Publications
Explore scientific publications from the USGS St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center.
Filter Total Items: 954
Source contributions to suspended sediment and particulate selenium export from the Loutsenhizer Arroyo and Sunflower Drain watersheds in Colorado Source contributions to suspended sediment and particulate selenium export from the Loutsenhizer Arroyo and Sunflower Drain watersheds in Colorado
Selenium in aquatic ecosystems of the lower Gunnison River Basin in Colorado is affecting the recovery of populations of endangered, native fish species. Dietary exposure is the primary pathway for bioaccumulation of selenium in fish, and particulate selenium can be consumed directly by fish or by the invertebrates on which fish feed. Although selenium can be incorporated into...
Authors
Carleton Bern, Cory Williams, Christopher G. Smith
Operational forecasts of wave-driven water levels and coastal hazards for US Gulf and Atlantic coasts Operational forecasts of wave-driven water levels and coastal hazards for US Gulf and Atlantic coasts
Predictions of total water levels, the elevation of combined tides, surge, and wave runup at the shoreline, are necessary to provide guidance on potential coastal erosion and flooding. Despite the importance of early warning systems for these hazards, existing real-time meteorological and oceanographic forecast systems at regional and national scales, until now, have lacked estimates of...
Authors
Hilary Stockdon, Joseph Long, Margaret Palmsten, Andre Van der Westhuysen, Kara S. Doran, Richard Snell
Remotely sensed short-crested breaking waves in a laboratory directional wave basin Remotely sensed short-crested breaking waves in a laboratory directional wave basin
Short-crested breaking waves that result from directionally spread wave conditions dissipate energy and generate turbulence within the surf zone, altering sediment transport processes, wave runup, and forces on structures. Additionally, vertical vorticity generated near crest ends during breaking, which depends on the gradient in wave height along a crest, may enhance nearshore...
Authors
Christine Baker, Melissa Moulton, Margaret Palmsten, Katherine Brodie, Emma Nuss, C. Chickadel
Shoreface sediment availability offshore of a rapidly migrating, mixed-energy barrier island Shoreface sediment availability offshore of a rapidly migrating, mixed-energy barrier island
Less is known about sediment exchanges between shorefaces and mixed-energy barrier islands (MEBI) than between shorefaces and wave-dominated barrier islands. We used seismic stratigraphy from Cedar Island, Virginia, USA to understand the interplay between shoreface deposits and MEBI morphodynamics. Interpretations reveal that the shelf and shoreface are extensively dissected by breach...
Authors
Emily Wei, Jennifer Miselis
Incorporating wave climate complexity into modeling lower shoreface morphology and transport Incorporating wave climate complexity into modeling lower shoreface morphology and transport
The lower shoreface, a transitional subaqueous region extending from the seaward limit of the surf zone to beyond the closure depth, serves as a sediment reservoir and pathway in sandy beach environments over annual to millennial time scales. Despite the important role this region plays in shoreline dynamics, the morphodynamics of the lower shoreface remain poorly quantified and...
Authors
Megan Gillen, Andrew Ashton, Jennifer Miselis, Daniel Ciarletta, Emily Wei, Christopher Sherwood
Gulf Islands National Seashore regional sediment budget research and data needs—Workshop series summary Gulf Islands National Seashore regional sediment budget research and data needs—Workshop series summary
Executive SummaryThe National Park Service (NPS), in collaboration with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), recognizes the need to quantify the sediment budget of the barrier islands within the Gulf Islands National Seashore (GINS) to understand the coastal processes affecting island resiliency. To achieve this goal, identifying and quantifying the physical parameters that drive long-term...
Authors
Erin Seekamp, James Flocks, Courtney Hotchkiss, Linda York, Kelly Irick
Discovery of a rare pillar coral (Dendrogyra cylindrus) death assemblage off southeast Florida reveals multi-century persistence during the late Holocene Discovery of a rare pillar coral (Dendrogyra cylindrus) death assemblage off southeast Florida reveals multi-century persistence during the late Holocene
In recent years, coral populations in the western Atlantic have undergone widespread declines from climate change, anthropogenic stressors, and infectious disease outbreaks. The pillar coral, Dendrogyra cylindrus, has been one of the most affected species, prompting its listing as threatened under the United States Endangered Species Act in 2014 and critically endangered under the IUCN...
Authors
Alexander Modys, Lauren Toth, Richard Mortlock, Anton Olenik, William Precht
The potential for coral reef restoration to mitigate coastal flooding as sea levels rise The potential for coral reef restoration to mitigate coastal flooding as sea levels rise
The ability of reefs to protect coastlines from storm-driven flooding hinges on their capacity to keep pace with sea-level rise. Here, we show how and whether coral restoration could achieve the often-cited goal of reversing the impacts of coral-reef degradation to preserve this essential function. We combined coral-growth measurements and carbonate-budget assessments of reef-accretion...
Authors
Lauren Toth, Curt Storlazzi, Elizabeth Whitcher, Ilsa Kuffner, Ellen Quataert, Johan Reyns, Robert McCall, Anastasios Stathakopoulos, Zandy Hillis-Starr, Nathaniel Holloway, Kristin Ewen, Clayton Pollock, Tess Code, Richard Aronson
A scuticociliate causes mass mortality of Diadema antillarum in the Caribbean Sea A scuticociliate causes mass mortality of Diadema antillarum in the Caribbean Sea
Echinoderm mass mortality events shape marine ecosystems by altering the dynamics among major benthic groups. The sea urchin Diadema antillarum, virtually extirpated in the Caribbean in the early 1980s by an unknown cause, recently experienced another mass mortality beginning in January 2022. We investigated the cause of this mass mortality event through combined molecular biological and...
Authors
Ian Hewson, Isabella Ritchie, James Evans, Ashley Altera, Donald Behringer, Erin Bowman, Marilyn Brandt, Kayla Budd, Ruleo Camacho, Tomas Cornwell, Peter Countway, Aldo Croquer, Gabriel Delgado, Christopher DeRito, Elizabeth Duermit-Moreau, Ruth Francis-Floyd, Samuel Gittens, Leslie Henderson, Alwin Hylkema, Christina Kellogg, Yasu Kiryu, Kimani Kitson-Walters, Patricia Kramer, Judith Lang, Harilaos Lessios, Lauren Liddy, David Marancik, Stephen Nimrod, Joshua Patterson, Marit Pistor, Isabel Romero, Rita Sellares-Blasco, Moriah Sevier, William Sharp, Matthew Souza, Andreina Valdez-Trinidad, Marijn van der Laan, Brayan Vilanova-Cuevas, Maria Villalpando, Sarah Von Hoene, Matthew Warham, Tom Wijers, Stacey Williams, Thierry Work, Roy Yanong, Someira Zambrano, Alizee Zimmermann, Mya Breitbart
The evolution of natural and developed barriers under accelerating sea levels The evolution of natural and developed barriers under accelerating sea levels
Communities residing on barrier islands depend upon the ability of barriers to withstand forcings such as waves, sea-level rise, and storms, particularly under stresses from climate change. Using a barrier island evolution model, we compare barrier response to linear versus accelerating sea-level rise. Results suggest that barriers are more likely to drown under accelerating rather than...
Authors
Rose Palermo, Andrew Ashton, Di Jin, Porter Hoagland, Jorge Lorenzo-Trueba
Reconstructing the geomorphic evolution and sediment budget history of a dynamic barrier island: Anclote Key, Florida Reconstructing the geomorphic evolution and sediment budget history of a dynamic barrier island: Anclote Key, Florida
Decadal to centennial variations in sediment availability are a primary driver of coastal change within barrier systems. Models help explore how barrier morphology relates to past changes in magnitude of sediment availability, but this requires insights and validation from field efforts. In this study, we investigate the progradation of Anclote Key via its morphostratigraphy, a presently...
Authors
Daniel Ciarletta, Jennifer Miselis, Julie Bernier, Arnell Forde, Shannon Mahan
Mode and provenance of sediment deposition on a transgressive marsh Mode and provenance of sediment deposition on a transgressive marsh
In this study, we use foraminifera as environmental indicators to aid in computing the historical volumetric inputs of estuarine sediments to adjacent marsh. These data can help assess the importance of estuarine sediment inputs to marsh accretion. The Grand Bay system (GBS), located on the southern coast of Alabama and Mississippi, has been described as a “self-cannibalizing bay-marsh...
Authors
Christopher G. Smith, Alisha Ellis, Kathryn Smith