Geologic and Morphologic Evolution of Coastal Margins Completed
A combination of geophysics, sediment sampling, and chronology techniques are used to characterize the regional geomorphologic response of coastal systems to environmental changes.
Geologic and Morphologic Evolution of Coastal Margins (GeoEvo) Project
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.
Integrating 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.
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.
Research tasks associated with this project are listed below.
Below are publications associated with this project.
Geophysical data from offshore of the Gulf Islands National Seashore, Cat Island to Western Horn Island, Mississippi
The shallow stratigraphy and sand resources offshore of the Mississippi Barrier Islands
Archive of Side Scan Sonar and Swath Bathymetry Data collected during USGS Cruise 10CCT02 Offshore of Petit Bois Island Including Petit Bois Pass, Gulf Islands National Seashore, Mississippi, March 2010
Hurricane impact and recovery shoreline change analysis of the Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana, USA: 1855 to 2005
Archive of digital Chirp subbottom profile data collected during USGS cruises 10CCT01, 10CCT02, and 10CCT03, Mississippi and Alabama Gulf Islands, March and April 2010
Accuracy of EAARL lidar ground elevations using a bare-earth algorithm in marsh and beach grasses on the Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana
Subsurface control on seafloor erosional processes offshore of the Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana
Evolution and preservation potential of fluvial and transgressive deposits on the Louisiana inner shelf: Understanding depositional processes to support coastal management
Sand Resources, Regional Geology, and Coastal Processes of the Chandeleur Islands Coastal System: an Evaluation of the Breton National Wildlife Refuge
Delta lobe degradation and hurricane impacts governing large-scale coastal behavior, South-central Louisiana, USA
Bathymetric survey of the nearshore from Belle Pass to Caminada Pass, Louisiana: methods and data report
Below are partners associated with this project.
- Overview
A combination of geophysics, sediment sampling, and chronology techniques are used to characterize the regional geomorphologic response of coastal systems to environmental changes.
Geologic and Morphologic Evolution of Coastal Margins (GeoEvo) Project
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.
Integrating 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.
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.
- Science
Research tasks associated with this project are listed below.
- Publications
Below are publications associated with this project.
Filter Total Items: 23Geophysical data from offshore of the Gulf Islands National Seashore, Cat Island to Western Horn Island, Mississippi
This report contains the geophysical and geospatial data that were collected along the western offshore side of the Gulf Islands of Mississippi on the research vessel Tommy Munro during two cruises in 2010. Geophysical data were collected by the U.S. Geological Survey in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, and St. Petersburg, Forida, in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Mobile District. BatAuthorsE.A. Pendleton, W. E. Baldwin, W. W. Danforth, N. T. DeWitt, A.S. Forde, D. S. Foster, K.W. Kelso, W.R. Pfeiffer, A.M. Turecek, J. G. Flocks, D. C. TwichellThe shallow stratigraphy and sand resources offshore of the Mississippi Barrier Islands
Coastal Mississippi is protected by a series of barrier islands ranging in length from 10-25 kilometers that are less than 2 kilometers wide. The majority of these islands comprise the Gulf Islands National Seashore (GUIS), an ecologically diverse shoreline that provides habitat for wildlife including migratory birds and endangered animals. The majority of GUIS is submerged, and aquatic environmenAuthorsDavid Twichell, Elizabeth A. Pendleton, Wayne Baldwin, David Foster, James Flocks, Kyle Kelso, Nancy DeWitt, William Pfeiffer, Arnell Forde, Jason Krick, John BaehrArchive of Side Scan Sonar and Swath Bathymetry Data collected during USGS Cruise 10CCT02 Offshore of Petit Bois Island Including Petit Bois Pass, Gulf Islands National Seashore, Mississippi, March 2010
In March of 2010, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducted geophysical surveys offshore of Petit Bois Island, Mississippi, and Dauphin Island, Alabama (fig. 1). These efforts were part of the USGS Gulf of Mexico Science Coordination partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to assist the Mississippi Coastal Improvements Program (MsCIP) and the Northern Gulf of Mexico (NGOM) EcosAuthorsWilliam R. Pfeiffer, James G. Flocks, Nancy T. DeWitt, Arnell S. Forde, Kyle Kelso, Phillip R. Thompson, Dana S. WieseHurricane impact and recovery shoreline change analysis of the Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana, USA: 1855 to 2005
Results from historical (1855-2005) shoreline change analysis of the Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana, demonstrate that tropical cyclone frequency dominates the long-term evolution of this barrier-island arc. The detailed results of this study were published in December 2009 as part of a special issue of Geo-Marine Letters that documents early results from the Northern Gulf of Mexico (NGOM) EcosystemAuthorsSarah M. Fearnley, Michael Miner, John BrockArchive of digital Chirp subbottom profile data collected during USGS cruises 10CCT01, 10CCT02, and 10CCT03, Mississippi and Alabama Gulf Islands, March and April 2010
This Digital Versatile Disc (DVD) publication was prepared by an agency of the United States Government. Although these data have been processed successfully on a computer system at the U.S. Geological Survey, no warranty expressed or implied is made regarding the display or utility of the data on any other system, nor shall the act of distribution imply any such warranty. The U.S. Geological SurvAuthorsArnell S. Forde, Shawn V. Dadisman, James G. Flocks, Dana S. Wiese, Nancy T. DeWitt, William R. Pfeiffer, Kyle W. Kelso, Phillip R. ThompsonAccuracy of EAARL lidar ground elevations using a bare-earth algorithm in marsh and beach grasses on the Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana
The NASA Experimental Advanced Airborne Lidar (EAARL) is an airborne lidar (light detection and ranging) instrument designed to map coastal topography and bathymetry. The EAARL system has the capability to capture each laser-pulse return over a large signal range and can digitize the full waveform of the backscattered energy. Because of this ability to capture the full waveform, the EAARL system cAuthorsKara S. Doran, Asbury H. Sallenger, Billy J. Reynolds, C. Wayne WrightSubsurface control on seafloor erosional processes offshore of the Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana
The Chandeleur Islands lie on the eastern side of the modern Mississippi River delta plain, near the edge of the St. Bernard Delta complex. Since abandonment approximately 2,000 years b.p., this delta complex has undergone subsidence and ravinement as the shoreline has transgressed across it. High-resolution seismic-reflection, sidescan-sonar, and bathymetry data show that seafloor erosion is inflAuthorsDavid Twichell, Elizabeth A. Pendleton, Wayne E. Baldwin, James G. FlocksEvolution and preservation potential of fluvial and transgressive deposits on the Louisiana inner shelf: Understanding depositional processes to support coastal management
The barrier-island systems of the Mississippi River Delta plain are currently undergoing some of the highest rates of shoreline retreat in North America (~20 m/year). Effective management of this coastal area requires an understanding of the processes involved in shoreline erosion and measures that can be enacted to reduce loss. The dominant stratigraphy of the delta plain is fluvial mud (silts anAuthorsJ. Flocks, M.D. Miner, D. C. Twichell, D. L. Lavoie, J. KindingerSand Resources, Regional Geology, and Coastal Processes of the Chandeleur Islands Coastal System: an Evaluation of the Breton National Wildlife Refuge
Breton National Wildlife Refuge, the Chandeleur Islands chain in Louisiana, provides habitat and nesting areas for wildlife and is an initial barrier protecting New Orleans from storms. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in partnership with the University of New Orleans Pontchartrain Institute for Environmental Sciences undertook an intensive study that included (1) an analysis of island change basDelta lobe degradation and hurricane impacts governing large-scale coastal behavior, South-central Louisiana, USA
A large deficit in the coastal sediment budget, high rates of relative sea-level rise (???0.9 cm/year), and storm-induced current and wave erosion are forcing barrier shoreface retreat along the periphery of the Mississippi River delta plain. Additionally, conversion of interior wetlands to open water has increased the bay tidal prism, resulting in degradation of barrier islands due to inlet widenAuthorsM.D. Miner, M.A. Kulp, D. M. FitzGerald, J. G. Flocks, H.D. WeathersBathymetric survey of the nearshore from Belle Pass to Caminada Pass, Louisiana: methods and data report
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the University of New Orleans (UNO) and the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources (LDNR), conducted a high-resolution, single-beam bathymetric survey along the Louisiana southern coastal zone from Belle Pass to Caminada Pass. The survey consisted of 483 line kilometers of data acquired in July and August of 2005. This report outlines the mAuthorsNancy T. DeWitt, James G. Flocks, Mark Hansen, Mark Kulp, B.J. Reynolds - Partners
Below are partners associated with this project.