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
Relation between Plant Community Structure and Function and the Effectiveness of Wetland Restoration Efforts
Wetland Forest Regeneration Dynamics and Productivity in Southeastern Cypress Swamp Ecosystems
USGS Technical Support for Coastal/Wetlands Ecology: Spatial Analysis and Application for the Gulf Coast Prairie Landscape Conservation Cooperative (GCP LCC)
Past and Future Modeling of Ecological Indicators for the South Atlantic Landscape Conservation Cooperative
Collecting Ecological Data and Models of Living Shoreline Restoration Projects
Louisiana Barrier Island Habitat Mapping and Change Assessment
Wetland Restoration in the San Francisco Bay Delta and Pacific Northwest
Coastal Ecosystem Response to Sea-level Rise
Ecological Stressors - Rocky Coastlines, Mangroves, Marshes, Droughts, and Storms
Supporting Informed Responses to Sea-Level Rise
Mapping Mangrove Condition
Impacts of Sea Level Rise & Ecosystem Restoration on Wildlife
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.
Caminada Headland restoration area - 2015 habitat map, Louisiana Barrier Island Comprehensive Monitoring Program
Caminada Headland restoration area - 2012 habitat map, Louisiana Barrier Island Comprehensive Monitoring Program
Whiskey Island Caillou Lake Headlands restoration area - 2018 habitat map, Louisiana Barrier Island Comprehensive Monitoring Program
Whiskey Island Caillou Lake Headlands restoration area - 2017 habitat map, Louisiana Barrier Island Comprehensive Monitoring Program
Whiskey Island Caillou Lake Headlands restoration area - 2015 habitat map, Louisiana Barrier Island Comprehensive Monitoring Program
Arthropod Abundance and Shrub Cover and Height on the Seward Peninsula, Alaska, 2015-2016
Southwest Everglades coastal soil pore water data Everglades National Park 1997-2012
Vegetation Types in Coastal Louisiana in 2021 (ver. 2.0, April 2023)
An Unvegetated to Vegetated Ratio (UVVR) for coastal wetlands of the Conterminous United States (2014-2018)
Grand-White Lake Landbridge Protection (ME-19): 2018 land-water classification
Pecan Island Terracing (ME-14): 2018 Land-Water Classification
Goose Point/Point Platte Marsh Creation (PO-33): 2018 land-water classification
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.
Migration and transformation of coastal wetlands in response to rising seas
Potential effects of sea level rise on nearshore habitat availability for surf smelt (Hypomesus pretiosus) and eelgrass (Zostera marina), Puget Sound, Washington
Conservation action plan for diamond-backed terrapins in the Gulf of Mexico
Prioritizing habitats based on abundance and distribution of molting waterfowl in the Teshekpuk Lake Special Area of the National Petroleum Reserve, Alaska
Data-driven modeling of wind waves in upper Delaware Bay with living shorelines
Assessing wave attenuation with rising sea levels for sustainable oyster reef-based living shorelines
Processes and mechanisms of coastal woody-plant mortality
Turbidity and estimated phosphorus retention in a reconnected Lake Erie coastal wetland
Surface elevation change dynamics in coastal marshes along the northwestern Gulf of Mexico: Anticipating effects of rising sea-level and intensifying hurricanes
Can coastal habitats rise to the challenge? Resilience of estuarine habitats, carbon accumulation, and economic value to sea-level rise in a Puget Sound estuary
Marine mammal hotspots across the circumpolar Arctic
Presence of the herbaceous marsh species Schoenoplectus americanus enhances surface elevation gain in transitional coastal wetland communities exposed to elevated CO2 and sediment deposition events
Explore our science using the web tools below.
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
Relation between Plant Community Structure and Function and the Effectiveness of Wetland Restoration Efforts
Wetland Forest Regeneration Dynamics and Productivity in Southeastern Cypress Swamp Ecosystems
USGS Technical Support for Coastal/Wetlands Ecology: Spatial Analysis and Application for the Gulf Coast Prairie Landscape Conservation Cooperative (GCP LCC)
Past and Future Modeling of Ecological Indicators for the South Atlantic Landscape Conservation Cooperative
Collecting Ecological Data and Models of Living Shoreline Restoration Projects
Louisiana Barrier Island Habitat Mapping and Change Assessment
Wetland Restoration in the San Francisco Bay Delta and Pacific Northwest
Coastal Ecosystem Response to Sea-level Rise
Ecological Stressors - Rocky Coastlines, Mangroves, Marshes, Droughts, and Storms
Supporting Informed Responses to Sea-Level Rise
Mapping Mangrove Condition
Impacts of Sea Level Rise & Ecosystem Restoration on Wildlife
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.
Caminada Headland restoration area - 2015 habitat map, Louisiana Barrier Island Comprehensive Monitoring Program
Caminada Headland restoration area - 2012 habitat map, Louisiana Barrier Island Comprehensive Monitoring Program
Whiskey Island Caillou Lake Headlands restoration area - 2018 habitat map, Louisiana Barrier Island Comprehensive Monitoring Program
Whiskey Island Caillou Lake Headlands restoration area - 2017 habitat map, Louisiana Barrier Island Comprehensive Monitoring Program
Whiskey Island Caillou Lake Headlands restoration area - 2015 habitat map, Louisiana Barrier Island Comprehensive Monitoring Program
Arthropod Abundance and Shrub Cover and Height on the Seward Peninsula, Alaska, 2015-2016
Southwest Everglades coastal soil pore water data Everglades National Park 1997-2012
Vegetation Types in Coastal Louisiana in 2021 (ver. 2.0, April 2023)
An Unvegetated to Vegetated Ratio (UVVR) for coastal wetlands of the Conterminous United States (2014-2018)
Grand-White Lake Landbridge Protection (ME-19): 2018 land-water classification
Pecan Island Terracing (ME-14): 2018 Land-Water Classification
Goose Point/Point Platte Marsh Creation (PO-33): 2018 land-water classification
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.
Migration and transformation of coastal wetlands in response to rising seas
Potential effects of sea level rise on nearshore habitat availability for surf smelt (Hypomesus pretiosus) and eelgrass (Zostera marina), Puget Sound, Washington
Conservation action plan for diamond-backed terrapins in the Gulf of Mexico
Prioritizing habitats based on abundance and distribution of molting waterfowl in the Teshekpuk Lake Special Area of the National Petroleum Reserve, Alaska
Data-driven modeling of wind waves in upper Delaware Bay with living shorelines
Assessing wave attenuation with rising sea levels for sustainable oyster reef-based living shorelines
Processes and mechanisms of coastal woody-plant mortality
Turbidity and estimated phosphorus retention in a reconnected Lake Erie coastal wetland
Surface elevation change dynamics in coastal marshes along the northwestern Gulf of Mexico: Anticipating effects of rising sea-level and intensifying hurricanes
Can coastal habitats rise to the challenge? Resilience of estuarine habitats, carbon accumulation, and economic value to sea-level rise in a Puget Sound estuary
Marine mammal hotspots across the circumpolar Arctic
Presence of the herbaceous marsh species Schoenoplectus americanus enhances surface elevation gain in transitional coastal wetland communities exposed to elevated CO2 and sediment deposition events
Explore our science using the web tools below.