Coastal Sediment Availability and Flux (CSAF) Active
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.
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
Learn more about the Coastal Sediment Availability and Flux project
Below are data associated with this project.
Archive of Chirp Subbottom Profile Data Collected in June 2018 From Fire Island, New York
Coastal Bathymetry Data Collected in June 2018 from Fire Island, New York: Wilderness Breach and Shoreface
Coastal Bathymetry Data Collected in 2016 from the Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana
Archive of Chirp Subbottom Profile Data Collected in 2017 From the Northern Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana
Archive of Chirp Subbottom Profile Data Collected in 2016 From the Northern Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana
Archive of Ground Penetrating Radar and Differential Global Positioning System Data Collected in April 2016 from Fire Island, New York
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 publications associated with this project.
Implications for the resilience of modern coastal systems derived from mesoscale barrier dynamics at Fire Island, New York
Evolution of mid-Atlantic coastal and back-barrier estuary environments in response to a hurricane: Implications for barrier-estuary connectivity
Integrating geophysical and oceanographic data to assess interannual variability in longshore sediment transport
This geonarrative features research used to predict how Fire Island beaches change in response to storms and how they may subsequently recover in the year following a storm event.
Python-based Subaerial Barrier Sediment Partitioning (pySBSP) model (ver. 1.0, February 2024)
Below are news stories associated with this project.
USGS Scientists from across the Nation Publish Circular Summarizing USGS Participation in Unlearning Racism in Geoscience (URGE) and Present Recommendations for Improving Diversity in the USGS Workforce
A recently published USGS Circular summarizes the work of more than 100 scientists from six groups across USGS, the largest participation in URGE of any federal science agency, representing a grassroots plan for making the USGS workforce more diverse and inclusive.
- 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.
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
- Science
Learn more about the Coastal Sediment Availability and Flux project
- Data
Below are data associated with this project.
Filter Total Items: 18Archive of Chirp Subbottom Profile Data Collected in June 2018 From Fire Island, New York
Researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducted a long-term, coastal morphologic-change study at Fire Island, New York, prior to and after Hurricane Sandy impacted the area in October 2012. The Fire Island Coastal System Change project objectives include understanding the morphologic evolution of the barrier island system on a variety of time scales (months to centuries) and resolvingCoastal Bathymetry Data Collected in June 2018 from Fire Island, New York: Wilderness Breach and Shoreface
Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center in St. Petersburg, Florida, conducted a bathymetric survey of Fire Island, New York, from June 2 to 17, 2018. The U.S. Geological Survey is involved in a post-Hurricane Sandy effort to map and monitor the morphologic evolution of the wilderness breach and the adjacent shoreface environment. During this studCoastal Bathymetry Data Collected in 2016 from the Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana
The U.S. Geological Survey St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center (USGS SPCMSC), collected single-beam and swath bathymetry data at the Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana in June of 2016. This USGS data release includes the resulting processed elevation point data (xyz) and an interpolated digital elevation model (DEM). For further information regarding data collection and/or processing pleasArchive of Chirp Subbottom Profile Data Collected in 2017 From the Northern 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 a nearshore geophysical survey around the northern Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana, in August of 2017. The objective of the project is to improve the understanding of barrier island geomorphic evolution, particularly storm-related depoArchive of Chirp Subbottom Profile Data Collected in 2016 From the Northern 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 a nearshore geophysical survey around the northern Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana, in June of 2016. The objective of the project is to improve the understanding of barrier island geomorphic evolution, particularly storm-related deposiArchive of Ground Penetrating Radar and Differential Global Positioning System Data Collected in April 2016 from Fire Island, New York
Researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducted a long-term, coastal morphologic-change study at Fire Island, New York, prior to and after Hurricane Sandy impacted the area in October 2012. The Fire Island Coastal Change project objectives include understanding the morphologic evolution of the barrier island system on a variety of time scales (months to centuries) and resolving storm- - 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
Below are publications associated with this project.
Implications for the resilience of modern coastal systems derived from mesoscale barrier dynamics at Fire Island, New York
Understanding the response of coastal barriers to future changes in rates of sea level rise, sediment availability, and storm intensity/frequency is essential for coastal planning, including socioeconomic and ecological management. Identifying drivers of past changes in barrier morphology, as well as barrier sensitivity to these forces, is necessary to accomplish this. Using remote sensing, field,AuthorsDaniel J. Ciarletta, Jennifer L. Miselis, Julie Bernier, Arnell S. FordeFilter Total Items: 14Evolution of mid-Atlantic coastal and back-barrier estuary environments in response to a hurricane: Implications for barrier-estuary connectivity
Assessments of coupled barrier island-estuary storm response are rare. Hurricane Sandy made landfall during an investigation in Barnegat Bay-Little Egg Harbor estuary that included water quality monitoring, geomorphologic characterization, and numerical modeling; this provided an opportunity to characterize the storm response of the barrier island-estuary system. Barrier island morphologic responsAuthorsJennifer L. Miselis, Brian D. Andrews, Robert S. Nicholson, Zafer Defne, Neil K. Ganju, Anthony S. NavoyIntegrating geophysical and oceanographic data to assess interannual variability in longshore sediment transport
Despite their utility for prediction of coastal behavior and for coastal management, littoral sediment budgets are difficult to quantify over large regions of coastline and over short time scales. In this study, bathymetric change analysis shows differences in the magnitude and spatial location of erosion and accretion over three years; more net accumulation occurred at the littoral end point of tAuthorsJennifer L. Miselis, Joseph W. Long, P. Soupy Dalyander, James G. Flocks, Noreen A. Buster, Rangley C. Mickey - Web Tools
This geonarrative features research used to predict how Fire Island beaches change in response to storms and how they may subsequently recover in the year following a storm event.
- Software
Python-based Subaerial Barrier Sediment Partitioning (pySBSP) model (ver. 1.0, February 2024)
The Python-based Subaerial Barrier Sediment Partitioning (pySBSP) model is a framework to simulate the morphological development of an idealized barrier coast in the cross-shore domain. It is based off the original framework of the same name, which is coded in in MATLAB. pySBSP consists of two scripts; one includes a basic graphical user interface (GUI) to simplify parameter input, while the other - News
Below are news stories associated with this project.
USGS Scientists from across the Nation Publish Circular Summarizing USGS Participation in Unlearning Racism in Geoscience (URGE) and Present Recommendations for Improving Diversity in the USGS Workforce
A recently published USGS Circular summarizes the work of more than 100 scientists from six groups across USGS, the largest participation in URGE of any federal science agency, representing a grassroots plan for making the USGS workforce more diverse and inclusive.
Filter Total Items: 17