Recent Publications - October-December 2019
By Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program
December 31, 2019
List of recent USGS publications and data releases based on coastal and marine research.
This article is part of the October-December 2019 issue of the Sound Waves newsletter.
Related
Suspended-sediment concentration data from water samples collected in 2016-17 in Grand Bay, Alabama and Mississippi
Suspended-sediment transport is a critical element governing the geomorphology of tidal marshes and estuaries. Marsh elevation, relative to sea level, is maintained by both organic material and the deposition of inorganic sediment. Additionally, horizontal marsh extent is altered by lateral erosion and accretion. In wetlands within and near Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve...
Continuous monitoring data from natural and restored salt marshes on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 2016-17
Continuous monitoring data reported are a portion of data from a larger study investigating changes in soil properties, carbon accumulation, and greenhouse gas fluxes in four recently restored salt marsh sites and nearby natural salt marshes. For several decades, local towns, conservation groups, and government organizations have worked to identify, replace, repair, and enlarge culverts...
Coastal Multibeam Bathymetry Data Collected in 2018 Offshore of Seven Mile Island, New Jersey
The U.S. Geological Survey St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center (USGS SPCMSC), collected multibeam echosounder (MBES) data off the coast of Seven Mile Island in September of 2018. This USGS data release includes the resulting processed elevation point data (xyz). For further information regarding data collection and/or processing please see the metadata associated with this...
Archive of Chirp Subbottom Profile Data Collected in 2018 From the Northern Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana
As part of the Barrier Island Evolution Research Project, scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center conducted a nearshore geophysical survey around the northern Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana, in August of 2017. The objective of the project is to improve the understanding of barrier island geomorphic evolution, particularly storm...
Idealized numerical model for Submerged Aquatic Vegetation (SAV) growth dynamics
An idealized domain is setup to test the development of Submerged Aquatic Vegetation (SAV) growth model within the Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere-Wave-Sediment Transport (COAWST) model. The change in SAV biomass is computed from temperature, nutrient loading and light predictions obtained from coupled hydrodynamics (temperature), bio-geochemistry (nutrients) and bio-optical (light) models. In...
Numerical model of Submerged Aquatic Vegetation (SAV) growth dynamics in West Falmouth Harbor
The development of Submerged Aquatic Vegetation (SAV) growth model within the Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere-Wave-Sediment Transport (COAWST) model leads to a change in SAV biomass. The SAV biomass is computed from temperature, nutrient loading and light predictions obtained from coupled hydrodynamics (temperature), bio-geochemistry (nutrients) and bio-optical (light) models. In exchange, the...
Filter Total Items: 23
National assessment of shoreline change — Historical shoreline change along the north coast of Alaska, Icy Cape to Cape Prince of Wales
Beach erosion is a persistent problem along most open-ocean shores of the United States. Along the Arctic coast of Alaska, coastal erosion is widespread and threatens communities, defense and energy-related infrastructure, and coastal habitat. As coastal populations continue to expand and infrastructure and habitat are increasingly threatened by erosion, there is increased demand for...
Authors
Ann E. Gibbs, Alexander G. Snyder, Bruce M. Richmond
What determines the downstream evolution of turbidity currents?
Seabed sediment flows called turbidity currents form some of the largest sediment accumulations, deepest canyons and longest channel systems on Earth. Only rivers transport comparable sediment volumes over such large areas; but there are far fewer measurements from turbidity currents, ensuring they are much more poorly understood. Turbidity currents differ fundamentally from rivers, as...
Authors
Catharina Heerema, Peter J. Talling, Matthieu J.B. Cartigny, Charles K. Paull, Lewis Bailey, Stephen Simmons, Daniel Parsons, Michael Clare, Roberto Gwiazda, Eve M. Lundsten, Krystle Anderson, Katherine L. Maier, Jingping Xu, Esther J. Sumner, Kurt J. Rosenberger, Jenny Gales, Mary McGann, Lionel Carter, Ed Pope
Recent sandy deposits at five northern California coastal wetlands — Stratigraphy, diatoms, and implications for storm and tsunami hazards
A recent geological record of inundation by tsunamis or storm surges is evidenced by deposits found within the first few meters of the modern surface at five wetlands on the northern California coast. The study sites include three locations in the Crescent City area (Marhoffer Creek marsh, Elk Creek wetland, and Sand Mine marsh), O’rekw marsh in the lower Redwood Creek alluvial valley...
Authors
Eileen Hemphill-Haley, Harvey M. Kelsey, Nicholas Graehl, Michael Casso, Dylan Caldwell, Casey Loofbourrow, Michelle Robinson, Jessica Vermeer, Edward Southwick
Shallow-water foraminifera and other microscopic biota of Clipperton Island, tropical eastern Pacific
The recent foraminiferal fauna and associated microbiota of Clipperton Island (10.2833°N, 109.2167°W) were investigated at 20 sites collected in the intertidal zone around the perimeter of the island and from the edge of the inner brackish-water lagoon. Due to the island’s geographic location in a low productivity zone, a lack of variable habitats on and surrounding the island, and heavy...
Authors
Mary McGann, Robert W Schmieder, Louis-Philippe Loncke
Santa Barbara area coastal ecosystem vulnerability assessment
The Santa Barbara Area Coastal Ecosystem Vulnerability Assessment (SBA CEVA) is a multidisciplinary research project that investigates future changes to southern Santa Barbara County climate, beaches, watersheds, wetland habitats and beach ecosystems. The target audience is local land use planners and decision makers. The main objective is to provide information that assists the Cities...
Authors
M.R. Myers, D.R. Cayan, S.F. Iacobellis, J.M. Melack, R.E. Beighley, Patrick L. Barnard, J.E. Dugan, H.M. Page
Simple metrics predict salt-marsh sediment fluxes
The growth (or decay) of salt marshes depends on suspended-sediment flux into and out of the marsh. Suspended-sediment concentration (SSC) is a key element of the flux, and SSC-based metrics reflect the long-term sediment-flux trajectories of a variety of salt marshes. One metric, the flood–ebb SSC differential, correlates with area-normalized sediment flux and can indicate salt-marsh...
Authors
Daniel J. Nowacki, Neil K. Ganju
Sediment classification and the characterization, identification, and mapping of geologic substrates for the glaciated Gulf of Maine seabed and other terrains, providing a physical framework for ecological research and seabed management
A geologic substrate is a surface (or volume) of sediment or rock where physical, chemical, and biological processes occur, such as the movement and deposition of sediment, the formation of bedforms, and the attachment, burrowing, feeding, reproduction, and sheltering of organisms. Seabed mapping surveys in the Stellwagen Bank region off Boston, Massachusetts, from 1993 to 2004 have led...
Authors
Page C. Valentine
Evaluating barrier island characteristics and piping plover (Charadrius melodus) habitat availability along the U.S. Atlantic Coast—Geospatial approaches and methodology
Policy makers, individuals from government agencies, and natural resource managers face increasing demands to manage coastal areas in a way that meets economic, social, and ecological needs as sea levels rise. Scientific knowledge of how coastal processes drive beach and barrier island changes and how those changes affect habitat use can support decision makers as they balance sometimes...
Authors
Sara L. Zeigler, Emily J. Sturdivant, Benjamin T. Gutierrez
A ship's ballasting history as an indicator of foraminiferal invasion potential--An example from Prince William Sound, Alaska, USA
We investigated the potential role of ballast sediment from coastal and transoceanic oil tankers arriving and de-ballasting in Port Valdez as a vector for the introduction of invasive benthic foraminifera in Prince William Sound, Alaska. Forty-one ballast sediment samples were obtained in 1998-1999 from 11 oil tankers that routinely discharged their ballast in Prince William Sound after...
Authors
Mary McGann, Gregory M. Ruiz, Anson H. Hines, George D. Smith
Hurricane Matthew: Predictions, observations, and an analysis of coastal change
Hurricane Matthew, the strongest Atlantic hurricane of the 2016 hurricane season, made land-fall south of McClellanville, S.C., around 1500 Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) on October 8, 2016. Hurricane Matthew affected the States of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina along the U.S. Atlantic coastline. Numerous barrier islands were breached, and the erosion of beaches...
Authors
Justin J. Birchler, Kara S. Doran, Joseph W. Long, Hilary F. Stockdon
Managing sand along the Colorado River to protect cultural sites downstream of Glen Canyon Dam
The construction of Glen Canyon Dam in northern Arizona has greatly reduced the supply of sand to the Colorado River corridor through Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and Grand Canyon National Park, hereafter referred to as Glen Canyon and Grand Canyon, respectively. This deficit has strongly affected the natural sediment cycle in this iconic landscape and has lowered the...
Authors
Terri Cook, Amy East, Helen Fairley, Joel B. Sankey
Morphodynamic modeling of the response of two barrier islands to Atlantic hurricane forcing
The accurate prediction of a barrier island response to storms is challenging because of the complex interaction between hydro- and morphodynamic processes that changes at different stages during an event. Assessment of the predictive skill is further complicated because of uncertainty in the hydraulic forcing, initial conditions, and the parameterization of processes. To evaluate these...
Authors
Marlies van der Lugt, Ellen Quataert, Ap van Dongeren, Maarten van Ormondt, Christopher R. Sherwood
Related
Suspended-sediment concentration data from water samples collected in 2016-17 in Grand Bay, Alabama and Mississippi
Suspended-sediment transport is a critical element governing the geomorphology of tidal marshes and estuaries. Marsh elevation, relative to sea level, is maintained by both organic material and the deposition of inorganic sediment. Additionally, horizontal marsh extent is altered by lateral erosion and accretion. In wetlands within and near Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve...
Continuous monitoring data from natural and restored salt marshes on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, 2016-17
Continuous monitoring data reported are a portion of data from a larger study investigating changes in soil properties, carbon accumulation, and greenhouse gas fluxes in four recently restored salt marsh sites and nearby natural salt marshes. For several decades, local towns, conservation groups, and government organizations have worked to identify, replace, repair, and enlarge culverts...
Coastal Multibeam Bathymetry Data Collected in 2018 Offshore of Seven Mile Island, New Jersey
The U.S. Geological Survey St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center (USGS SPCMSC), collected multibeam echosounder (MBES) data off the coast of Seven Mile Island in September of 2018. This USGS data release includes the resulting processed elevation point data (xyz). For further information regarding data collection and/or processing please see the metadata associated with this...
Archive of Chirp Subbottom Profile Data Collected in 2018 From the Northern Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana
As part of the Barrier Island Evolution Research Project, scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center conducted a nearshore geophysical survey around the northern Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana, in August of 2017. The objective of the project is to improve the understanding of barrier island geomorphic evolution, particularly storm...
Idealized numerical model for Submerged Aquatic Vegetation (SAV) growth dynamics
An idealized domain is setup to test the development of Submerged Aquatic Vegetation (SAV) growth model within the Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere-Wave-Sediment Transport (COAWST) model. The change in SAV biomass is computed from temperature, nutrient loading and light predictions obtained from coupled hydrodynamics (temperature), bio-geochemistry (nutrients) and bio-optical (light) models. In...
Numerical model of Submerged Aquatic Vegetation (SAV) growth dynamics in West Falmouth Harbor
The development of Submerged Aquatic Vegetation (SAV) growth model within the Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere-Wave-Sediment Transport (COAWST) model leads to a change in SAV biomass. The SAV biomass is computed from temperature, nutrient loading and light predictions obtained from coupled hydrodynamics (temperature), bio-geochemistry (nutrients) and bio-optical (light) models. In exchange, the...
Filter Total Items: 23
National assessment of shoreline change — Historical shoreline change along the north coast of Alaska, Icy Cape to Cape Prince of Wales
Beach erosion is a persistent problem along most open-ocean shores of the United States. Along the Arctic coast of Alaska, coastal erosion is widespread and threatens communities, defense and energy-related infrastructure, and coastal habitat. As coastal populations continue to expand and infrastructure and habitat are increasingly threatened by erosion, there is increased demand for...
Authors
Ann E. Gibbs, Alexander G. Snyder, Bruce M. Richmond
What determines the downstream evolution of turbidity currents?
Seabed sediment flows called turbidity currents form some of the largest sediment accumulations, deepest canyons and longest channel systems on Earth. Only rivers transport comparable sediment volumes over such large areas; but there are far fewer measurements from turbidity currents, ensuring they are much more poorly understood. Turbidity currents differ fundamentally from rivers, as...
Authors
Catharina Heerema, Peter J. Talling, Matthieu J.B. Cartigny, Charles K. Paull, Lewis Bailey, Stephen Simmons, Daniel Parsons, Michael Clare, Roberto Gwiazda, Eve M. Lundsten, Krystle Anderson, Katherine L. Maier, Jingping Xu, Esther J. Sumner, Kurt J. Rosenberger, Jenny Gales, Mary McGann, Lionel Carter, Ed Pope
Recent sandy deposits at five northern California coastal wetlands — Stratigraphy, diatoms, and implications for storm and tsunami hazards
A recent geological record of inundation by tsunamis or storm surges is evidenced by deposits found within the first few meters of the modern surface at five wetlands on the northern California coast. The study sites include three locations in the Crescent City area (Marhoffer Creek marsh, Elk Creek wetland, and Sand Mine marsh), O’rekw marsh in the lower Redwood Creek alluvial valley...
Authors
Eileen Hemphill-Haley, Harvey M. Kelsey, Nicholas Graehl, Michael Casso, Dylan Caldwell, Casey Loofbourrow, Michelle Robinson, Jessica Vermeer, Edward Southwick
Shallow-water foraminifera and other microscopic biota of Clipperton Island, tropical eastern Pacific
The recent foraminiferal fauna and associated microbiota of Clipperton Island (10.2833°N, 109.2167°W) were investigated at 20 sites collected in the intertidal zone around the perimeter of the island and from the edge of the inner brackish-water lagoon. Due to the island’s geographic location in a low productivity zone, a lack of variable habitats on and surrounding the island, and heavy...
Authors
Mary McGann, Robert W Schmieder, Louis-Philippe Loncke
Santa Barbara area coastal ecosystem vulnerability assessment
The Santa Barbara Area Coastal Ecosystem Vulnerability Assessment (SBA CEVA) is a multidisciplinary research project that investigates future changes to southern Santa Barbara County climate, beaches, watersheds, wetland habitats and beach ecosystems. The target audience is local land use planners and decision makers. The main objective is to provide information that assists the Cities...
Authors
M.R. Myers, D.R. Cayan, S.F. Iacobellis, J.M. Melack, R.E. Beighley, Patrick L. Barnard, J.E. Dugan, H.M. Page
Simple metrics predict salt-marsh sediment fluxes
The growth (or decay) of salt marshes depends on suspended-sediment flux into and out of the marsh. Suspended-sediment concentration (SSC) is a key element of the flux, and SSC-based metrics reflect the long-term sediment-flux trajectories of a variety of salt marshes. One metric, the flood–ebb SSC differential, correlates with area-normalized sediment flux and can indicate salt-marsh...
Authors
Daniel J. Nowacki, Neil K. Ganju
Sediment classification and the characterization, identification, and mapping of geologic substrates for the glaciated Gulf of Maine seabed and other terrains, providing a physical framework for ecological research and seabed management
A geologic substrate is a surface (or volume) of sediment or rock where physical, chemical, and biological processes occur, such as the movement and deposition of sediment, the formation of bedforms, and the attachment, burrowing, feeding, reproduction, and sheltering of organisms. Seabed mapping surveys in the Stellwagen Bank region off Boston, Massachusetts, from 1993 to 2004 have led...
Authors
Page C. Valentine
Evaluating barrier island characteristics and piping plover (Charadrius melodus) habitat availability along the U.S. Atlantic Coast—Geospatial approaches and methodology
Policy makers, individuals from government agencies, and natural resource managers face increasing demands to manage coastal areas in a way that meets economic, social, and ecological needs as sea levels rise. Scientific knowledge of how coastal processes drive beach and barrier island changes and how those changes affect habitat use can support decision makers as they balance sometimes...
Authors
Sara L. Zeigler, Emily J. Sturdivant, Benjamin T. Gutierrez
A ship's ballasting history as an indicator of foraminiferal invasion potential--An example from Prince William Sound, Alaska, USA
We investigated the potential role of ballast sediment from coastal and transoceanic oil tankers arriving and de-ballasting in Port Valdez as a vector for the introduction of invasive benthic foraminifera in Prince William Sound, Alaska. Forty-one ballast sediment samples were obtained in 1998-1999 from 11 oil tankers that routinely discharged their ballast in Prince William Sound after...
Authors
Mary McGann, Gregory M. Ruiz, Anson H. Hines, George D. Smith
Hurricane Matthew: Predictions, observations, and an analysis of coastal change
Hurricane Matthew, the strongest Atlantic hurricane of the 2016 hurricane season, made land-fall south of McClellanville, S.C., around 1500 Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) on October 8, 2016. Hurricane Matthew affected the States of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina along the U.S. Atlantic coastline. Numerous barrier islands were breached, and the erosion of beaches...
Authors
Justin J. Birchler, Kara S. Doran, Joseph W. Long, Hilary F. Stockdon
Managing sand along the Colorado River to protect cultural sites downstream of Glen Canyon Dam
The construction of Glen Canyon Dam in northern Arizona has greatly reduced the supply of sand to the Colorado River corridor through Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and Grand Canyon National Park, hereafter referred to as Glen Canyon and Grand Canyon, respectively. This deficit has strongly affected the natural sediment cycle in this iconic landscape and has lowered the...
Authors
Terri Cook, Amy East, Helen Fairley, Joel B. Sankey
Morphodynamic modeling of the response of two barrier islands to Atlantic hurricane forcing
The accurate prediction of a barrier island response to storms is challenging because of the complex interaction between hydro- and morphodynamic processes that changes at different stages during an event. Assessment of the predictive skill is further complicated because of uncertainty in the hydraulic forcing, initial conditions, and the parameterization of processes. To evaluate these...
Authors
Marlies van der Lugt, Ellen Quataert, Ap van Dongeren, Maarten van Ormondt, Christopher R. Sherwood
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