Fire Island National Seashore
Integrated CMHRP Science for Understanding Coastal System Change in Support of Management
Fire Island is a 50 km long barrier island along the south shore of Long Island, New York. The island is comprised of 17 year-round and seasonal recreational communities, and Federal, state, and county parks, and supports distinct ecosystems alongside areas of economic and cultural value. In addition to providing natural and cultural resources to its residents, the barrier island protects the heavily populated mainland from storm waves. Sound scientific understanding of the interplay between natural processes and human activities is required to successfully manage coastal resources at Fire Island to achieve the optimum balance in benefits to public safety, the economy, and the environment.
To this end, the CMHRP is leading a multidisciplinary research program along Fire Island that includes the estuarine environments in Great South Bay, the barrier island, and the adjacent inner continental shelf. In combination, these efforts seek to (1) quantify the impact of landscape changes on water circulation and levels in Great South Bay; (2) measure and model beach and dune changes resulting from coastal processes that act over long time periods and storms that act over short time periods (e.g., erosion, breaching), as well as changes during post-storm recovery; (3) identify linkages between coastal changes and natural and human-caused variations in sediment supply; and (4) establish relationships between inner shelf geology, ocean processes, and island response. These activities are being conducted in close partnership with the National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and state and county agencies.
To date, our Fire Island research has resulted in identification of offshore sand resources suitable for beach nourishment; development of models that predict coastal response to waves and currents, impacts of inlet dredging and island breaching on bay water levels, and breach evolution; assessments and forecasts of existing and future vulnerabilities to storms and sea level rise; and the establishment of a detailed sediment budget from the inner shelf to the shoreline. Many of these science products are being used by stakeholders to design and implement a storm risk reduction management plan that seeks to provide protection to people and infrastructure, sustain tourism and recreation, and support habitat resilience.
At Fire Island, estuarine, wetland, coastal, and oceanic processes interact, affecting natural and human communities. The sustained research effort there demonstrates how the CMHRP is uniquely positioned to provide robust, integrated scientific information that serves communities here and throughout the nation.
Explore the CMHRP Decadal Strategic Plan geonarrative
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.
Coastal System Change at Fire Island, New York
Integrated CMHRP Science for Understanding Coastal System Change in Support of Management
Fire Island is a 50 km long barrier island along the south shore of Long Island, New York. The island is comprised of 17 year-round and seasonal recreational communities, and Federal, state, and county parks, and supports distinct ecosystems alongside areas of economic and cultural value. In addition to providing natural and cultural resources to its residents, the barrier island protects the heavily populated mainland from storm waves. Sound scientific understanding of the interplay between natural processes and human activities is required to successfully manage coastal resources at Fire Island to achieve the optimum balance in benefits to public safety, the economy, and the environment.
To this end, the CMHRP is leading a multidisciplinary research program along Fire Island that includes the estuarine environments in Great South Bay, the barrier island, and the adjacent inner continental shelf. In combination, these efforts seek to (1) quantify the impact of landscape changes on water circulation and levels in Great South Bay; (2) measure and model beach and dune changes resulting from coastal processes that act over long time periods and storms that act over short time periods (e.g., erosion, breaching), as well as changes during post-storm recovery; (3) identify linkages between coastal changes and natural and human-caused variations in sediment supply; and (4) establish relationships between inner shelf geology, ocean processes, and island response. These activities are being conducted in close partnership with the National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and state and county agencies.
To date, our Fire Island research has resulted in identification of offshore sand resources suitable for beach nourishment; development of models that predict coastal response to waves and currents, impacts of inlet dredging and island breaching on bay water levels, and breach evolution; assessments and forecasts of existing and future vulnerabilities to storms and sea level rise; and the establishment of a detailed sediment budget from the inner shelf to the shoreline. Many of these science products are being used by stakeholders to design and implement a storm risk reduction management plan that seeks to provide protection to people and infrastructure, sustain tourism and recreation, and support habitat resilience.
At Fire Island, estuarine, wetland, coastal, and oceanic processes interact, affecting natural and human communities. The sustained research effort there demonstrates how the CMHRP is uniquely positioned to provide robust, integrated scientific information that serves communities here and throughout the nation.
Explore the CMHRP Decadal Strategic Plan geonarrative
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.