Hilary Stockdon, Ph.D. (Former Employee)

The northern Gulf of America coast of the United States has been identified as highly vulnerable to sea-level rise (SLR), based on a combination of physical and societal factors. Vulnerability of human populations and infrastructure to projected increases in sea level is a critical area of uncertainty for communities in the extremely low-lying and flat northern gulf coastal zone. A rapidly growing...

Seacliff erosion is a serious hazard with implications for coastal management, infrastructure, and residential dwellings; seacliff erosion is often estimated using successive hand digitized cliff tops or bases to assess cliff retreat. Traditionally the recession of the cliff top or cliff base is obtained from aerial photographs, topographic maps, or in situ surveys. The availability of high...

The Coastal National Elevation Database (CoNED) Applications Project team has developed new applications for pre- and post-Hurricane Sandy regional light detection and ranging (lidar) datasets for mapping the spatial extent of coastal wetlands. These new methods were developed to derive detailed land/water polygons for an area in coastal New Jersey, which is dominated by a complex configuration of...

Hurricane Sandy had significant impacts throughout the Chesapeake Bay, altering the topography and ecosystems of this populous coastal region. In response to the storm, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Coastal and Marine Geology Program in collaboration with USGS National Geospatial Program, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration developed three-dimensional (3D) topobathymetric...

Light detection and ranging (lidar) wave-form processing capabilities are being developed to utilize the U.S. Geological Survey Coastal and Marine Geology Program Experimental Advanced Airborne Research (EAARL) sensor. The EAARL lidar point cloud collection consists of highly detailed submerged and shallow bathymetry (water depth) of river channels, which will be merged with land elevation...

High-resolution coastal elevation data is required to identify flood, hurricane, and sea-level rise inundation hazard zones and other earth science applications, such as the development of sediment transport and storm surge models. Light detection and ranging (lidar) enables the rapid collection of very accurate elevation data over large areas, and during the last decade, airborne laser altimetry...

Scientists evaluated and improved the accuracy of pre-landfall forecasts of storm-induced coastal erosion hazards for Northeast beaches using data from post-Sandy lidar sruveys, beach morphology, and storm hydrodamics.

Process studies examine the physical processes at work prior to, during, and following coastal storm events. Understanding the processes involved in coastal landform evolution will improve the accuracy of the assessments of storm-induced coastal change hazards.

This project focuses on understanding the magnitude and variability of extreme storm impacts on sandy beaches. The overall objective is to improve real-time and scenario-based predictions of coastal change to support management of coastal infrastructure, resources, and safety.

Research to identify areas that are most vulnerable to coastal change hazards including beach and dune erosion, long-term shoreline change, and sea-level rise.