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CMHRP Response to Hurricane Sandy in Estuaries and Wetlands

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By Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program June 17, 2019

In late October 2012, Hurricane Sandy made landfall on the eastern seaboard of the United States, affecting the coastline from North Carolina to New York and Massachusetts. In addition to causing more than 200 human fatalities, the storm altered coastal landscapes, geology, hydrology, environmental quality, and ecosystems. Damage to infrastructure from Hurricane Sandy totaled over $75 billion, making it the second-costliest hurricane in U.S. history.  

USGS hydrologist and a Shinnecock Nation member work together gathering oyster and bed sediment samples
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details
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., oysters)

As a leader in coastal processes research, specifically, coastal change due to storms, the CMHRP responded to Hurricane Sandy by documenting these changes and by developing predictive models and assessments of estuarine and wetland vulnerability. These efforts included data collection, remote-sensing analysis, and modeling of the hydrodynamic, geologic, and morphologic properties before and after this storm event. 

 

 

Numerical models (the depth distributions used in the model for Barnegat Bay)
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details
 Numerical models (the depth distributions used in the model for Barnegat Bay) were used to predict sediment transport and deposition associated with the storm.  

Explore the CMHRP Decadal Strategic Plan geonarrative

link
A person wearing underwater breathing equipment floats above a rocky coral reef.

The CMHRP Decadal Science Strategy 2020-2030

This geonarrative constitutes the Decadal Science Strategy of the USGS's Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program for 2020 to 2030.

link

The CMHRP Decadal Science Strategy 2020-2030

This geonarrative constitutes the Decadal Science Strategy of the USGS's Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program for 2020 to 2030.

Learn More
link
sunset over wetland

Estuarine Processes, Hazards, and Ecosystems

Estuarine processes, hazards, and ecosystems describes several interdisciplinary projects that aim to quantify and understand estuarine processes through observations and numerical modeling. Both the spatial and temporal scales of these mechanisms are important, and therefore require modern instrumentation and state-of-the-art hydrodynamic models. These projects are led from the U.S. Geological...
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Chesapeake Bay Activities, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, Hurricane Sandy, USGS Science in Long Island Sound and its Watershed
link

Estuarine Processes, Hazards, and Ecosystems

Estuarine processes, hazards, and ecosystems describes several interdisciplinary projects that aim to quantify and understand estuarine processes through observations and numerical modeling. Both the spatial and temporal scales of these mechanisms are important, and therefore require modern instrumentation and state-of-the-art hydrodynamic models. These projects are led from the U.S. Geological...
Learn More
link
Burial of wetlands by overwash deposits along the Virginia coastline.

Hurricane Sandy Response - Barrier Island and Estuarine Wetland Physical Change Assessment

This project integrated a wetland assessment with existing coastal-change hazard assessments for the adjacent dunes and beaches of Assateague Island, Maryland, to create a more comprehensive coastal vulnerability assessment.
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, Hurricane Sandy
link

Hurricane Sandy Response - Barrier Island and Estuarine Wetland Physical Change Assessment

This project integrated a wetland assessment with existing coastal-change hazard assessments for the adjacent dunes and beaches of Assateague Island, Maryland, to create a more comprehensive coastal vulnerability assessment.
Learn More

In late October 2012, Hurricane Sandy made landfall on the eastern seaboard of the United States, affecting the coastline from North Carolina to New York and Massachusetts. In addition to causing more than 200 human fatalities, the storm altered coastal landscapes, geology, hydrology, environmental quality, and ecosystems. Damage to infrastructure from Hurricane Sandy totaled over $75 billion, making it the second-costliest hurricane in U.S. history.  

USGS hydrologist and a Shinnecock Nation member work together gathering oyster and bed sediment samples
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details
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., oysters)

As a leader in coastal processes research, specifically, coastal change due to storms, the CMHRP responded to Hurricane Sandy by documenting these changes and by developing predictive models and assessments of estuarine and wetland vulnerability. These efforts included data collection, remote-sensing analysis, and modeling of the hydrodynamic, geologic, and morphologic properties before and after this storm event. 

 

 

Numerical models (the depth distributions used in the model for Barnegat Bay)
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details
 Numerical models (the depth distributions used in the model for Barnegat Bay) were used to predict sediment transport and deposition associated with the storm.  

Explore the CMHRP Decadal Strategic Plan geonarrative

link
A person wearing underwater breathing equipment floats above a rocky coral reef.

The CMHRP Decadal Science Strategy 2020-2030

This geonarrative constitutes the Decadal Science Strategy of the USGS's Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program for 2020 to 2030.

link

The CMHRP Decadal Science Strategy 2020-2030

This geonarrative constitutes the Decadal Science Strategy of the USGS's Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program for 2020 to 2030.

Learn More
link
sunset over wetland

Estuarine Processes, Hazards, and Ecosystems

Estuarine processes, hazards, and ecosystems describes several interdisciplinary projects that aim to quantify and understand estuarine processes through observations and numerical modeling. Both the spatial and temporal scales of these mechanisms are important, and therefore require modern instrumentation and state-of-the-art hydrodynamic models. These projects are led from the U.S. Geological...
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Chesapeake Bay Activities, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, Hurricane Sandy, USGS Science in Long Island Sound and its Watershed
link

Estuarine Processes, Hazards, and Ecosystems

Estuarine processes, hazards, and ecosystems describes several interdisciplinary projects that aim to quantify and understand estuarine processes through observations and numerical modeling. Both the spatial and temporal scales of these mechanisms are important, and therefore require modern instrumentation and state-of-the-art hydrodynamic models. These projects are led from the U.S. Geological...
Learn More
link
Burial of wetlands by overwash deposits along the Virginia coastline.

Hurricane Sandy Response - Barrier Island and Estuarine Wetland Physical Change Assessment

This project integrated a wetland assessment with existing coastal-change hazard assessments for the adjacent dunes and beaches of Assateague Island, Maryland, to create a more comprehensive coastal vulnerability assessment.
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, Hurricane Sandy
link

Hurricane Sandy Response - Barrier Island and Estuarine Wetland Physical Change Assessment

This project integrated a wetland assessment with existing coastal-change hazard assessments for the adjacent dunes and beaches of Assateague Island, Maryland, to create a more comprehensive coastal vulnerability assessment.
Learn More
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