Ground Penetrating Radar and Global Positioning System Data Collected in 2021 From Fire Island, New York

In 2016, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducted ground penetrating radar (GPR) surveys and sediment sampling at Fire Island, New York to characterize and quantify spatial variability in the subaerial geology (Forde and others, 2018). These surveys, in combination with historical data, allowed for a preliminary reconstruction of the barriers long-term evolution. In 2021, scientists from the USGS New York Water Science Center (NYWSC), on behalf of the USGS St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center (SPCMSC), conducted additional GPR and sediment sampling surveys at Point O' Woods and Ho-Hum Beach to fill in gaps in the timeline of Fire Islands development and illuminate relationships between different geomorphic structures observed along the island.

This data release serves as an archive of GPR and post-processed global positioning system (GPS) data collected from beach and back-barrier environments on Fire Island, March 29-April 3, 2021 (USGS Field Activity Number 2021-312-FA). These data can be used to map shallow subsurface sediments such as erosional surfaces or washover deposits and can also be used to image deeper stratigraphic features that may aid in linking terrestrial geology to nearshore and offshore geologic features. The 2021 datasets will be used to calibrate a model of barrier island development, quantifying historic sediment fluxes within the Fire Island system. Data acquisition and processing methods are described in USGS Data Series 1078.

Forde, A.S., Bernier, J.C., and Miselis, J.L., 2018, Ground penetrating radar and differential global positioning system data collected in April 2016 from Fire Island, New York: U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 1078, https://doi.org/10.3133/ds1078.