Curt Storlazzi, PhD
My interests span the coastal zone, from seacliff erosional processes to sediment dynamics in the shallow coastal ocean. My research focuses on the quantitative study of hydrodynamics, sediment transport, and geomorphology in coastal and marine environments.
Research Topics
Coral reef morphology, hydrodynamics, and sediment, nutrient, contaminant, and larval transport
The role of coral reefs and other coastal ecosystems in coastal hazard risk reduction
The interplay between geologic structure, climatic fluctuations, and coastal processes
High-resolution oceanographic instrumentation and coastal mapping techniques
The influence of physical processes on coral reef ecosystems
Many tropical coastal environments have been impacted by infrastructure development, nutrient and contaminant delivery, and natural and human-induced sedimentation. The high geomorphic and hydrodynamic complexity both within and between coral reefs, in conjunction with past technical restrictions, has limited our understanding of the nature of flow and the resulting flux of physical, chemical, and biologic material in these ecosystems. Understanding the physical controls on the timing and magnitude of flow and sediment, larvae, nutrient, and contaminant transport, along with their impact on seafloor geomorphology, stability, and sedimentation in these refugia are essential to assessing modern anthropogenic impacts (climate change, etc.) on these ecosystems and help guide how restoration can increase the resiliency of coral reef-lined coastal communities.
See: Coral Reef Project and The Value of U.S. Coral Reefs for Risk Reduction (links below)
The influence of climate change and sea-level rise on coral reef-lined coasts
Observations show that sea level is rising and recent projections indicate sea level will exceed 1.0 m, and may reach 2.0 m, above 2000 levels by the end of the 21st century. The amount of land and water available for human habitation, water and food sources, and ecosystems along coral reef-lined coasts is limited and vulnerable to wave-driven flooding during storms. Rising sea levels will further exacerbate the impacts of storms on coral reef-lined coasts by reducing wave breaking (and thus energy dissipation) over reefs and result in greater wave energy impacting the shoreline, causing increased flooding and changes to the coast such as erosion. Understanding the physical controls on the timing and magnitude of flooding, along with their impact on coastal geomorphology, are essential to assessing impacts on, and the future sustainability of, coastal infrastructure, agriculture, freshwater availability, and ecosystems.
See: Low-lying areas of tropical Pacific islands (links below)
Professional Experience
2002-present: Research Geologist and Oceanographer, USGS Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program
2002-present: Research Associate, University of California at Santa Cruz (UCSC) Institute for Marine Sciences
Education and Certifications
2002-2004: Research Fellow, Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans Consortium
2000-2002: Post-doctoral Researcher, UCSC Institute for Marine Sciences
2000: Ph.D., UCSC, Earth Sciences Department
1996: B.Sc., University of Delaware, Geology Department
Science and Products
Using Video Imagery to Study Wave Dynamics: Isla Verde
The Impact of Climate Change and Sea-Level Rise on Future Flooding of Coastal Parks and Refuges in Hawaiʻi and the U.S. Affiliated Pacific Islands
Coral reef profiles for wave-runup prediction
Model parameter input files to compare wave-averaged versus wave-resolving XBeach coastal flooding models for coral reef-lined coasts
Dynamically downscaled future wave projections from SWAN model results for the main Hawaiian Islands
Waiakane, Molokai, HI, 2018 Coral Reef Circulation and Sediment Dynamics Experiment
Observations of coral reef oceanographic and groundwater properties off Makua, Kauai, HI, USA, August 2016
Time series data of oceanographic conditions from La Parguera, Puerto Rico, 2017-2018 Coral Reef Circulation and Sediment Dynamics Experiment
Physics-based numerical model simulations of wave propagation over and around theoretical atoll and island morphologies for sea-level rise scenarios
Projected flooding extents and depths based on 10-, 50-, 100-, and 500-year wave-energy return periods, with and without coral reefs, for the States of Hawaii and Florida, the Territories of Guam, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands,
Bathymetry, acoustic-backscatter, and time-series datasets collected between 2014 and 2016 of a field of crescent-shaped rippled scour depressions in northern Monterey Bay, California
Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Sea-level Rise Scenarios and Models 2010-2015
HyCReWW database: A hybrid coral reef wave and water level metamodel
Projected flood water depths on Roi-Namur, Kwajalein Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands
Biology: Integrating core to essential variables (Bio-ICE) task team report for hard corals
Rigorously valuing the coastal hazard risks reduction provided by potential coral reef restoration in Florida and Puerto Rico
Rigorously valuing the impact of Hurricanes Irma and Maria on coastal hazard risks in Florida and Puerto Rico
Rigorously valuing the impact of projected coral reef degradation on coastal hazard risk in Florida
Rebounds, regresses, and recovery: A 15-year study of the coral reef community at Pila‘a, Kaua‘i after decades of natural and anthropogenic stress events
Land-based sediment sources and transport to southwest Puerto Rico coral reefs after Hurricane Maria, May 2017 to June 2018
Online-coupling of widely-ranged timescales to model coral reef development
Wave-driven flood-forecasting on reef-lined coasts early warning system (WaveFoRCE)
Rapid observations of ocean dynamics and stratification along a steep island coast during Hurricane María
Hurricanes are extreme storms that affect coastal communities, but the linkages between hurricane forcing and ocean dynamics remain poorly understood. Here, we present full water column observations at unprecedented resolution from the southwest Puerto Rico insular shelf and slope during Hurricane María, representing a rare set of high-frequency, subsurface, oceanographic observations collected al
Coral reef restorations can be optimized to reduce coastal flooding hazards
The value of US coral reefs for flood risk reduction
A numerical study of wave-driven mean flows and setup dynamics at a coral reef-lagoon system
Non-USGS Publications**
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
Science and Products
- Science
Filter Total Items: 26
Using Video Imagery to Study Wave Dynamics: Isla Verde
USGS scientists installed video cameras atop a building and oceanographic instruments off San Juan, Puerto Rico, to better understand how waves move across coral reefs and cause flooding on tropical shorelines.The Impact of Climate Change and Sea-Level Rise on Future Flooding of Coastal Parks and Refuges in Hawaiʻi and the U.S. Affiliated Pacific Islands
The Pacific Ocean is home to a number of low-lying, coastal national parks and wildlife refuges. These public lands are situated on coral reef-lined islands that are susceptible to inundation from sea-level rise and flooding during storms. Because of their low-lying nature and limited availability of space, ecosystems, cultural resources, and infrastructure on these islands are particularly vulner - Data
Filter Total Items: 42
Coral reef profiles for wave-runup prediction
This data release includes representative cluster profiles (RCPs) from a large (>24,000) selection of coral reef topobathymetric cross-shore profiles (Scott and others, 2020). We used statistics, machine learning, and numerical modelling to develop the set of RCPs, which can be used to accurately represent the shoreline hydrodynamics of a large variety of coral reef-lined coasts around the globe.Model parameter input files to compare wave-averaged versus wave-resolving XBeach coastal flooding models for coral reef-lined coasts
This data release includes the XBeach input data files used to evaluate the importance of explicitly modeling sea-swell waves for runup. This was examined using a 2D XBeach short wave-averaged (surfbeat, XB-SB) and a wave-resolving (non-hydrostatic, XB-NH) model of Roi-Namur Island on Kwajalein Atoll in the Republic of Marshall Islands. Results show that explicitly modelling the sea-swell componenDynamically downscaled future wave projections from SWAN model results for the main Hawaiian Islands
Projected wave climate trends from WAVEWATCH3 model output were used as input for nearshore wave models (for example, SWAN) for the main Hawaiian Islands to derive data and statistical measures (mean and top 5 percent values) of wave height, wave period, and wave direction for the recent past (1996-2005) and future projections (2026-2045 and 2085-2100). Three-hourly global climate model (GCM) windWaiakane, Molokai, HI, 2018 Coral Reef Circulation and Sediment Dynamics Experiment
Coral reefs generate significant volumes of carbonate sediment that becomes the primary source of beach material along many low-latitude shorelines that protect hundreds of millions of people globally. Despite this fact, there is little understanding of the specific processes that transport the carbonate sediment produced on the outer portions of coral reefs to the shoreline, let alone how those pObservations of coral reef oceanographic and groundwater properties off Makua, Kauai, HI, USA, August 2016
Pervasive and sustained coral diseases contribute to the systemic degradation of reef ecosystems, however, an understanding of the physicochemical controls on a coral disease event is still largely lacking. Water circulation and residence times and submarine groundwater discharge all determine the degree to which reef organisms are exposed to the variable chemistry of overlying waters; understandiTime series data of oceanographic conditions from La Parguera, Puerto Rico, 2017-2018 Coral Reef Circulation and Sediment Dynamics Experiment
Time-series data of water surface elevation, waves, currents, temperature, and salinity collected between 17 May 2017 and 17 Jan 2018 off the southwest coast of Puerto Rico in support of a study on circulation and sediment transport dynamics over coral reefs. The data are available in NetCDF format, grouped together in zip files by instrument site location. A README.txt file details the files contPhysics-based numerical model simulations of wave propagation over and around theoretical atoll and island morphologies for sea-level rise scenarios
Schematic atoll models with varying theoretical morphologies were used to evaluate the relative control of individual morphological parameters on alongshore transport gradients. Here we present physics-based numerical SWAN model results of incident wave transformations for a range of atoll and island morphologies and sea-level rise scenarios. Model results are presented in NetCDF format, accompaniProjected flooding extents and depths based on 10-, 50-, 100-, and 500-year wave-energy return periods, with and without coral reefs, for the States of Hawaii and Florida, the Territories of Guam, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands,
This data release provides flooding extent polygons (flood masks) and depth values (flood points) based on wave-driven total water levels for 22 locations within the States of Hawaii and Florida, the Territories of Guam, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. For each of the 22 locations there are eight associated flood maskBathymetry, acoustic-backscatter, and time-series datasets collected between 2014 and 2016 of a field of crescent-shaped rippled scour depressions in northern Monterey Bay, California
Between November 2014 and June 2016 the U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center (PCMSC) conducted eight repeat, high-resolution bathymetry and acoustic-backscatter surveys of a small patch of seafloor offshore Santa Cruz in northern Monterey Bay, California. PCMSC also collected oceanographic time-series data over the same two-year period. This data release provides the eNorthwestern Hawaiian Islands Sea-level Rise Scenarios and Models 2010-2015
This data release consists of two ESRI geodatabases that store inundation areas for various future scenarios of sea-level rise (SLR), groundwater rise, and storm waves for Laysan Island and Midway Atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Five types of inundation scenarios are considered: (1) passive SLR, (2) passive SLR including groundwater rise, (3) wave-driven inundation during storm events,HyCReWW database: A hybrid coral reef wave and water level metamodel
We developed the HyCReWW metamodel to predict wave run-up under a wide range of coral reef morphometric and offshore forcing characteristics. Due to the complexity and high dimensionality of the problem, we assumed an idealized one-dimensional reef profile, characterized by seven primary parameters. XBeach Non-Hydrostatic was chosen to create the synthetic dataset and Radial Basis Functions implemProjected flood water depths on Roi-Namur, Kwajalein Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands
Projected future wave-driven flooding depths on Roi-Namur Island on Kwajalein Atoll in the Republic of the Marshall Islands for a range of climate-change scenarios. This study utilized field data to calibrate oceanographic and hydrogeologic models, which were then used with climate-change and sea-level rise projections to explore the effects of sea-level rise and wave-driven flooding on atoll isl - Maps
- Multimedia
Filter Total Items: 26No results found.
- Publications
Filter Total Items: 192
Biology: Integrating core to essential variables (Bio-ICE) task team report for hard corals
The Interagency Ocean Observation Committee (IOOC) is chartered by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) Subcommittee on Ocean Science and Technology (SOST). The purpose of the IOOC is to advise, assist, and make recommendations to the SOST on matters related to ocean observations via task teams such as the Biology - Integrating Core to Essential Variables (Bio-ICE) task tAuthorsE. K. Towle, Abigail Benson, Matt Biddle, Sarah Bingo, Kaitlyn Brucker, Gabrielle Canonico, Maggie Chory, Kruit Desai, Masha Edmondson, Miguel Figuerola, Christina Horstmann, Susan K Jackson, Jen Koss, J. Landrum, Kathryn Lohr, Laura Lorenzoni, Anderson Mayfield, Brian Melzin, Frank Muller-Karger, Sarah O'Conner, Deb Santavy, Curt Storlazzi, Anna Toline, Juan Torres-Perez, Kimberly K. YatesRigorously valuing the coastal hazard risks reduction provided by potential coral reef restoration in Florida and Puerto Rico
The restoration of coastal habitats, particularly coral reefs, can reduce risks by decreasing the exposure of coastal communities to flooding hazards. In the United States, the protective services provided by coral reefs were recently assessed in social and economic terms, with the annual protection provided by U.S. coral reefs off the coasts of the State of Florida and the Commonwealth of PuertoAuthorsCurt D. Storlazzi, Borja G. Reguero, Kristen A. Cumming, Aaron Cole, James B. Shope, Camila Gaido L., T. Shay Viehman, Barry A. Nickel, Michael W. BeckRigorously valuing the impact of Hurricanes Irma and Maria on coastal hazard risks in Florida and Puerto Rico
The degradation of coastal habitats, particularly coral reefs, raises risks by increasing the exposure of coastal communities to flooding hazards. In the United States, the physical protective services provided by coral reefs were recently assessed in social and economic terms, with the annual protection provided by U.S. coral reefs off the coasts of the State of Florida and the Commonwealth of PuAuthorsCurt D. Storlazzi, Borja G. Reguero, T. Shay Viehman, Kristen A. Cumming, Aaron Cole, James B. Shope, Sarah H. Groves, Camila Gaido L., Barry A. Nickel, Michael W. BeckRigorously valuing the impact of projected coral reef degradation on coastal hazard risk in Florida
The degradation of coastal habitats, particularly coral reefs, raises risks by increasing the exposure of coastal communities to flooding hazards. In the United States, the physical protective services provided by coral reefs were recently assessed, in social and economic terms, with the annual protection provided by U.S. coral reefs off the coast of the State of Florida estimated to be more thanAuthorsCurt D. Storlazzi, Borja G. Reguero, Kimberly K. Yates, Kristen A. Cumming, Aaron Cole, James B. Shope, Camila Gaido L., David G. Zawada, Stephanie R. Arsenault, Zachery W. Fehr, Barry A. Nickel, Michael W. BeckRebounds, regresses, and recovery: A 15-year study of the coral reef community at Pila‘a, Kaua‘i after decades of natural and anthropogenic stress events
Pila‘a reef on the north shore of Kaua‘i, Hawai‘i was subjected to a major flood event in 2001 that deposited extensive sediment on the reef flat, resulting in high coral mortality. To document potential recovery, this study replicated benthic and sediment surveys conducted immediately following the event and 15 years later. Coral cores were analyzed to determine coral growth rates and density. OuAuthorsKu'ulei S. Rodgers, A. Richards Dona, Y. O. Stender, A. O. Tsang, J. H. J. Han, Rebecca Weible, Nancy G. Prouty, Curt D. Storlazzi, Andrew M. GrahamLand-based sediment sources and transport to southwest Puerto Rico coral reefs after Hurricane Maria, May 2017 to June 2018
The effects of runoff from land on nearshore ecosystems, including coral reef communities, are influenced by both sediment supply and removal by coastal processes. Integrated studies across the land-sea interface describing sources and transport of terrestrial sediment and its nearshore fate allow reef protection initiatives to target key onshore and offshore areas. Geochemical signatures in the fAuthorsRenee K. Takesue, Clark E Sherman, Aaron O. Reyes, Olivia Cheriton, Natalia I. Ramirez, Roberto Viqueira Ríos, Curt StorlazziOnline-coupling of widely-ranged timescales to model coral reef development
The increasing pressure on Earth's ecosystems due to climate change is becoming more and more evident and the impacts of climate change are especially visible on coral reefs. Understanding how climate change interacts with the physical environment of reefs to impact coral growth and reef development is critically important to predicting the persistence of reefs into the future. In this study, a biAuthorsGijs Hendrickx, Peter M. J. Herman, Jasper T. Dijkstra, Curt Storlazzi, Lauren TothWave-driven flood-forecasting on reef-lined coasts early warning system (WaveFoRCE)
Increasing the resilience of coastal communities while decreasing the risk to them are key to the continued inhabitance and sustainability of these areas. Low-lying coral reef-lined islands are experiencing storm wave-driven flood events that currently strike with little to no warning. These events are occurring more frequently and with increasing severity. There is a need along the world’s coralAuthorsWilliam Skirving, Curt Storlazzi, Emily A SmailRapid observations of ocean dynamics and stratification along a steep island coast during Hurricane María
Hurricanes are extreme storms that affect coastal communities, but the linkages between hurricane forcing and ocean dynamics remain poorly understood. Here, we present full water column observations at unprecedented resolution from the southwest Puerto Rico insular shelf and slope during Hurricane María, representing a rare set of high-frequency, subsurface, oceanographic observations collected al
AuthorsOlivia Cheriton, Curt Storlazzi, Kurt J. Rosenberger, Clark E Sherman, Wilford SchmidtCoral reef restorations can be optimized to reduce coastal flooding hazards
Coral reefs are effective natural coastal flood barriers that protect adjacent communities. Coral degradation compromises the coastal protection value of reefs while also reducing their other ecosystem services, making them a target for restoration. Here we provide a physics-based evaluation of how coral restoration can reduce coastal flooding for various types of reefs. Wave-driven flooding reducAuthorsFloortje Roelvink, Curt Storlazzi, Ap van Dongeren, Stuart PearsonThe value of US coral reefs for flood risk reduction
Habitats, such as coral reefs, can mitigate increasing flood damages through coastal protection services. We provide a fine-scale, national valuation of the flood risk reduction benefits of coral habitats to people, property, economies and infrastructure. Across 3,100 km of US coastline, the top-most 1 m of coral reefs prevents the 100-yr flood from growing by 23% (113 km2), avoiding flooding to 5AuthorsBorja G. Reguero, Curt Storlazzi, Ann E. Gibbs, James B. Shope, Aaron Cole, Kristen A. Cumming, Mike BeckA numerical study of wave-driven mean flows and setup dynamics at a coral reef-lagoon system
Two-dimensional mean wave-driven flow and setup dynamics were investigated at a reef-lagoon system at Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia, using the numerical wave-flow model, SWASH. Phase-resolved numerical simulations of the wave and flow fields, validated with highly detailed field observations (including >10 sensors through the energetic surf zone), were used to quantify the main mechanisms thatAuthorsDirk P. Rijnsdorp, Mark L. Buckley, Renan da Silva, Mike Cuttler, Jeff Hansen, Ryan Lowe, Rebecca H. Green, Curt StorlazziNon-USGS Publications**
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
- News
Filter Total Items: 21