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Daniel Ciarletta is a Research Physical Scientist at the USGS St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center. He investigates the evolution of coastal morphology to understand how beach, dune, and marsh landscapes are connected over different timescales. To accomplish this, he combines field approaches with numerical modeling to quantify geomorphological change through time.
Daniel's work includes efforts to understand how dune morphology can be used as a proxy to quantify rates of sediment input and loss in coastal barrier islands, as well as how lags in sediment transfer and rates of sand partitioning within barrier islands influence long-term landscape evolution. He has created and modified several reduced-complexity model frameworks to explore these dynamics.
More recently, his work includes efforts to (1) understand the resilience of coastal systems to variations in inlet-, storm-, and engineering-induced variations in sediment availability, and (2) explore couplings between different coastal landscapes over varying timescales.
Sabrina Levinson, a USGS intern on the Coastal Sediment Availability and Flux Project (St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center), pilots a survey waverunner to the shallows of Wallops Island, Virginia.
Sabrina Levinson, a USGS intern on the Coastal Sediment Availability and Flux Project (St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center), pilots a survey waverunner to the shallows of Wallops Island, Virginia.
Dan Ciarletta teaches some students about sediment cores at the 2023 St. Petersburg Science Festival. For more than 10 years, the St. Petersburg Science Festival has celebrated STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics) activities with elementary school children and the public over a two-day event.
Dan Ciarletta teaches some students about sediment cores at the 2023 St. Petersburg Science Festival. For more than 10 years, the St. Petersburg Science Festival has celebrated STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics) activities with elementary school children and the public over a two-day event.
Photo taken at Sand Key, Florida, overlooking the Gulf of America coast. A high resolution digital video camera is installed atop Dan's Island Condo, one of the condos seen in the distance.
Photo taken at Sand Key, Florida, overlooking the Gulf of America coast. A high resolution digital video camera is installed atop Dan's Island Condo, one of the condos seen in the distance.
Join the USGS St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center as they uncover the secrets of the sediment on barrier islands in Pinellas County, Florida. This video was originally created for use at the 2021 virtual St. Petersburg Science Festival.
Join the USGS St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center as they uncover the secrets of the sediment on barrier islands in Pinellas County, Florida. This video was originally created for use at the 2021 virtual St. Petersburg Science Festival.
Join the USGS St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center as they uncover the secrets of the sediment on barrier islands in Pinellas County, Florida. This video was originally created for use at the 2021 virtual St. Petersburg Science Festival.
Join the USGS St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center as they uncover the secrets of the sediment on barrier islands in Pinellas County, Florida. This video was originally created for use at the 2021 virtual St. Petersburg Science Festival.
Animation displays modeled beach profile elevation as it has evolved at Fishing Point, Virginia. These data are based on historical charts and images and measure distance (in kilometers) of cross-shore accretion. QS is the flux of sand to the beach, and QD is the flux of sand from the beach to the active dune.
Animation displays modeled beach profile elevation as it has evolved at Fishing Point, Virginia. These data are based on historical charts and images and measure distance (in kilometers) of cross-shore accretion. QS is the flux of sand to the beach, and QD is the flux of sand from the beach to the active dune.
The remnants of an eroding marsh sit on a bayside beach behind Long Beach Island, New Jersey. Marsh loss and bayside erosion can be outcomes of both natural landscape evolution and human modification of coastal barrier systems.
The remnants of an eroding marsh sit on a bayside beach behind Long Beach Island, New Jersey. Marsh loss and bayside erosion can be outcomes of both natural landscape evolution and human modification of coastal barrier systems.
Sabrina Levinson, a USGS intern on the Coastal Sediment Availability and Flux Project (St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center), pilots a survey waverunner to the shallows of Wallops Island, Virginia.
Sabrina Levinson, a USGS intern on the Coastal Sediment Availability and Flux Project (St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center), pilots a survey waverunner to the shallows of Wallops Island, Virginia.
Dan Ciarletta teaches some students about sediment cores at the 2023 St. Petersburg Science Festival. For more than 10 years, the St. Petersburg Science Festival has celebrated STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics) activities with elementary school children and the public over a two-day event.
Dan Ciarletta teaches some students about sediment cores at the 2023 St. Petersburg Science Festival. For more than 10 years, the St. Petersburg Science Festival has celebrated STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics) activities with elementary school children and the public over a two-day event.
Photo taken at Sand Key, Florida, overlooking the Gulf of America coast. A high resolution digital video camera is installed atop Dan's Island Condo, one of the condos seen in the distance.
Photo taken at Sand Key, Florida, overlooking the Gulf of America coast. A high resolution digital video camera is installed atop Dan's Island Condo, one of the condos seen in the distance.
Join the USGS St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center as they uncover the secrets of the sediment on barrier islands in Pinellas County, Florida. This video was originally created for use at the 2021 virtual St. Petersburg Science Festival.
Join the USGS St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center as they uncover the secrets of the sediment on barrier islands in Pinellas County, Florida. This video was originally created for use at the 2021 virtual St. Petersburg Science Festival.
Join the USGS St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center as they uncover the secrets of the sediment on barrier islands in Pinellas County, Florida. This video was originally created for use at the 2021 virtual St. Petersburg Science Festival.
Join the USGS St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center as they uncover the secrets of the sediment on barrier islands in Pinellas County, Florida. This video was originally created for use at the 2021 virtual St. Petersburg Science Festival.
Animation displays modeled beach profile elevation as it has evolved at Fishing Point, Virginia. These data are based on historical charts and images and measure distance (in kilometers) of cross-shore accretion. QS is the flux of sand to the beach, and QD is the flux of sand from the beach to the active dune.
Animation displays modeled beach profile elevation as it has evolved at Fishing Point, Virginia. These data are based on historical charts and images and measure distance (in kilometers) of cross-shore accretion. QS is the flux of sand to the beach, and QD is the flux of sand from the beach to the active dune.
The remnants of an eroding marsh sit on a bayside beach behind Long Beach Island, New Jersey. Marsh loss and bayside erosion can be outcomes of both natural landscape evolution and human modification of coastal barrier systems.
The remnants of an eroding marsh sit on a bayside beach behind Long Beach Island, New Jersey. Marsh loss and bayside erosion can be outcomes of both natural landscape evolution and human modification of coastal barrier systems.