Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

USGS hydrologist Kaitlyn Colella and a Shinnecock Nation member work together gathering oyster and bed sediment samples along Long Island, New York, coast. Contaminants released and or mobilized as a result of Hurricane Sandy may be retained in bed sediments in aquatic environments and may be accumulating in exposed organisms, especially at low trophic levels (e.g.,

 Westco discrete nutrient analyzer measures low-levels of nutrients in water samples

Overwash processes caused by storms, like the one seen here following Hurricane Sandy on a barrier island in Virginia, push sand landward over dunes to create low-elevation, minimally vegetated sandy habitats used by a variety of species, like piping plovers.

Digital still photograph from Ipswich Bay near Salisbury, MA, showing a lobster, sponges, and brachiopods, on cobbles and ledge covered with bubblegum algae and red filamentous algae.  A thin veneer of coarse sand and gravelly sediment partially cover the rocks. Water depth at this location is approximately 24 meters.

Macroalgae, seagrass, and litter in West Falmouth Harbor, MA

 Sunrise with a recently deployed buoy measuring meteorological data off Fire Island, NY in 2012.  The data collected is part of a study of the coastal processes that mobilize and transport sediment in the region

Anti-fouling treatment is applied to a sensor on a platform about to be deployed off Fire Island, NY in 2012.  The data collected is part of a study of the coastal processes that mobilize and transport sediment in the region

Bathymetry of the New England inner shelf and south shore of Martha’s Vineyard with model grids

Map showing Holocene (modern) sediment thickness in meters overlain on bathymetry. Regional bathymetric contours are in meters. Note the shoreface-attached sand ridges west of Watch Hill.

Map showing the thickness of a relatively young Pleistocene outwash lobe in meters mapped using chirp seismic-reflection profiles collected in 2011, overlain on acoustic backscatter imagery. Regional bathymetric contours are in meters.

Numerical model grids showing downscaling from larger regional grid (far right) to more refined coastal grid (left). Colors are bathymetry (m).