coastal System Change at Fire Island, New York
Oceanfront research at Fire Island, New York, is primarily focused on understanding the long- and short-term behavior of the ocean-facing terrestrial barrier island system, including human influences. The USGS has had ongoing research activities on Fire Island since the late 1990s, providing science to help inform management decisions. Recent efforts include monitoring the response to and recovery...Open Ocean/Marine - Coastal System Change at Fire Island, New York
Geophysical mapping and research have demonstrated that the seabed on the inner continental shelf has a variety of shapes which are linked to long-term evolution of the barrier island. Regional-scale modeling forecasts how atmospheric forcing and oceanographic circulation case sand, gravel, and other materials to be transported by tides, winds, waves, fresh water fluxes, and density variations.Nearshore - Coastal System Change at Fire Island, New York
The nearshore is the submerged portion of the shoreface between the inner shelf and the shoreline and includes the surf zone, where waves break. Along with beaches and dunes, nearshore morphology and geology adjusts to changes in waves, sediment supply, human alterations, and sea level rise. By measuring nearshore morphologic and geologic variations, we can understand how quickly beaches and dunes... - Publications