Publications
The U.S. Geological Survey Publications Warehouse is a citation clearinghouse that provides access to over 160,000 publications written by USGS scientists over the century-plus history of the bureau. Below is a list of select scientific publications and information products.
Filter Total Items: 376
Trends and causes of historical wetland loss in coastal Louisiana Trends and causes of historical wetland loss in coastal Louisiana
Wetland losses in the northern Gulf Coast region of the United States are so extensive that they represent critical concerns to government environmental agencies and natural resource managers. In Louisiana, almost 3,000 square kilometers (km2) of low-lying wetlands converted to open water between 1956 and 2004, and billions of dollars in State and Federal funding have been allocated for...
Authors
Julie Bernier
Baseline data for evaluating development trajectory and provision of ecosystem services of created fringing oyster reefs in Vermilion Bay, Louisiana Baseline data for evaluating development trajectory and provision of ecosystem services of created fringing oyster reefs in Vermilion Bay, Louisiana
Understanding the time frame in which ecosystem services (that is, water quality maintenance, shoreline protection, habitat provision) are expected to be provided is important when restoration projects are being designed and implemented. Restoration of three-dimensional shell habitats in coastal Louisiana and elsewhere presents a valuable and potentially self-sustaining approach to...
Authors
Megan La Peyre, Lindsay Schwarting, Shea Miller
Holocene core logs and site methods for modern reef and head-coral cores - Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida Holocene core logs and site methods for modern reef and head-coral cores - Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida
The Dry Tortugas are a series of islands, banks, and channels on a carbonate platform off the west end of the Florida Keys. Antecedent topography of the Dry Tortugas reflects carbonate accumulations of the last interglacial (marine isotope substage 5e, ~ 125,000 years ago, ka) when sea level was ~ 6 to 7 meters (m) higher than present (Schrag and others, 2002). The substage 5e surface...
Authors
Todd D. Hickey, Christopher D. Reich, Kristine L. DeLong, Richard Z. Poore, John Brock
Spectroscopic remote sensing of the distribution and persistence of oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill in Barataria Bay marshes Spectroscopic remote sensing of the distribution and persistence of oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill in Barataria Bay marshes
We applied a spectroscopic analysis to Airborne Visible/InfraRed Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) data collected from low and medium altitudes during and after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill to delineate the distribution of oil-damaged canopies in the marshes of Barataria Bay, Louisiana. Spectral feature analysis compared the AVIRIS data to reference spectra of oiled marsh by using...
Authors
Raymond F. Kokaly, Brady Couvillion, JoAnn M. Holloway, Dar A. Roberts, Susan L. Ustin, Seth H. Peterson, Shruti Khanna, Sarai C. Piazza
Seasonal flux and assemblage composition of planktic foraminifers from a sediment-trap study in the northern Gulf of Mexico Seasonal flux and assemblage composition of planktic foraminifers from a sediment-trap study in the northern Gulf of Mexico
Sediment-trap samples from the northern Gulf of Mexico reveal that Globorotalia truncatulinoides, Neogloboquadrina dutertrei, Pulleniatina spp. (includes P. obliquiloculata and P. finalis), and the Globorotalia menardii group (includes Gt. menardii, Gt. tumida, and Gt. ungulata) generally occur in cold months. Globigerinoides ruber (white and pink varieties) and Globigennoides sacculifer...
Authors
Richard Z. Poore, Jessica W. Spear, Kathy A. Tedesco
Application of ground-truth for classification and quantification of bird movements on migratory bird habitat initiative sites in southwest Louisiana: final report Application of ground-truth for classification and quantification of bird movements on migratory bird habitat initiative sites in southwest Louisiana: final report
This project was initiated to assess migrating and wintering bird use of lands enrolled in the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s (NRCS) Migratory Bird Habitat Initiative (MBHI). The MBHI program was developed in response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010, with the goal of improving/creating habitat for waterbirds affected by the spill. In collaboration with the University...
Authors
Wylie C. Barrow, Michael J. Baldwin, Lori A. Randall, John Pitre, Kyle J. Dudley
Appendix D: Use of wave scenarios to assess potential submerged oil mat (SOM) formation along the coast of Florida and Alabama Appendix D: Use of wave scenarios to assess potential submerged oil mat (SOM) formation along the coast of Florida and Alabama
During the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, oil in the surf zone mixed with sediment in the surf zone to form heavier-than-water sediment oil agglomerates of various size, ranging from small (cm-scale) pieces (surface residual balls, SRBs) to large mats (100-m scale, surface residue mats, SR mats). Once SR mats formed in the nearshore or in the intertidal zone, they may have become buried by...
Authors
P. Soupy Dalyander, Joseph W. Long, Nathaniel G. Plant, David M. Thompson
Seasonal variability in the surface sediments of Mobile Bay, Alabama, recorded by geochemistry and foraminifera, 2009–2010 Seasonal variability in the surface sediments of Mobile Bay, Alabama, recorded by geochemistry and foraminifera, 2009–2010
A study was undertaken in order to document and quantify recent environmental change in Mobile Bay, Alabama. The study was part of the Northern Gulf of Mexico (NGOM) Ecosystem Change and Hazard Susceptibility project, a regional project funded by the Coastal and Marine Geology Program to understand how natural forcings and anthropogenic modifications influence coastal ecosystems and...
Authors
D.K. Umberger, L.E. Osterman, C.G. Smith, J. Frazier, K.A. Richwine
Archive of digital chirp subbottom profile data collected during USGS cruise 10BIM04 offshore Cat Island, Mississippi, September 2010 Archive of digital chirp subbottom profile data collected during USGS cruise 10BIM04 offshore Cat Island, Mississippi, September 2010
In September of 2010, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), conducted a geophysical survey to investigate the geologic controls on barrier island framework of Cat Island, Miss., as part of a broader USGS study on Barrier Island Mapping (BIM). These surveys were funded through the Mississippi Coastal Improvements Program (MsCIP)...
Authors
Arnell S. Forde, Shawn V. Dadisman, Jack L. Kindinger, Jennifer L. Miselis, Dana S. Wiese, Noreen A. Buster
Surface-water radon-222 distribution along the west-central Florida shelf Surface-water radon-222 distribution along the west-central Florida shelf
In February 2009 and August 2009, the spatial distribution of radon-222 in surface water was mapped along the west-central Florida shelf as collaboration between the Response of Florida Shelf Ecosystems to Climate Change project and a U.S. Geological Survey Mendenhall Research Fellowship project. This report summarizes the surface distribution of radon-222 from two cruises and evaluates...
Authors
Christopher G. Smith, L. L. Robbins
Archive of single-beam bathymetry data collected during USGS cruise 07CCT01 nearshore of Fort Massachusetts and within Camille Cut, West and East Ship Islands, Gulf Islands National Seashore, Mississippi, July 2007 Archive of single-beam bathymetry data collected during USGS cruise 07CCT01 nearshore of Fort Massachusetts and within Camille Cut, West and East Ship Islands, Gulf Islands National Seashore, Mississippi, July 2007
The Gulf Islands National Seashore (GUIS) is composed of a series of barrier islands along the Mississippi - Alabama coastline. Historically these islands have undergone long-term shoreline change. The devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 prompted questions about the stability of the barrier islands and their potential response to future storm impacts. Additionally, there was concern...
Authors
Nancy T. DeWitt, James G. Flocks, B.J. Reynolds, Mark Hansen
Review of flow rate estimates of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill Review of flow rate estimates of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill
The unprecedented nature of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill required the application of research methods to estimate the rate at which oil was escaping from the well in the deep sea, its disposition after it entered the ocean, and total reservoir depletion. Here, we review what advances were made in scientific understanding of quantification of flow rates during deep sea oil well...
Authors
Marcia K. McNutt, Rich Camilli, Timothy J. Crone, George D. Guthrie, Paul A. Hsieh, Thomas B. Ryerson, Omer Savas, Frank Shaffer