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Arnell Forde

Arnell Forde is a Geologist at the St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center in St. Petersburg, Florida.

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An island with sections of short grasses has been covered by a large sand fan that was washed landward by waves.

Storm-Related Barrier Island Morphological Evolution

Storms quickly and dramatically alter barrier island environments by changing adjacent seafloor morphology, eroding beaches, scarping or leveling dunes, and sometimes creating new inlets. Measuring the magnitude of barrier island sediment movement during and after storms allows us to track rates of beach recovery, dune growth, and inlet-related alterations to barrier island sediment supply.
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Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center
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Storm-Related Barrier Island Morphological Evolution

Storms quickly and dramatically alter barrier island environments by changing adjacent seafloor morphology, eroding beaches, scarping or leveling dunes, and sometimes creating new inlets. Measuring the magnitude of barrier island sediment movement during and after storms allows us to track rates of beach recovery, dune growth, and inlet-related alterations to barrier island sediment supply.
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A long barrier island, mainly sandy with some vegetation, has a sediment berm placed along the shoreface.

Barrier Island Sensitivity to Changes in Sediment Supply

Observations and models show that maintaining barrier islands requires a balance between sea-level rise and sediment supply. However, most estimates of sediment supply are not based on modern conditions, which could result in less accurate predictions of sediment fluxes. We explore how natural and human alterations impact modern sediment fluxes, or changes, on barrier islands – research that has...
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Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center
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Barrier Island Sensitivity to Changes in Sediment Supply

Observations and models show that maintaining barrier islands requires a balance between sea-level rise and sediment supply. However, most estimates of sediment supply are not based on modern conditions, which could result in less accurate predictions of sediment fluxes. We explore how natural and human alterations impact modern sediment fluxes, or changes, on barrier islands – research that has...
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A boat operated by USGS staff tows an instrument that collects geophysical data in in the shallow shoreface near the beach

Shoreface Morphology and Geology

Exchanges of sediment between the shoreface and barrier islands allow barrier islands to adjust to changes in water level, such as those associated with storms or sea-level rise. Characterizing shoreface morphology and geology allows us to explore how past and present processes have impacted modern barrier island sediment transport and what that means for future barrier island evolution.
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Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center
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Shoreface Morphology and Geology

Exchanges of sediment between the shoreface and barrier islands allow barrier islands to adjust to changes in water level, such as those associated with storms or sea-level rise. Characterizing shoreface morphology and geology allows us to explore how past and present processes have impacted modern barrier island sediment transport and what that means for future barrier island evolution.
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Scientists operate scientific sediment coring equipment with a tall metal barrel and tripod on a sandy beach near the water.

Coastal Sediment Availability and Flux (CSAF) Capabilities

As part of the Coastal Sediment Availability and Flux project, we use innovative technology and integrate a variety of techniques to characterize barrier island environments, reconstruct their past history, and predict their future vulnerability.
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Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center
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Coastal Sediment Availability and Flux (CSAF) Capabilities

As part of the Coastal Sediment Availability and Flux project, we use innovative technology and integrate a variety of techniques to characterize barrier island environments, reconstruct their past history, and predict their future vulnerability.
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Photo of Fire Island showing back barrier, dunes, beach, and nearshore environments

Coastal Sediment Availability and Flux (CSAF)

Sediments are the foundation of coastal systems, including barrier islands. Their behavior is driven by not only sediment availability, but also sediment exchanges between barrier island environments. We collect geophysical, remote sensing, and sediment data to estimate these parameters, which are integrated with models to improve prediction of coastal response to extreme storms and sea-level rise...
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Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center
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Coastal Sediment Availability and Flux (CSAF)

Sediments are the foundation of coastal systems, including barrier islands. Their behavior is driven by not only sediment availability, but also sediment exchanges between barrier island environments. We collect geophysical, remote sensing, and sediment data to estimate these parameters, which are integrated with models to improve prediction of coastal response to extreme storms and sea-level rise...
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Filter Total Items: 24

Archive of Chirp Subbottom Profile Data Collected in 2022 From Seven Mile Island, New Jersey

As part of the Coastal Sediment Availability and Flux project, scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center (SPCMSC) conducted a nearshore geophysical survey to map the shoreface and inner shelf, as well as characterizing stratigraphy near Seven Mile Island, New Jersey (NJ) in April and May 2022. The objective of the project is to improve the u
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St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center

Archive of Chirp Subbottom Profile Data Collected in June 2022 Near Panama City, Florida

As part of the Coastal Sediment Availability and Flux and Defense Advanced Research Protection Agency (DARPA) Reefense projects, scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center (SPCMSC) conducted a nearshore geophysical survey to map and characterize the stratigraphy of back-barrier bays near Panama City, Florida (FL) in June 2022. The purpose of
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St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center

Archive of Chirp Subbottom Profile Data Collected in 2022 From Breton Island, Louisiana

As part of the Breton Island Post Construction Monitoring project, scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center (SPCMSC) conducted a nearshore geophysical survey in August of 2022 to map the borrow site created during the Breton Island, Louisiana restoration effort that began in December 2020. The objective of the project is to provide baseline
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St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center

Gulf Islands National Seashore 2020 Workshop: Attendee Survey Results

The National Park Service (NPS), in collaboration with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), recognizes the need to quantify the sediment budget of the barrier islands within the Gulf Islands National Seashore (GINS) to understand the coastal processes affecting island resiliency. To achieve this goal, identifying and quantifying the physical parameters that drive long-term change is necessary to mod
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Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center

Ground Penetrating Radar and Global Positioning System Data Collected in 2021 From Fire Island, New York

In 2016, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducted ground penetrating radar (GPR) surveys and sediment sampling at Fire Island, New York to characterize and quantify spatial variability in the subaerial geology (Forde and others, 2018). These surveys, in combination with historical data, allowed for a preliminary reconstruction of the barriers long-term evolution. In 2021, scientists from the US
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Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center

Archive of Chirp Subbottom Profile Data Collected in 2015 From Dauphin Island, Alabama

As part of the Alabama Barrier Island Restoration Feasibility Study, scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center (SPCMSC) conducted a nearshore geophysical survey to map the shoreface and determine Holocene stratigraphy near Dauphin Island, Alabama (AL) in September of 2015. The objective of the project is to investigate nearshore geologic con
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St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center

Archive of Chirp Subbottom Profile and Single-Beam Bathymetry Data Collected in 2021 From Santa Rosa Island, Florida

As part of the Coastal Resource Evaluation for Management Applications (CREMA) Project, scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center (SPCMSC) conducted a nearshore geophysical survey to map the shoreface and determine Holocene stratigraphy near Pensacola Beach, Florida (FL) in June of 2021. The objective of the project is to investigate nearsho
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Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center

Archive of Chirp Subbottom Profile Data Collected in 2019 From Rockaway Peninsula, New York

As part of the Coastal Sediment Availability and Flux Project, scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center conducted a nearshore geophysical survey to map the shoreface of Rockaway, New York (NY) between September and October of 2019. The objective of the project is to improve the understanding of barrier island geomorphic evolution and the se
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Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center

Archive of Digitized Analog Boomer Seismic Reflection Data Collected from the Northern Gulf of Mexico: Intersea 1980

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program (CMHRP) has actively collected geophysical and sedimentological data in the northern Gulf of Mexico for several decades, including shallow subsurface data in the form of high-resolution seismic reflection profiles (HRSP). Prior to the mid-1990s most HRSP data were collected in analog format as paper rolls of continu
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Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center

Archive of Chirp Subbottom Profile Data Collected in 2019 From Cedar Island, Virginia

As part of the Coastal Sediment Availability and Flux Project, scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center conducted a nearshore geophysical survey to map the shoreface of Cedar Island, Virginia (VA) in August of 2019. The objective of the project is to improve the understanding of barrier island geomorphic evolution and the sediment fluxes th
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Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center

Archive of Digitized Analog Boomer Seismic Reflection Data Collected from the Northern Gulf of Mexico: 1982, 1985, 1989, 1991, and 1992

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program (CMHRP) has actively collected geophysical and sedimentological data in the northern Gulf of Mexico for several decades, including shallow subsurface data in the form of high-resolution seismic reflection profiles (HRSP). Prior to the mid-1990s most HRSP data were collected in analog format as paper rolls of continu
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Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center

Archive of Chirp Subbottom Profile Data Collected in 2018 From the Northern Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana

As part of the Barrier Island Evolution Research Project, scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center conducted a nearshore geophysical survey around the northern Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana, in August of 2017. The objective of the project is to improve the understanding of barrier island geomorphic evolution, particularly storm-related depo
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Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, Gulf of Mexico
Filter Total Items: 54

Reconstructing the geomorphic evolution and sediment budget history of a dynamic barrier island: Anclote Key, Florida

Decadal to centennial variations in sediment availability are a primary driver of coastal change within barrier systems. Models help explore how barrier morphology relates to past changes in magnitude of sediment availability, but this requires insights and validation from field efforts. In this study, we investigate the progradation of Anclote Key via its morphostratigraphy, a presently dynamic b
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Daniel J. Ciarletta, Jennifer L. Miselis, Julie Bernier, Arnell S. Forde, Shannon A. Mahan
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Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center

Evaluating oil and gas industry two-dimensional multichannel seismic data for use in near-surface assessment of geologic framework and potential marine minerals resources

Marine seismic reflection data acquired across the Gulf of Mexico during oil and gas exploration are available to the public through an online database archive. The data are archived as two-dimensional multichannel seismic data in two digital formats. The formats include image files in portable document format (PDF), and binary files in industry standard Society for Exploration Geophysicists revis
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James G. Flocks, Arnell S. Forde, Stephen T. Bosse
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St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center

Analysis of high-resolution single channel seismic data for use in sediment resource evaluation, eastern Texas and western Louisiana Continental Shelf, Gulf of Mexico

Shallow subsurface geologic data recorded as high-resolution seismic profiles are used to interpret the geology of coastal and marine systems. These data were originally recorded on paper rolls that are stored in geophysical archives. Data collection has since converted to entirely digital formats, yet the analog data are still useful for geologic interpretation. This report describes the process
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James G. Flocks, Arnell S. Forde, Stephen T. Bosse
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Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center

Reconstructing the geomorphic evolution and sediment budget history of a dynamic barrier island: Anclote Key, Florida

Decadal to centennial variations in sediment availability are a primary driver of coastal change within barrier systems. Models help explore how barrier morphology relates to past changes in magnitude of sediment availability, but this requires insights and validation from field efforts. In this study, we investigate the progradation of Anclote Key via its morphostratigraphy, a presently dynamic b
Authors
Daniel J. Ciarletta, Jennifer L. Miselis, Julie Bernier, Arnell S. Forde, Shannon A. Mahan
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Geosciences and Environmental Change Science Center, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center

Chandeleur Islands to Breton Island bathymetric and topographic datasets and operational sediment budget development: Methodology and analysis report

This study is part of the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) Louisiana Barrier Island Comprehensive Monitoring (BICM) program. The goal of the BICM program is to provide long-term data on the barrier islands of Louisiana for monitoring change and assisting in coastal management. The BICM program uses historical data and acquires new data to map and monitor shoreline position, sedi
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James G. Flocks, Arnell S. Forde, Julie Bernier
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Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, Gulf of Mexico

Chenier Plain region bathymetric and topographic datasets: Methodology report

The goal of the Louisiana Barrier Island Comprehensive Monitoring (BICM) program is to provide long-term data on coastal Louisiana for monitoring change and assisting in coastal management. This study (carried out under Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority contract number 2000339324, BICM2—Chenier TopoBathy DEM) builds upon the previous BICM physical assessment of the Chenier Plain region
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James G. Flocks, Arnell S. Forde, Julie Bernier
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Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, Gulf of Mexico

Shoreface and Holocene sediment thickness offshore of Rockaway Peninsula, New York

During September and October 2019, the U.S. Geological Survey mapped the shoreface and inner continental shelf offshore of the Rockaway Peninsula in New York using high-resolution chirp seismic reflection and single-beam bathymetry geophysical techniques. The results from this study are important for assessing the Quaternary evolution of the Rockaway Peninsula and determining coastal sediment avai
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Emily A. Wei, Jennifer L. Miselis, Arnell S. Forde
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Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center

Ground penetrating radar and differential global positioning system data collected in April 2016 from Fire Island, New York

Researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducted a long-term coastal morphologic-change study at Fire Island, New York, prior to and after Hurricane Sandy impacted the area in October 2012. The Fire Island Coastal Change project objectives include understanding the morphologic evolution of the barrier island system on a variety of time scales (months to centuries) and resolving storm-r
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Arnell S. Forde, Julie Bernier, Jennifer L. Miselis
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Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, Hurricane Sandy

Chirp subbottom profile data collected in 2015 from the northern Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana

As part of the Barrier Island Evolution Research project, scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center conducted a nearshore geophysical survey around the northern Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana, in September 2015. The objective of the project is to improve the understanding of barrier island geomorphic evolution, particularly storm-related depo
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Arnell S. Forde, Nancy T. DeWitt, Jake J. Fredericks, Jennifer L. Miselis
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Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center

Digitized analog boomer seismic-reflection data collected during U.S. Geological Survey cruises Erda 90-1_HC, Erda 90-1_PBP, and Erda 91-3 in Mississippi Sound, June 1990 and September 1991

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Coastal and Marine Geology Program has actively collected geophysical and sedimentological data in the northern Gulf of Mexico for several decades, including shallow subsurface data in the form of high-resolution seismic-reflection profiles (HRSP). Prior to the mid-1990s most HRSP data were collected in analog format as paper rolls of continuous profiles up to 25
Authors
Stephen T. Bosse, James G. Flocks, Arnell S. Forde
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Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center

Nearshore sediment thickness, Fire Island, New York

Investigations of coastal change at Fire Island, New York (N.Y.), sought to characterize sediment budgets and determine geologic framework controls on coastal processes. Nearshore sediment thickness is critical for assessing coastal system sediment availability, but it is largely unquantified due to the difficulty of conducting geological or geophysical surveys across the nearshore. This study use
Authors
Stanley D. Locker, Jennifer L. Miselis, Noreen A. Buster, Cheryl J. Hapke, Heidi M. Wadman, Jesse E. McNinch, Arnell S. Forde, Chelsea A. Stalk
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Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, Hurricane Sandy

Application of ground penetrating radar for identification of washover deposits and other stratigraphic features: Assateague Island, MD

A combination of ground penetrating radar (GPR) data, core data, and aerial photographs were analyzed to better understand the evolution of two portions of Assateague Island, Maryland. The focus of the study was to investigate the applicability of using GPR data to image washover deposits in the stratigraphic record. High amplitude reflections observed in two shore-perpendicular GPR profiles were
Authors
Nicholas Zaremba, Christopher G. Smith, Julie Bernier, Arnell S. Forde
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Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center

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