Ecosystems We Study: Coastal Active
Coastal ecosystems provide critical local and national societal benefits such as coastal protection and fish nurseries but are some of the most heavily used and threatened systems on the planet. The Mangrove Science Network is a collaboration of USGS scientists focused on working with natural resource managers to develop and conduct mangrove research.
A variety of ecosystems (e.g., marshes, freshwater forests, and estuaries) wrap around the continental U.S. and territorial islands in the Caribbean and Pacific Oceans transitioning terrestrial systems into the marine world. In addition to direct impacts, coastal systems have been degraded by decisions made in terrestrial systems such as diverting freshwater flows, pollution, and land use changes.
USGS scientists are working to advance our understanding of how coastal systems are responding to sea level rise at various scales and how this could change the structure and species composition of these ecosystems. USGS ecologists also research the impacts of hurricanes, a natural periodic disturbance essential for productivity. Hurricanes bring a large influx of inorganic sediments such as phosphorus into coastal systems, clear open sandy areas necessary for some species, and create new wetlands. However, it is unknown how vegetation communities and biodiversity will respond to an increased frequency and intensity of these storms.
Coastal Research
Mangrove Forest Responses to Sea-Level Rise in the Greater Everglades
Ecological Modeling in Support of the Lake Okeechobee Water Management
Mapping Avian Habitat for the Gulf Coast Joint Venture
Assessing Environmental Stress in Mature Mangrove Stands: Linkages to Nutrient Loading
Wetland Carbon Working Group: Improving Methodologies and Estimates of Carbon and Greenhouse Gas Flux in Wetlands
Wetland Carbon Cycling: Monitoring and Forecasting in a Changing World
Understanding Impacts of Sea-Level Rise and Land Management on Critical Coastal Marsh Habitat
Sea-level Rise Vulnerability of Mangrove Forests in Micronesia and the Pacific
USGS Role in DEEP SEARCH: Deep Sea Exploration to Advance Research on Coral, Canyon, and Cold-seep Habitats
Geospatially Enabled, Web-based Habitat Reporting Tool to Support Monitoring and Assessment along the Louisiana Shore
Climate Change Adaptation for Coastal National Wildlife Refuges
Joint Ecosystem Modeling: Wader Distribution & Evaluation Modeling (WADEM)
Recent data (2020-2022) related to USGS coastal research is listed below. A complete listing of USGS coastal data is available from the button below.
Cone penetrometer and elevation measurement data of coastal wetland plant states for resilience quantification, Louisiana, USA (2019)
Sediment trapping at "The Jaws" (TV-15): 2008, 2015, and 2018 land-water classifications
Cole's Bayou Marsh Restoration (TV-63): 2018 land-water classification
Potential landward migration of coastal wetlands in response to sea-level rise within estuarine drainage areas and coastal states of the conterminous United States
Estuarine drainage area boundaries for the conterminous United States
February 2020 National Wetlands Inventory, Mississippi Barrier Islands Habitat Classification: (Cat Island, Ship Island, Petit Bois Island and Horn Island)
Mapping Data of Eelgrass (Zostera marina) Distribution, Alaska and Baja California, Mexico
Spatiotemporal dynamics of soil carbon following coastal wetland loss at a Louisiana coastal salt marsh in the Mississippi River Deltaic Plain in 2019
Naomi Outfall Management (BA-0003c), Barataria Bay Waterway East Side Shoreline Protection (BA-0026), and Naomi Freshwater Diversion (BA-0003): 2018 land-water classification
Elevation Survey Across Southwest Florida Coastal Wetlands, 2021
Above- and belowground biomass production, decomposition, and wetland elevation change in transitional coastal wetland communities exposed to elevated CO2 and sediment deposition: a mesocosm study from 2012 to 2014
Caminada Headland restoration area - 2017 habitat map, Louisiana Barrier Island Comprehensive Monitoring Program
Recent publications (2020-2022) related to USGS coastal research are listed below. A complete listing of USGS coastal publications is available from the button below.
Future changes in habitat availability for two specialist snake species in the imperiled rocklands of South Florida, U.S.A.
A summary of water-quality and salt marsh monitoring, Humboldt Bay, California
Influence of riparian thinning on trophic pathways supporting stream food webs in forested watersheds
Long-term apparent survival of a cold-stunned subpopulation of juveniles green turtles
Distribution and demography of coastal Cactus Wrens (Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus) in southern San Diego County, California — 2021 Data summary
Coupling near-surface geomorphology with mangrove community diversity at the estuarine scale: A case study at Dongzhaigang Bay, China
Characterization of vegetated and ponded wetlands with implications towards coastal wetland marsh collapse
One shell of a problem: Cumulative threat analysis of male sea turtles indicates high anthropogenic threat for migratory individuals and Gulf of Mexico residents
Lacunarity as a tool for assessing landscape configuration over time and informing long-term monitoring: An example using seagrass
Multi-decadal simulation of marsh topography evolution under sea level rise and episodic sediment loads
Temperature variations in the northern Gulf of Alaska across synoptic to century-long time scales
A model of the spatiotemporal dynamics of soil carbon following coastal wetland loss applied to a Louisiana salt marsh in the Mississippi River Deltaic Plain
Explore our science using the web tools below.
Mississippi Coastal Improvements Program (MsCIP) Barrier Island Restoration
MsCIP was developed in 2009 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District, in conjunction with other Federal and State agencies, to help reduce future storm damage along the Mississippi Gulf coast. In 2014, in cooperation with the USACE Mobile District, WARC's Advanced Applications Team began development on the MsCIP Data Viewer, an interactive web-mapping environment.
Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA)
CWPPRA is the oldest and largest coastal restoration effort operating across coastal Louisiana and has constructed 105 restoration projects since its establishment over 20 years ago. WARC's Advanced Applications Team has proudly worked with the CWPPRA Task Force over the years to ensure timely and accurate project-specific information is publicly available.
Coastal Information Management System (CIMS)
WARC's Advanced Applications Team is responsible for data management and application development to support the biological monitoring components of coastal restoration projects in the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority portfolio.
Coastal ecosystems provide critical local and national societal benefits such as coastal protection and fish nurseries but are some of the most heavily used and threatened systems on the planet. The Mangrove Science Network is a collaboration of USGS scientists focused on working with natural resource managers to develop and conduct mangrove research.
A variety of ecosystems (e.g., marshes, freshwater forests, and estuaries) wrap around the continental U.S. and territorial islands in the Caribbean and Pacific Oceans transitioning terrestrial systems into the marine world. In addition to direct impacts, coastal systems have been degraded by decisions made in terrestrial systems such as diverting freshwater flows, pollution, and land use changes.
USGS scientists are working to advance our understanding of how coastal systems are responding to sea level rise at various scales and how this could change the structure and species composition of these ecosystems. USGS ecologists also research the impacts of hurricanes, a natural periodic disturbance essential for productivity. Hurricanes bring a large influx of inorganic sediments such as phosphorus into coastal systems, clear open sandy areas necessary for some species, and create new wetlands. However, it is unknown how vegetation communities and biodiversity will respond to an increased frequency and intensity of these storms.
Coastal Research
Mangrove Forest Responses to Sea-Level Rise in the Greater Everglades
Ecological Modeling in Support of the Lake Okeechobee Water Management
Mapping Avian Habitat for the Gulf Coast Joint Venture
Assessing Environmental Stress in Mature Mangrove Stands: Linkages to Nutrient Loading
Wetland Carbon Working Group: Improving Methodologies and Estimates of Carbon and Greenhouse Gas Flux in Wetlands
Wetland Carbon Cycling: Monitoring and Forecasting in a Changing World
Understanding Impacts of Sea-Level Rise and Land Management on Critical Coastal Marsh Habitat
Sea-level Rise Vulnerability of Mangrove Forests in Micronesia and the Pacific
USGS Role in DEEP SEARCH: Deep Sea Exploration to Advance Research on Coral, Canyon, and Cold-seep Habitats
Geospatially Enabled, Web-based Habitat Reporting Tool to Support Monitoring and Assessment along the Louisiana Shore
Climate Change Adaptation for Coastal National Wildlife Refuges
Joint Ecosystem Modeling: Wader Distribution & Evaluation Modeling (WADEM)
Recent data (2020-2022) related to USGS coastal research is listed below. A complete listing of USGS coastal data is available from the button below.
Cone penetrometer and elevation measurement data of coastal wetland plant states for resilience quantification, Louisiana, USA (2019)
Sediment trapping at "The Jaws" (TV-15): 2008, 2015, and 2018 land-water classifications
Cole's Bayou Marsh Restoration (TV-63): 2018 land-water classification
Potential landward migration of coastal wetlands in response to sea-level rise within estuarine drainage areas and coastal states of the conterminous United States
Estuarine drainage area boundaries for the conterminous United States
February 2020 National Wetlands Inventory, Mississippi Barrier Islands Habitat Classification: (Cat Island, Ship Island, Petit Bois Island and Horn Island)
Mapping Data of Eelgrass (Zostera marina) Distribution, Alaska and Baja California, Mexico
Spatiotemporal dynamics of soil carbon following coastal wetland loss at a Louisiana coastal salt marsh in the Mississippi River Deltaic Plain in 2019
Naomi Outfall Management (BA-0003c), Barataria Bay Waterway East Side Shoreline Protection (BA-0026), and Naomi Freshwater Diversion (BA-0003): 2018 land-water classification
Elevation Survey Across Southwest Florida Coastal Wetlands, 2021
Above- and belowground biomass production, decomposition, and wetland elevation change in transitional coastal wetland communities exposed to elevated CO2 and sediment deposition: a mesocosm study from 2012 to 2014
Caminada Headland restoration area - 2017 habitat map, Louisiana Barrier Island Comprehensive Monitoring Program
Recent publications (2020-2022) related to USGS coastal research are listed below. A complete listing of USGS coastal publications is available from the button below.
Future changes in habitat availability for two specialist snake species in the imperiled rocklands of South Florida, U.S.A.
A summary of water-quality and salt marsh monitoring, Humboldt Bay, California
Influence of riparian thinning on trophic pathways supporting stream food webs in forested watersheds
Long-term apparent survival of a cold-stunned subpopulation of juveniles green turtles
Distribution and demography of coastal Cactus Wrens (Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus) in southern San Diego County, California — 2021 Data summary
Coupling near-surface geomorphology with mangrove community diversity at the estuarine scale: A case study at Dongzhaigang Bay, China
Characterization of vegetated and ponded wetlands with implications towards coastal wetland marsh collapse
One shell of a problem: Cumulative threat analysis of male sea turtles indicates high anthropogenic threat for migratory individuals and Gulf of Mexico residents
Lacunarity as a tool for assessing landscape configuration over time and informing long-term monitoring: An example using seagrass
Multi-decadal simulation of marsh topography evolution under sea level rise and episodic sediment loads
Temperature variations in the northern Gulf of Alaska across synoptic to century-long time scales
A model of the spatiotemporal dynamics of soil carbon following coastal wetland loss applied to a Louisiana salt marsh in the Mississippi River Deltaic Plain
Explore our science using the web tools below.
Mississippi Coastal Improvements Program (MsCIP) Barrier Island Restoration
MsCIP was developed in 2009 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District, in conjunction with other Federal and State agencies, to help reduce future storm damage along the Mississippi Gulf coast. In 2014, in cooperation with the USACE Mobile District, WARC's Advanced Applications Team began development on the MsCIP Data Viewer, an interactive web-mapping environment.
Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA)
CWPPRA is the oldest and largest coastal restoration effort operating across coastal Louisiana and has constructed 105 restoration projects since its establishment over 20 years ago. WARC's Advanced Applications Team has proudly worked with the CWPPRA Task Force over the years to ensure timely and accurate project-specific information is publicly available.
Coastal Information Management System (CIMS)
WARC's Advanced Applications Team is responsible for data management and application development to support the biological monitoring components of coastal restoration projects in the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority portfolio.