Dean Gesch, Ph.D. (Former Employee)
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 15
Collecting Elevation Data to Understand Climate Change Effects in the Marshall Islands
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports that low-lying atolls (ring-shaped islands or island chains made of coral) in the Pacific Ocean are extremely vulnerable to high tide events (“king tides”), storm surge, tsunamis, and sea-level rise. The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) spreads over 29 atolls and has a population of over 50,000 people with homes and communities...
Simulating and Projecting Future Impacts of Sea Level Rise on Majuro Atoll
The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) spreads over 29 atolls and has a population of over 50,000 people; over 27,000 of those people live on the Majuro Atoll, RMI’s capital. Sea level rise threatens the very existence of RMI as high-end projections of sea level rise by the end of the century exceed the average elevation of these low atoll reef islands. Already, waves wash over...
Evaluating Sea-level Rise Impacts in the Northeastern U.S.
In 2010, 39 percent of the U.S.population lived near the coast. This population is expected to increase by 8 percent from 2010 to 2020. Coastal regions are also home to species and habitats that provide critical services to humans, such as wetlands that buffer coasts from storms. Therefore, sea-level rise and the associated changes in coastlines challenge both human communities and...
Filter Total Items: 15
Vertical Land Change in Select Counties of Kentucky, Minnesota, and Wisconsin Vertical Land Change in Select Counties of Kentucky, Minnesota, and Wisconsin
The Vertical Land Change project is an assessment of the impacts of surface mining in Perry County, Kentucky, the Mesabi Iron Range in northeastern Minnesota, and the west central part of Wisconsin. This project builds and expands upon previous vertical land change efforts (Gesch, 2006) by conducting research into the issues surrounding the integration of 3D data products with 2D remote...
Delineation of Water Bodies in Emergent Wetlands in Coastal New Jersey Delineation of Water Bodies in Emergent Wetlands in Coastal New Jersey
Hurricane Sandy, which made landfall on October 29, 2012, near Brigantine, New Jersey, had a significant impact on coastal New Jersey, including the large areas of emergent wetlands at Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) and the Barnegat Bay region. In response to Hurricane Sandy, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has developed new applications for pre- and post-Hurricane Sandy...
Coastal Landscape Response to Sea-Level Rise Assessment for the Northeastern United States Data Release Coastal Landscape Response to Sea-Level Rise Assessment for the Northeastern United States Data Release
As part of the USGS Sea-Level Rise Hazards and Decision-Support project, this assessment seeks to predict the response to sea-level rise across the coastal landscape under a range of future scenarios by evaluating the likelihood of inundation as well as dynamic coastal change. The research is being conducted in conjunction with resource managers and decision makers from federal and state...
Filter Total Items: 63
The National Elevation Dataset The National Elevation Dataset
The National Elevation Dataset (NED) is a primary elevation data product that has been produced and distributed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Since its inception, the USGS has compiled and published topographic information in many forms, and the NED is a significant development in this long line of products that describe the land surface. The NED provides seamless raster...
Authors
Dean B. Gesch, Gayla A. Evans, Michael J. Oimoen, Samantha Arundel
Coastal National Elevation Database Coastal National Elevation Database
The Coastal National Elevation Database (CoNED) Applications Project develops enhanced topographic (land elevation) and bathymetric (water depth) datasets that serve as valuable resources for coastal hazards research (Danielson and others, 2016; Thatcher and others, 2016). These datasets are used widely for mapping inundation zones from riverine flood events, hurricanes, and sea-level...
Authors
Jeffrey J. Danielson, Sandra K. Poppenga, Dean J. Tyler, Monica Palaseanu-Lovejoy, Dean B. Gesch
Evaluating the potential for near-shore bathymetry on the Majuro Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands, using Landsat 8 and WorldView-3 imagery Evaluating the potential for near-shore bathymetry on the Majuro Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands, using Landsat 8 and WorldView-3 imagery
Satellite-derived near-shore bathymetry (SDB) is becoming an increasingly important method for assessing vulnerability to climate change and natural hazards in low-lying atolls of the northern tropical Pacific Ocean. Satellite imagery has become a cost-effective means for mapping near-shore bathymetry because ships cannot collect soundings safely while operating close to the shore. Also...
Authors
Sandra K. Poppenga, Monica Palaseanu-Lovejoy, Dean B. Gesch, Jeffrey J. Danielson, Dean J. Tyler
One-meter topobathymetric digital elevation model for Majuro Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands, 1944 to 2016 One-meter topobathymetric digital elevation model for Majuro Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands, 1944 to 2016
Atoll and island coastal communities are highly exposed to sea-level rise, tsunamis, storm surges, rogue waves, king tides, and the occasional combination of multiple factors, such as high regional sea levels, extreme high local tides, and unusually strong wave set-up. The elevation of most of these atolls averages just under 3 meters (m), with many areas roughly at sea level. The lack...
Authors
Monica Palaseanu-Lovejoy, Sandra K. Poppenga, Jeffrey J. Danielson, Dean J. Tyler, Dean B. Gesch, Maria Kottermair, Andrea Jalandoni, Edward Carlson, Cindy A. Thatcher, Matthew M. Barbee
Topobathymetric elevation model development using a new methodology: Coastal National Elevation Database Topobathymetric elevation model development using a new methodology: Coastal National Elevation Database
During the coming decades, coastlines will respond to widely predicted sea-level rise, storm surge, and coastalinundation flooding from disastrous events. Because physical processes in coastal environments are controlled by the geomorphology of over-the-land topography and underwater bathymetry, many applications of geospatial data in coastal environments require detailed knowledge of...
Authors
Jeffrey J. Danielson, Sandra K. Poppenga, John Brock, Gayla A. Evans, Dean J. Tyler, Dean B. Gesch, Cindy A. Thatcher, John Barras
Creating a Coastal National Elevation Database (CoNED) for science and conservation applications Creating a Coastal National Elevation Database (CoNED) for science and conservation applications
The U.S. Geological Survey is creating the Coastal National Elevation Database, an expanding set of topobathymetric elevation models that extend seamlessly across coastal regions of high societal or ecological significance in the United States that are undergoing rapid change or are threatened by inundation hazards. Topobathymetric elevation models are raster datasets useful for...
Authors
Cindy A. Thatcher, John Brock, Jeffrey J. Danielson, Sandra K. Poppenga, Dean B. Gesch, Monica Palaseanu-Lovejoy, John Barras, Gayla A. Evans, Ann Gibbs
Validation of the ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model version 3 over the conterminous United States Validation of the ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model version 3 over the conterminous United States
The ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model Version 3 (GDEM v3) was evaluated over the conterminous United States in a manner similar to the validation conducted for the original GDEM Version 1 (v1) in 2009 and GDEM Version 2 (v2) in 2011. The absolute vertical accuracy of GDEM v3 was calculated by comparison with more than 23,000 independent reference geodetic ground control points from...
Authors
Dean B. Gesch, Michael J. Oimoen, Jeffrey J. Danielson, David Meyer
Evaluation of dynamic coastal response to sea-level rise modifies inundation likelihood Evaluation of dynamic coastal response to sea-level rise modifies inundation likelihood
Sea-level rise (SLR) poses a range of threats to natural and built environments1, 2, making assessments of SLR-induced hazards essential for informed decision making3. We develop a probabilistic model that evaluates the likelihood that an area will inundate (flood) or dynamically respond (adapt) to SLR. The broad-area applicability of the approach is demonstrated by producing 30 × 30 m...
Authors
Erika E. Lentz, E. Robert Thieler, Nathaniel G. Plant, Sawyer R. Stippa, Radley M. Horton, Dean B. Gesch
Introduction: Special issue on advances in topobathymetric mapping, models, and applications Introduction: Special issue on advances in topobathymetric mapping, models, and applications
Detailed knowledge of near-shore topography and bathymetry is required for many geospatial data applications in the coastal environment. New data sources and processing methods are facilitating development of seamless, regional-scale topobathymetric digital elevation models. These elevation models integrate disparate multi-sensor, multi-temporal topographic and bathymetric datasets to...
Authors
Dean B. Gesch, John Brock, Christopher E. Parrish, Jeffrey N. Rogers, C. Wayne Wright
Evaluating coastal landscape response to sea-level rise in the northeastern United States: approach and methods Evaluating coastal landscape response to sea-level rise in the northeastern United States: approach and methods
The U.S. Geological Survey is examining effects of future sea-level rise on the coastal landscape from Maine to Virginia by producing spatially explicit, probabilistic predictions using sea-level projections, vertical land movement rates (due to isostacy), elevation data, and land-cover data. Sea-level-rise scenarios used as model inputs are generated by using multiple sources of...
Authors
Erika E. Lentz, Sawyer R. Stippa, E. Robert Thieler, Nathaniel G. Plant, Dean B. Gesch, Radley M. Horton
Accuracy assessment of the U.S. Geological Survey National Elevation Dataset, and comparison with other large-area elevation datasets: SRTM and ASTER Accuracy assessment of the U.S. Geological Survey National Elevation Dataset, and comparison with other large-area elevation datasets: SRTM and ASTER
The National Elevation Dataset (NED) is the primary elevation data product produced and distributed by the U.S. Geological Survey. The NED provides seamless raster elevation data of the conterminous United States, Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. island territories, Mexico, and Canada. The NED is derived from diverse source datasets that are processed to a specification with consistent resolutions...
Authors
Dean B. Gesch, Michael J. Oimoen, Gayla A. Evans
Topobathymetric model of Mobile Bay, Alabama Topobathymetric model of Mobile Bay, Alabama
Topobathymetric Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) are a merged rendering of both topography (land elevation) and bathymetry (water depth) that provides a seamless elevation product useful for inundation mapping, as well as for other earth science applications, such as the development of sediment-transport, sea-level rise, and storm-surge models. This 1/9-arc-second (approximately 3 meters)
Authors
Jeffrey J. Danielson, John Brock, Daniel M. Howard, Dean B. Gesch, Jamie M. Bonisteel-Cormier, Laurinda J. Travers
Non-USGS Publications**
Imhoff, M.L., and Gesch, D.B., 1990, The derivation of a sub canopy digital terrain model of a flooded forest using synthetic aperture radar: Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing, v. 56, no. 8, p. 1155-1162.
Imhoff, M.L., and Gesch, D.B., 1988, The derivation of sub-canopy surface terrain models of coastal forests using synthetic aperture radar, in Proceedings, 1988 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, Edinburgh, Scotland, September 12-16, 1988, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc., Piscataway, New Jersey, p. 613-617.
**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
Filter Total Items: 15
Collecting Elevation Data to Understand Climate Change Effects in the Marshall Islands
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports that low-lying atolls (ring-shaped islands or island chains made of coral) in the Pacific Ocean are extremely vulnerable to high tide events (“king tides”), storm surge, tsunamis, and sea-level rise. The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) spreads over 29 atolls and has a population of over 50,000 people with homes and communities...
Simulating and Projecting Future Impacts of Sea Level Rise on Majuro Atoll
The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) spreads over 29 atolls and has a population of over 50,000 people; over 27,000 of those people live on the Majuro Atoll, RMI’s capital. Sea level rise threatens the very existence of RMI as high-end projections of sea level rise by the end of the century exceed the average elevation of these low atoll reef islands. Already, waves wash over...
Evaluating Sea-level Rise Impacts in the Northeastern U.S.
In 2010, 39 percent of the U.S.population lived near the coast. This population is expected to increase by 8 percent from 2010 to 2020. Coastal regions are also home to species and habitats that provide critical services to humans, such as wetlands that buffer coasts from storms. Therefore, sea-level rise and the associated changes in coastlines challenge both human communities and...
Filter Total Items: 15
Vertical Land Change in Select Counties of Kentucky, Minnesota, and Wisconsin Vertical Land Change in Select Counties of Kentucky, Minnesota, and Wisconsin
The Vertical Land Change project is an assessment of the impacts of surface mining in Perry County, Kentucky, the Mesabi Iron Range in northeastern Minnesota, and the west central part of Wisconsin. This project builds and expands upon previous vertical land change efforts (Gesch, 2006) by conducting research into the issues surrounding the integration of 3D data products with 2D remote...
Delineation of Water Bodies in Emergent Wetlands in Coastal New Jersey Delineation of Water Bodies in Emergent Wetlands in Coastal New Jersey
Hurricane Sandy, which made landfall on October 29, 2012, near Brigantine, New Jersey, had a significant impact on coastal New Jersey, including the large areas of emergent wetlands at Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) and the Barnegat Bay region. In response to Hurricane Sandy, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has developed new applications for pre- and post-Hurricane Sandy...
Coastal Landscape Response to Sea-Level Rise Assessment for the Northeastern United States Data Release Coastal Landscape Response to Sea-Level Rise Assessment for the Northeastern United States Data Release
As part of the USGS Sea-Level Rise Hazards and Decision-Support project, this assessment seeks to predict the response to sea-level rise across the coastal landscape under a range of future scenarios by evaluating the likelihood of inundation as well as dynamic coastal change. The research is being conducted in conjunction with resource managers and decision makers from federal and state...
Filter Total Items: 63
The National Elevation Dataset The National Elevation Dataset
The National Elevation Dataset (NED) is a primary elevation data product that has been produced and distributed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Since its inception, the USGS has compiled and published topographic information in many forms, and the NED is a significant development in this long line of products that describe the land surface. The NED provides seamless raster...
Authors
Dean B. Gesch, Gayla A. Evans, Michael J. Oimoen, Samantha Arundel
Coastal National Elevation Database Coastal National Elevation Database
The Coastal National Elevation Database (CoNED) Applications Project develops enhanced topographic (land elevation) and bathymetric (water depth) datasets that serve as valuable resources for coastal hazards research (Danielson and others, 2016; Thatcher and others, 2016). These datasets are used widely for mapping inundation zones from riverine flood events, hurricanes, and sea-level...
Authors
Jeffrey J. Danielson, Sandra K. Poppenga, Dean J. Tyler, Monica Palaseanu-Lovejoy, Dean B. Gesch
Evaluating the potential for near-shore bathymetry on the Majuro Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands, using Landsat 8 and WorldView-3 imagery Evaluating the potential for near-shore bathymetry on the Majuro Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands, using Landsat 8 and WorldView-3 imagery
Satellite-derived near-shore bathymetry (SDB) is becoming an increasingly important method for assessing vulnerability to climate change and natural hazards in low-lying atolls of the northern tropical Pacific Ocean. Satellite imagery has become a cost-effective means for mapping near-shore bathymetry because ships cannot collect soundings safely while operating close to the shore. Also...
Authors
Sandra K. Poppenga, Monica Palaseanu-Lovejoy, Dean B. Gesch, Jeffrey J. Danielson, Dean J. Tyler
One-meter topobathymetric digital elevation model for Majuro Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands, 1944 to 2016 One-meter topobathymetric digital elevation model for Majuro Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands, 1944 to 2016
Atoll and island coastal communities are highly exposed to sea-level rise, tsunamis, storm surges, rogue waves, king tides, and the occasional combination of multiple factors, such as high regional sea levels, extreme high local tides, and unusually strong wave set-up. The elevation of most of these atolls averages just under 3 meters (m), with many areas roughly at sea level. The lack...
Authors
Monica Palaseanu-Lovejoy, Sandra K. Poppenga, Jeffrey J. Danielson, Dean J. Tyler, Dean B. Gesch, Maria Kottermair, Andrea Jalandoni, Edward Carlson, Cindy A. Thatcher, Matthew M. Barbee
Topobathymetric elevation model development using a new methodology: Coastal National Elevation Database Topobathymetric elevation model development using a new methodology: Coastal National Elevation Database
During the coming decades, coastlines will respond to widely predicted sea-level rise, storm surge, and coastalinundation flooding from disastrous events. Because physical processes in coastal environments are controlled by the geomorphology of over-the-land topography and underwater bathymetry, many applications of geospatial data in coastal environments require detailed knowledge of...
Authors
Jeffrey J. Danielson, Sandra K. Poppenga, John Brock, Gayla A. Evans, Dean J. Tyler, Dean B. Gesch, Cindy A. Thatcher, John Barras
Creating a Coastal National Elevation Database (CoNED) for science and conservation applications Creating a Coastal National Elevation Database (CoNED) for science and conservation applications
The U.S. Geological Survey is creating the Coastal National Elevation Database, an expanding set of topobathymetric elevation models that extend seamlessly across coastal regions of high societal or ecological significance in the United States that are undergoing rapid change or are threatened by inundation hazards. Topobathymetric elevation models are raster datasets useful for...
Authors
Cindy A. Thatcher, John Brock, Jeffrey J. Danielson, Sandra K. Poppenga, Dean B. Gesch, Monica Palaseanu-Lovejoy, John Barras, Gayla A. Evans, Ann Gibbs
Validation of the ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model version 3 over the conterminous United States Validation of the ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model version 3 over the conterminous United States
The ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model Version 3 (GDEM v3) was evaluated over the conterminous United States in a manner similar to the validation conducted for the original GDEM Version 1 (v1) in 2009 and GDEM Version 2 (v2) in 2011. The absolute vertical accuracy of GDEM v3 was calculated by comparison with more than 23,000 independent reference geodetic ground control points from...
Authors
Dean B. Gesch, Michael J. Oimoen, Jeffrey J. Danielson, David Meyer
Evaluation of dynamic coastal response to sea-level rise modifies inundation likelihood Evaluation of dynamic coastal response to sea-level rise modifies inundation likelihood
Sea-level rise (SLR) poses a range of threats to natural and built environments1, 2, making assessments of SLR-induced hazards essential for informed decision making3. We develop a probabilistic model that evaluates the likelihood that an area will inundate (flood) or dynamically respond (adapt) to SLR. The broad-area applicability of the approach is demonstrated by producing 30 × 30 m...
Authors
Erika E. Lentz, E. Robert Thieler, Nathaniel G. Plant, Sawyer R. Stippa, Radley M. Horton, Dean B. Gesch
Introduction: Special issue on advances in topobathymetric mapping, models, and applications Introduction: Special issue on advances in topobathymetric mapping, models, and applications
Detailed knowledge of near-shore topography and bathymetry is required for many geospatial data applications in the coastal environment. New data sources and processing methods are facilitating development of seamless, regional-scale topobathymetric digital elevation models. These elevation models integrate disparate multi-sensor, multi-temporal topographic and bathymetric datasets to...
Authors
Dean B. Gesch, John Brock, Christopher E. Parrish, Jeffrey N. Rogers, C. Wayne Wright
Evaluating coastal landscape response to sea-level rise in the northeastern United States: approach and methods Evaluating coastal landscape response to sea-level rise in the northeastern United States: approach and methods
The U.S. Geological Survey is examining effects of future sea-level rise on the coastal landscape from Maine to Virginia by producing spatially explicit, probabilistic predictions using sea-level projections, vertical land movement rates (due to isostacy), elevation data, and land-cover data. Sea-level-rise scenarios used as model inputs are generated by using multiple sources of...
Authors
Erika E. Lentz, Sawyer R. Stippa, E. Robert Thieler, Nathaniel G. Plant, Dean B. Gesch, Radley M. Horton
Accuracy assessment of the U.S. Geological Survey National Elevation Dataset, and comparison with other large-area elevation datasets: SRTM and ASTER Accuracy assessment of the U.S. Geological Survey National Elevation Dataset, and comparison with other large-area elevation datasets: SRTM and ASTER
The National Elevation Dataset (NED) is the primary elevation data product produced and distributed by the U.S. Geological Survey. The NED provides seamless raster elevation data of the conterminous United States, Alaska, Hawaii, U.S. island territories, Mexico, and Canada. The NED is derived from diverse source datasets that are processed to a specification with consistent resolutions...
Authors
Dean B. Gesch, Michael J. Oimoen, Gayla A. Evans
Topobathymetric model of Mobile Bay, Alabama Topobathymetric model of Mobile Bay, Alabama
Topobathymetric Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) are a merged rendering of both topography (land elevation) and bathymetry (water depth) that provides a seamless elevation product useful for inundation mapping, as well as for other earth science applications, such as the development of sediment-transport, sea-level rise, and storm-surge models. This 1/9-arc-second (approximately 3 meters)
Authors
Jeffrey J. Danielson, John Brock, Daniel M. Howard, Dean B. Gesch, Jamie M. Bonisteel-Cormier, Laurinda J. Travers
Non-USGS Publications**
Imhoff, M.L., and Gesch, D.B., 1990, The derivation of a sub canopy digital terrain model of a flooded forest using synthetic aperture radar: Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing, v. 56, no. 8, p. 1155-1162.
Imhoff, M.L., and Gesch, D.B., 1988, The derivation of sub-canopy surface terrain models of coastal forests using synthetic aperture radar, in Proceedings, 1988 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, Edinburgh, Scotland, September 12-16, 1988, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc., Piscataway, New Jersey, p. 613-617.
**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.