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Hurricane Sandy

Hurricane Sandy made a variety of impacts along the highly populated northeastern Atlantic seaboard in October 2012. USGS received $43.2 million in Supplemental funding, supporting more than 25 projects designed to improve forecasts of impacts and ecological consequences. Improved understanding of these impacts will better prepare us for the next one.

News

A Decade of Evolution

A Decade of Evolution

Hurricane Sandy Aftermath: Determining the Vulnerability and Resilience of the New Jersey Barrier Island System

Hurricane Sandy Aftermath: Determining the Vulnerability and Resilience of the New Jersey Barrier Island System

Piping Plovers Benefited from Hurricane Sandy

Piping Plovers Benefited from Hurricane Sandy

Publications

Hurricane Sandy effects on coastal marsh elevation change

High-magnitude storm events such as Hurricane Sandy are powerful agents of geomorphic change in coastal marshes, potentially altering their surface elevation trajectories. But how do a storm’s impacts vary across a large region spanning a variety of wetland settings and storm exposures and intensities. We determined the short-term impacts of Hurricane Sandy at 223 surface elevation table–marker ho
Authors
Alice G. Yeates, James Grace, Jennifer H. Olker, Glenn R. Guntenspergen, Donald Cahoon, Susan C. Adamowicz, Shimon C. Anisfeld, Nels Barrett, Alice Benzecry, Linda K. Blum, Rober T Christian, Joseph Grzyb, Ellen Kracauer Hartig, Kelly Hines Leo, Scott Lerberg, James C. Lynch, Nicole Maher, J Patrick Megonigal, William G. Reay, Drexel Siok, Adam Starke, Vincent Turner, Scott Warren

Effects of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) exclusion on plant recovery in overwash fans after a severe coastal storm

We documented the impacts of a hyper-abundant deer population on dune vegetation recovering from severe storm surge on a barrier island through use of permanent plots and a repeated measures analysis. Three years after landfall of the storm, vegetation cover was dominated by American beachgrass, Ammophila breviligulata, though we observed twelve plant species among plots surveyed. We documented si
Authors
Chellby R. Kilheffer, Jordan Raphael, Lindsay Ries, H. Brian Underwood

Hurricane Sandy impacts on coastal wetland resilience

The goal of this research was to evaluate the impacts of Hurricane Sandy on surface elevation trends in estuarine marshes located across the northeast region of the United States from Virginia to Maine using data from an opportunistic (in other words, not strategic) and collaborative network (from here on, an opportunistic network) of surface elevation table-marker horizon (SET-MH) stations. First
Authors
Donald R. Cahoon, Jennifer H. Olker, Alice G. Yeates, Glenn R. Guntenspergen, James B. Grace, Susan C. Adamowicz, Shimon C. Anisfeld, Andrew H. Baldwin, Nels Barrett, Leah Beckett, Alice Benzecry, Linda K. Blum, David M. Burdick, William Crouch, Marci Cole Ekberg, Sarah Fernald, Kristin Wilson Grimes, Joseph Grzyb, Ellen Kracauer Hartig, Danielle A. Kreeger, Marit Larson, Scott Lerberg, James C. Lynch, Nicole Maher, Martha Maxwell-Doyle, Laura R. Mitchell, Jordan Mora, Victoria O'Neill, Angela Padeletti, Diann J. Prosser, Tracy Quirk, Kenneth B. Raposa, William G. Reay, Drexel Siok, Christopher Snow, Adam Starke, J. Court Stevenson, Lorie Staver, Vincent Turner

Science

Coastal Change at Fire Island, a geonarrative

For more than two decades the U.S. Geological Survey has been researching Fire Island's offshore, nearshore, and barrier island systems to better understand drivers of coastal change and evolution. This geonarrative delves into how barrier islands change and evolve, demonstrates how seasons, storms and humans change beaches, and explores the role models play in predicting what the beach might look...
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Coastal Change at Fire Island, a geonarrative

For more than two decades the U.S. Geological Survey has been researching Fire Island's offshore, nearshore, and barrier island systems to better understand drivers of coastal change and evolution. This geonarrative delves into how barrier islands change and evolve, demonstrates how seasons, storms and humans change beaches, and explores the role models play in predicting what the beach might look...
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Coastal System Change at Fire Island, New York

Fire Island is a 50-km long barrier island along the south shore of Long Island, New York. The island is comprised of seventeen year-round communities; federal, state, and county parks; and supports distinct ecosystems alongside areas of economic and cultural value. In addition to providing resources to its residents, the barrier island also protects the heavily-populated mainland from storm waves...
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Coastal System Change at Fire Island, New York

Fire Island is a 50-km long barrier island along the south shore of Long Island, New York. The island is comprised of seventeen year-round communities; federal, state, and county parks; and supports distinct ecosystems alongside areas of economic and cultural value. In addition to providing resources to its residents, the barrier island also protects the heavily-populated mainland from storm waves...
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CMHRP Response to Hurricane Sandy in Estuaries and Wetlands

In late October 2012, Hurricane Sandy made landfall on the eastern seaboard of the United States, affecting the coastline from North Carolina to New York and Massachusetts. In addition to causing more than 200 human fatalities, the storm altered coastal landscapes, geology, hydrology, environmental quality, and ecosystems. Damage to infrastructure from Hurricane Sandy totaled over $75 billion...
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CMHRP Response to Hurricane Sandy in Estuaries and Wetlands

In late October 2012, Hurricane Sandy made landfall on the eastern seaboard of the United States, affecting the coastline from North Carolina to New York and Massachusetts. In addition to causing more than 200 human fatalities, the storm altered coastal landscapes, geology, hydrology, environmental quality, and ecosystems. Damage to infrastructure from Hurricane Sandy totaled over $75 billion...
Learn More