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Cold season freeze–thaw processes, groundwater flow, and carbon dynamics remain major uncertainties in coastal wetland science, yet they are increasingly important as climate change drives shifting temperatures and influences carbon outwelling at regional and global scales.

Coastal wetlands that have been damaged or destroyed can lose their ability to capture carbon dioxide and make the large quantities of carbon stored vulnerable to release into the atmosphere—contributing to climate change.

Interns in the field

Coastal wetlands that have been damaged or destroyed can lose their ability to capture carbon dioxide and make the large quantities of carbon stored vulnerable to release into the atmosphere—contributing to climate change.

Coastal wetlands that have been damaged or destroyed can lose their ability to capture carbon dioxide and make the large quantities of carbon stored vulnerable to release into the atmosphere—contributing to climate change.

Coastal wetlands that have been damaged or destroyed can lose their ability to capture carbon dioxide and make the large quantities of carbon stored vulnerable to release into the atmosphere—contributing to climate change.

Coastal wetlands that have been damaged or destroyed can lose their ability to capture carbon dioxide and make the large quantities of carbon stored vulnerable to release into the atmosphere—contributing to climate change.

Estuaries are dynamic environments where complex interactions take place between the atmosphere, ocean, watershed, ecosystems, and human infrastructure. They serve as valuable ecological habitat and provide numerous benefits to our society.

Barrier island outwash event explained

Coastal wetlands that have been damaged or destroyed can lose their ability to capture carbon dioxide and make the large quantities of carbon stored vulnerable to release into the atmosphere—contributing to climate change.

The Core Laboratories Project is a key service for our center, providing vital support to a variety of projects studying everything from coastal wetlands to deep sea sediment and minerals. The project team delivers high-quality data through advanced analytical techniques and maintains laboratory equipment.

An intern working in the lab!

Interns working in a coastal wetland.

The Core Laboratories Project is a key service for our center, providing vital support to a variety of projects studying everything from coastal wetlands to deep sea sediment and minerals. The project team delivers high-quality data through advanced analytical techniques and maintains laboratory equipment.

Interns learning in the lab

The Core Laboratories Project is a key service for our center, providing vital support to a variety of projects studying everything from coastal wetlands to deep sea sediment and minerals. The project team delivers high-quality data through advanced analytical techniques and maintains laboratory equipment.

To safeguard our Nation’s coastal communities and assets, land-use planners and coastal managers rely on decision-support products to predict hazard impacts and subsequent coastal change. The question is, how confident can they be in those predictions? 

The USGS collected remote sensing data at Marconi Beach on Cape Cod National Seashore in Wellfleet, Massachusetts after fall storms in 2024 caused erosion and the loss of National Park Service beach access stairs.

The #USGS deployed a nanopod off Marconi Beach, Wellfleet, MA, to measure winter wave conditions. They also collected sediment samples to characterize sediment grain size.

Shipek grab sampler and sediment sample. Image is included in USGS data release, "Grain-size analysis of sediment samples collected in the nearshore zone offshore of Marconi Beach, Wellfleet, MA, December 9, 2024."

To assess our #sedimenttransport prediction techniques, #USGS scientists deployed a high-tech instrument off #SandyNeckBeach in Barnstable, Massachusetts from March-April 2021 to measure water velocity, temperature, and salinity, wave pressure, tidal force, seabed changes, and sediment characteristics.