Cindy Thatcher
Cindy Thatcher is a geographer with the U.S. Geological Survey National Geospatial Program in Reston, VA.
She serves as the elevation planning and management lead for the 3D Elevation Program (3DEP). She has a background in ecological applications of airborne and terrestrial lidar, with a focus on the use of lidar for mapping coastal topography and analyzing vegetation structure. Cindy previously worked at USGS science centers in Virginia, Louisiana, and Tennessee, where she conducted research on coastal environments, wetlands, and wildlife habitat.
Education and Certifications
Master’s degree in Geography from the University of Arkansas
Bachelor’s degree from James Madison University
Certified GIS Professional (GISP)
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 88
Statewide summary for Louisiana: Chapter E in Emergent wetlands status and trends in the northern Gulf of Mexico: 1950-2010 Statewide summary for Louisiana: Chapter E in Emergent wetlands status and trends in the northern Gulf of Mexico: 1950-2010
Throughout the past century, emergent wetlands have been declining across the Gulf of Mexico. Emergent wetland ecosystems provide a variety of resources, including plant and wildlife habitat, commercial and recreational economic activity, and natural barriers against storms. As emergent wetland losses increase, so does the need for information on the causes and effects of this loss...
Authors
Lawrence R. Handley, Kathryn A. Spear, Jenneke Visser, Cindy A. Thatcher, Scott A. Wilson
Galveston Bay: Chapter D in Emergent wetlands status and trends in the northern Gulf of Mexico: 1950-2010 Galveston Bay: Chapter D in Emergent wetlands status and trends in the northern Gulf of Mexico: 1950-2010
The Galveston Bay estuary is located on the upper Texas Gulf coast (Lester and Gonzalez, 2002). It is composed of four major sub-bays - Galveston, Trinity, East, and West Bays. It is Texas’ largest estuary on the Gulf Coast with a total area of 155,399 hectares (384,000 acres) and 1,885 km (1,171 miles) of shoreline (Burgan and Engle, 2006). The volume of the bay has increased over the...
Authors
Lawrence R. Handley, Kathryn A. Spear, Eleonor Taylor, Cindy A. Thatcher
Mobile Bay Mobile Bay
Mobile Bay is the largest bay found in Alabama’s coastal area (Handley et al., 2007). It was named an Estuary of National Significance in 1995 under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) National Estuary Program (NEP), and its Comprehensive Conservation Management Plan was completed in 2002. Mobile Bay is 1,070 km2 (413 miles2) in area and 51 km (32 miles) long, making it the...
Authors
Lawrence R. Handley, Kathryn A. Spear, Stephen Jones, Cindy A. Thatcher
Statewide summary for Alabama Statewide summary for Alabama
Alabama is over 132,000 km2 (51,000 miles2) in area, 483 km (300 miles) long, and 322 km (200 miles) wide (Copeland, 1968). Coastal Alabama comprises Mobile and Baldwin Counties and the surrounding State waters in the Gulf of Mexico (Figure 1; O’Neil and Mettee, 1982). It is part of both the East Gulf Coastal Plain section of the Coastal Plain province and the Mississippi-Alabama shelf...
Authors
Lawrence R. Handley, Kathryn A. Spear, Stephen Jones, Cindy A. Thatcher
Statewide summary for Mississippi Statewide summary for Mississippi
The Mississippi coastline is 113 linear kilometers (70 miles) long and its estuaries cover approximately 594 km (369 mi; Figure 1) (Handley and others, 2007). It has a man-made sand beach 43.5 km (27 mi) long and 595.5 km (370 mi) of shoreline (Klein and others, b., 1998). The Mississippi Sound extends across the coastal waters of the State and encompasses 175,412 ha (433,443 acres). It...
Authors
Lawrence R. Handley, Kathryn A. Spear, Ali Leggett, Cindy A. Thatcher
Introduction to emergent wetlands: Chapter A in Emergent wetlands status and trends in the northern Gulf of Mexico: 1950-2010 Introduction to emergent wetlands: Chapter A in Emergent wetlands status and trends in the northern Gulf of Mexico: 1950-2010
Throughout the past century, emergent wetlands have been declining across the Gulf of Mexico. Emergent wetland ecosystems provide a plethora of resources including plant and wildlife habitat, commercial and recreational economic activity, water quality improvement, and natural barriers against storms. As emergent wetland losses increase, so does the need for information on the causes and...
Authors
Lawrence R. Handley, Kathryn A. Spear, René Baumstark, Ryan Moyer, Cindy A. Thatcher
Corpus Christi, Nueces, and Aransas Bays: Chapter C in Emergent wetlands status and trends in the northern Gulf of Mexico: 1950-2010 Corpus Christi, Nueces, and Aransas Bays: Chapter C in Emergent wetlands status and trends in the northern Gulf of Mexico: 1950-2010
Corpus Christi Bay and Nueces Bay comprise the middle estuarine portion of Texas’ Coastal Bend region (Figure 1; Burgan and Engle, 2006). Aransas Bay is part of the upper estuarine portion of the region. These bays make up part of the Coastal Bend Bays and Estuaries Program, one of the many estuarine areas in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s National Estuary Program (Holt, 1998...
Authors
Lawrence R. Handley, Kathryn A. Spear, Eleonor Taylor, Cindy A. Thatcher
Mississippi river delta: Chapter G in Emergent wetlands status and trends in the northern Gulf of Mexico: 1950-2010 Mississippi river delta: Chapter G in Emergent wetlands status and trends in the northern Gulf of Mexico: 1950-2010
No abstract available.
Authors
Lawrence R. Handley, Kathryn A. Spear, Mirka Zapletal, Cindy A. Thatcher, William Jones, Scott Wilson
Statewide summary for Texas Statewide summary for Texas
The Texas coast (Figure 1) consists of complex and diverse ecosystems with a varying precipitation gradient. The northernmost portion of the coast, extending from Sabine Lake to Galveston Bay, is composed of salt, brackish, intermediate, and fresh marshes, with humid flatwoods inland (Moulton and others, 1997). Coastal prairies are found across the entire coast. From Galveston Bay to...
Authors
Lawrence R. Handley, Kathryn A. Spear, Jim Gibeaut, Cindy A. Thatcher
Mississippi Sound Mississippi Sound
The Mississippi Sound is the primary body of water off the Mississippi Coast, extending from Lake Borgne, La. in the west to Mobile Bay, Ala. in the east and bordered by the barrier islands--Cat, Ship, Horn, Petit Bois, and Dauphin Islands--of Gulf Islands National Seashore to the south (Figure 1). It encompasses an estuary 293 km2 (113 mi2) large with a watershed of 259 km2 (100 mi2)...
Authors
Lawrence R. Handley, Kathryn A. Spear, Ali Leggett, Cindy A. Thatcher
Bank erosion of navigation canals in the western and central Gulf of Mexico Bank erosion of navigation canals in the western and central Gulf of Mexico
Erosion of navigation canal banks is a direct cause of land loss, but there has been little quantitative analysis to determine why certain major canals exhibit faster widening rates (indicative of erosion) than others in the coastal zones of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. We hypothesize that navigation canals exhibit varying rates of erosion based on soil properties of the...
Authors
Cindy A. Thatcher, Stephen B. Hartley, Scott A. Wilson
Tampa Bay Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay is Florida’s largest open-water estuary and encompasses an area of approximately 1036 km2 (400 mi2) (Burgan and Engle, 2006; TBNEP, 2006). The Bay’s watershed drains 5,698 km2 (2,200 mi2) of land and includes freshwater from the Hillsborough River to the north east, the Alafia and Little Manatee rivers to the east, and the Manatee River to the south (Figure 1). Freshwater...
Authors
Lawrence R. Handley, Kathryn Spear, Lindsay Cross, René Baumstark, Ryan Moyer, Cindy A. Thatcher
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 88
Statewide summary for Louisiana: Chapter E in Emergent wetlands status and trends in the northern Gulf of Mexico: 1950-2010 Statewide summary for Louisiana: Chapter E in Emergent wetlands status and trends in the northern Gulf of Mexico: 1950-2010
Throughout the past century, emergent wetlands have been declining across the Gulf of Mexico. Emergent wetland ecosystems provide a variety of resources, including plant and wildlife habitat, commercial and recreational economic activity, and natural barriers against storms. As emergent wetland losses increase, so does the need for information on the causes and effects of this loss...
Authors
Lawrence R. Handley, Kathryn A. Spear, Jenneke Visser, Cindy A. Thatcher, Scott A. Wilson
Galveston Bay: Chapter D in Emergent wetlands status and trends in the northern Gulf of Mexico: 1950-2010 Galveston Bay: Chapter D in Emergent wetlands status and trends in the northern Gulf of Mexico: 1950-2010
The Galveston Bay estuary is located on the upper Texas Gulf coast (Lester and Gonzalez, 2002). It is composed of four major sub-bays - Galveston, Trinity, East, and West Bays. It is Texas’ largest estuary on the Gulf Coast with a total area of 155,399 hectares (384,000 acres) and 1,885 km (1,171 miles) of shoreline (Burgan and Engle, 2006). The volume of the bay has increased over the...
Authors
Lawrence R. Handley, Kathryn A. Spear, Eleonor Taylor, Cindy A. Thatcher
Mobile Bay Mobile Bay
Mobile Bay is the largest bay found in Alabama’s coastal area (Handley et al., 2007). It was named an Estuary of National Significance in 1995 under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) National Estuary Program (NEP), and its Comprehensive Conservation Management Plan was completed in 2002. Mobile Bay is 1,070 km2 (413 miles2) in area and 51 km (32 miles) long, making it the...
Authors
Lawrence R. Handley, Kathryn A. Spear, Stephen Jones, Cindy A. Thatcher
Statewide summary for Alabama Statewide summary for Alabama
Alabama is over 132,000 km2 (51,000 miles2) in area, 483 km (300 miles) long, and 322 km (200 miles) wide (Copeland, 1968). Coastal Alabama comprises Mobile and Baldwin Counties and the surrounding State waters in the Gulf of Mexico (Figure 1; O’Neil and Mettee, 1982). It is part of both the East Gulf Coastal Plain section of the Coastal Plain province and the Mississippi-Alabama shelf...
Authors
Lawrence R. Handley, Kathryn A. Spear, Stephen Jones, Cindy A. Thatcher
Statewide summary for Mississippi Statewide summary for Mississippi
The Mississippi coastline is 113 linear kilometers (70 miles) long and its estuaries cover approximately 594 km (369 mi; Figure 1) (Handley and others, 2007). It has a man-made sand beach 43.5 km (27 mi) long and 595.5 km (370 mi) of shoreline (Klein and others, b., 1998). The Mississippi Sound extends across the coastal waters of the State and encompasses 175,412 ha (433,443 acres). It...
Authors
Lawrence R. Handley, Kathryn A. Spear, Ali Leggett, Cindy A. Thatcher
Introduction to emergent wetlands: Chapter A in Emergent wetlands status and trends in the northern Gulf of Mexico: 1950-2010 Introduction to emergent wetlands: Chapter A in Emergent wetlands status and trends in the northern Gulf of Mexico: 1950-2010
Throughout the past century, emergent wetlands have been declining across the Gulf of Mexico. Emergent wetland ecosystems provide a plethora of resources including plant and wildlife habitat, commercial and recreational economic activity, water quality improvement, and natural barriers against storms. As emergent wetland losses increase, so does the need for information on the causes and...
Authors
Lawrence R. Handley, Kathryn A. Spear, René Baumstark, Ryan Moyer, Cindy A. Thatcher
Corpus Christi, Nueces, and Aransas Bays: Chapter C in Emergent wetlands status and trends in the northern Gulf of Mexico: 1950-2010 Corpus Christi, Nueces, and Aransas Bays: Chapter C in Emergent wetlands status and trends in the northern Gulf of Mexico: 1950-2010
Corpus Christi Bay and Nueces Bay comprise the middle estuarine portion of Texas’ Coastal Bend region (Figure 1; Burgan and Engle, 2006). Aransas Bay is part of the upper estuarine portion of the region. These bays make up part of the Coastal Bend Bays and Estuaries Program, one of the many estuarine areas in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s National Estuary Program (Holt, 1998...
Authors
Lawrence R. Handley, Kathryn A. Spear, Eleonor Taylor, Cindy A. Thatcher
Mississippi river delta: Chapter G in Emergent wetlands status and trends in the northern Gulf of Mexico: 1950-2010 Mississippi river delta: Chapter G in Emergent wetlands status and trends in the northern Gulf of Mexico: 1950-2010
No abstract available.
Authors
Lawrence R. Handley, Kathryn A. Spear, Mirka Zapletal, Cindy A. Thatcher, William Jones, Scott Wilson
Statewide summary for Texas Statewide summary for Texas
The Texas coast (Figure 1) consists of complex and diverse ecosystems with a varying precipitation gradient. The northernmost portion of the coast, extending from Sabine Lake to Galveston Bay, is composed of salt, brackish, intermediate, and fresh marshes, with humid flatwoods inland (Moulton and others, 1997). Coastal prairies are found across the entire coast. From Galveston Bay to...
Authors
Lawrence R. Handley, Kathryn A. Spear, Jim Gibeaut, Cindy A. Thatcher
Mississippi Sound Mississippi Sound
The Mississippi Sound is the primary body of water off the Mississippi Coast, extending from Lake Borgne, La. in the west to Mobile Bay, Ala. in the east and bordered by the barrier islands--Cat, Ship, Horn, Petit Bois, and Dauphin Islands--of Gulf Islands National Seashore to the south (Figure 1). It encompasses an estuary 293 km2 (113 mi2) large with a watershed of 259 km2 (100 mi2)...
Authors
Lawrence R. Handley, Kathryn A. Spear, Ali Leggett, Cindy A. Thatcher
Bank erosion of navigation canals in the western and central Gulf of Mexico Bank erosion of navigation canals in the western and central Gulf of Mexico
Erosion of navigation canal banks is a direct cause of land loss, but there has been little quantitative analysis to determine why certain major canals exhibit faster widening rates (indicative of erosion) than others in the coastal zones of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. We hypothesize that navigation canals exhibit varying rates of erosion based on soil properties of the...
Authors
Cindy A. Thatcher, Stephen B. Hartley, Scott A. Wilson
Tampa Bay Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay is Florida’s largest open-water estuary and encompasses an area of approximately 1036 km2 (400 mi2) (Burgan and Engle, 2006; TBNEP, 2006). The Bay’s watershed drains 5,698 km2 (2,200 mi2) of land and includes freshwater from the Hillsborough River to the north east, the Alafia and Little Manatee rivers to the east, and the Manatee River to the south (Figure 1). Freshwater...
Authors
Lawrence R. Handley, Kathryn Spear, Lindsay Cross, René Baumstark, Ryan Moyer, Cindy A. Thatcher