McNinch, J.E. and Miselis, J.L. (2012). Geology metrics for predicting shoreline change using seabed and sub-bottom observations from the surf zone. Eds. Sherwood, C., Li, M. International Association of Sedimentologists Special Publication, Vol. 44, 99-120.
Jennifer L Miselis, Ph.D.
I study the geology of coastal margins, specifically how sediment availability and fluxes influence coastal evolution over a variety of time and space scales. My work, which spans the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, supports coastal management by providing insight into modern and future coastal behavior, the extent and quality of sediment resources, and spatial variability in ecosystem resilience.
Biography
I received a B.S. in Marine Science and a B.A. in Spanish from the University of South Carolina and a Ph.D. in Marine Science with a specialization in Coastal Geology from the Virginia Institute of Marine Science. In 2008, I started an NRC Postdoctoral Research Associateship at the Naval Research Laboratory at Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. In 2010, I began working for the USGS at the Saint Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, where I explore how geologic variability influences coastal system change over a range of time scales. Using geophysics, remote sensing, and sediment sampling, I characterize coastal geology and identify relationships between geology and coastal system response to climate and storms. Also, I integrate observations with models to quantify the impact of existing variability on future coastal response.
Science and Products
Date published: October 9, 2020
Status: Active Coastal Sediment Availability and Flux (CSAF) Capabilities
As part of the Coastal Sediment Availability and Flux project, we use innovative technology and integrate a variety of techniques to characterize barrier island environments, reconstruct their past history, and predict their future vulnerability.
Date published: September 18, 2020
Status: Active Modeling Barrier Island Evolution, Shoreface Morphology, and Overwash
Barrier island field observations provide information about past and current environmental conditions and changes over time; however, they can’t tell us about the future. Models can predict possible future behaviors but are only as good as their input data. By integrating both observations and models, we can extend observations and arrive at more realistic predictions of barrier island...
Date published: September 18, 2020
Status: Active Shoreface Morphology and Geology
Exchanges of sediment between the shoreface and barrier islands allow barrier islands to adjust to changes in water level, such as those associated with storms or sea-level rise. Characterizing shoreface morphology and geology allows us to explore how past and present processes have impacted modern barrier island sediment transport and what that means for future barrier island evolution.
Date published: September 18, 2020
Status: Active Barrier Island Sensitivity to Changes in Sediment Supply
Observations and models show that maintaining barrier islands requires a balance between sea-level rise and sediment supply. However, most estimates of sediment supply are not based on modern conditions, which could result in less accurate predictions of sediment fluxes. We explore how natural and human alterations impact modern sediment fluxes, or changes, on barrier islands – research that...
Date published: September 17, 2020
Status: Active Storm-Related Barrier Island Morphological Evolution
Storms quickly and dramatically alter barrier island environments by changing adjacent seafloor morphology, eroding beaches, scarping or leveling dunes, and sometimes creating new inlets. Measuring the magnitude of barrier island sediment movement during and after storms allows us to track rates of beach recovery, dune growth, and inlet-related alterations to barrier island sediment supply....
Date published: March 19, 2020
Status: Active Coastal Sediment Availability and Flux (CSAF)
Sediments are the foundation of coastal systems, including barrier islands. Their behavior is driven by not only sediment availability, but also sediment exchanges between barrier island environments. We collect geophysical, remote sensing, and sediment data to estimate these parameters, which are integrated with models to improve prediction of coastal response to extreme storms and sea-level...
Date published: February 14, 2020
Status: Active Coastal Change at Fire Island, a geonarrative
For more than two decades the U.S. Geological Survey has been researching Fire Island's offshore, nearshore, and barrier island systems to better understand drivers of coastal change and evolution. This geonarrative delves into how barrier islands change and evolve, demonstrates how seasons, storms and humans change beaches, and explores the role models play in predicting what the beach might...
Date published: August 6, 2019
Status: Active Coastal System Change at Fire Island, New York
Fire Island is a 50-km long barrier island along the south shore of Long Island, New York. The island is comprised of seventeen year-round communities; federal, state, and county parks; and supports distinct ecosystems alongside areas of economic and cultural value. In addition to providing resources to its residents, the barrier island also protects the heavily-populated mainland from storm...
Date published: May 6, 2019
Status: Active Breach Evolution - Coastal System Change at Fire Island, New York
In 2012, during Hurricane Sandy, a breach formed in the Otis Pike High Dune Wilderness Area on Fire Island, NY.
Attribution: St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center
Date published: May 3, 2019
Status: Active Hurricane Sandy - Coastal System Change at Fire Island, New York
USGS used several techniques to quantify the impacts of Hurricane Sandy on the ocean shoreline of Fire Island.
Contacts: Erika Lentz, Ph.D., Jennifer L Miselis, Ph.D.
Attribution: St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center
Date published: May 3, 2019
Status: Active Storm Impacts - Coastal System Change at Fire Island, New York
Fire Island is vulnerable to considerable storm activity year-round from both hurricanes and nor’easters. Storms are important drivers of coastal change in barrier island settings such as Fire Island. Larger storms carry sediment to the interior of the island via overwash, helping to create new habitat and build island resilience by adding back barrier width and interior elevation. Storms also...
Contacts: Erika Lentz, Ph.D., Jennifer L Miselis, Ph.D.
Attribution: St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center
Date published: May 2, 2019
Status: Active Research Integration - Coastal System Change at Fire Island, New York
In order to predict the future behavior of the Fire Island landscape as a whole, information from across research themes must be integrated.
Contacts: Jennifer L Miselis, Ph.D., Erika Lentz, Ph.D.
Attribution: St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center
Year Published: 2021
Impacts of sediment removal from and placement in coastal barrier island systems
Executive SummaryOn June 24, 2019, Congressman Raul Grijalva of Arizona, Chair of the House Committee on Natural Resources, sent a letter to the directors of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Geological Survey to request their assistance in answering questions regarding coastal sediment resource management within the Coastal Barrier...
Miselis, Jennifer L.; Flocks, James G.; Zeigler, Sara; Passeri, Davina; Smith, David R.; Bourque, Jill; Sherwood, Christopher R.; Smith, Christopher G.; Ciarletta, Daniel J.; Smith, Kathryn; Hart, Kristen; Kazyak, David; Berlin, Alicia; Prohaska, Bianca; Calleson, Teresa; Yanchis, KristiAttribution: Coasts, Mapping, Remote Sensing, and Geospatial Data, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, Natural Hazards, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Region 2: South Atlantic-Gulf (Includes Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands), United States of America
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Miselis, J.L., Flocks, J.G., Zeigler, S., Passeri, D., Smith, D.R., Bourque, J., Sherwood, C.R., Smith, C.G., Ciarletta, D.J., Smith, K., Hart, K., Kazyak, D., Berlin, A., Prohaska, B., Calleson, T., and Yanchis, K., 2021, Impacts of sediment removal from and placement in coastal barrier island systems: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2021–1062, 94 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20211062.
Year Published: 2021
Quantifying thresholds of barrier geomorphic change in a cross-shore sediment-partitioning model
Barrier coasts, including barrier islands, beach-ridge plains, and associated landforms, can assume a broad spectrum of morphologies over multi-decadal scales that reflect conditions of sediment availability, accommodation, and relative sea-level rise. However, the quantitative thresholds of these controls on barrier-system behavior remain largely...
Ciarletta, Daniel J.; Miselis, Jennifer L.; Shawler, Justin L.; Hein, Christopher J.
Year Published: 2019
Application of sediment end-member analysis for understanding sediment fluxes, northern Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana
We analyzed grain-size distributions (GSDs) from a time-series of sediment samples to evaluate sediment transport following anthropogenic sand-berm emplacement at the northern Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana. End-member analysis (EMA) was applied to compare the end-member (EM) GSD of a known sediment source to GSDs from surrounding environments and...
Bernier, Julie C.; Miselis, Jennifer L.; Buster, Noreen A.; Flocks, James G.Attribution: St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, Region 2: South Atlantic-Gulf (Includes Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands)
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Bernier, J.C., Miselis, J.L., Buster, N.A., and Flocks, J.G., 2019, Application of sediment end-member analysis for understanding sediment fluxes, northern Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana, in Wang, P., Rosati, J.D., and Vallee, M. (eds.), , Tampa/St. Petersburg, Florida, May 27-31, 2019: Singapore, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., p. 25-38.
Year Published: 2019
A Bayesian approach to predict sub-annual beach change and recovery
The upper beach, between the astronomical high tide and the dune-toe, supports habitat and recreation along many beaches, making predictions of upper beach change valuable to coastal managers and the public. We developed and tested a Bayesian network (BN) to predict the cross-shore position of an upper beach elevation contour (ZlD) following 1...
Wilson, Kathleen; Lentz, Erika E.; Miselis, Jennifer L.; Safak, Ilgar; Brenner, Owen T.
Year Published: 2018
Sediment data from vibracores collected in 2016 from Fire Island, New York
Researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducted a long-term coastal morphologic-change study at Fire Island, New York, prior to and after Hurricane Sandy impacted the area in October 2012. The Fire Island Coastal Change project objectives include understanding the morphologic evolution of the barrier island system on a...
Buster, Noreen A.; Bernier, Julie C.; Brenner, Owen T.; Kelso, Kyle W.; Tuten, Thomas M.; Miselis, Jennifer L.Attribution: St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, Region 2: South Atlantic-Gulf (Includes Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands)
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Buster, N.A., Bernier, J.C., Brenner, O.T., Kelso, K.W., Tuten, T.M., and Miselis, J.L., 2018, Sediment data from vibracores collected in 2016 from Fire Island, New York: U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 1100, https://doi.org/10.3133/ds1100.
Year Published: 2018
Ground penetrating radar and differential global positioning system data collected in April 2016 from Fire Island, New York
Researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducted a long-term coastal morphologic-change study at Fire Island, New York, prior to and after Hurricane Sandy impacted the area in October 2012. The Fire Island Coastal Change project objectives include understanding the morphologic evolution of the barrier island system on a variety of time...
Forde, Arnell S.; Bernier, Julie C.; Miselis, Jennifer L.Attribution: St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, Region 2: South Atlantic-Gulf (Includes Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands)
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Forde, A.S., Bernier, J.C., and Miselis, J.L., 2018, Ground penetrating radar and differential global positioning system data collected in April 2016 from Fire Island, New York: U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 1078, https://doi.org/10.3133/ds1078.
Year Published: 2018
Chirp subbottom profile data collected in 2015 from the northern Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana
As part of the Barrier Island Evolution Research project, scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center conducted a nearshore geophysical survey around the northern Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana, in September 2015. The objective of the project is to improve the understanding of barrier island...
Forde, Arnell S.; DeWitt, Nancy T.; Fredericks, Jake J.; Miselis, Jennifer L.View Citation
Forde, A.S., DeWitt, N.T., Fredericks, J.J., and Miselis, J.L., 2018, Chirp subbottom profile data collected in 2015 from the northern Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana: U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 1077, https://doi.org/10.3133/ds1077.
Year Published: 2017
Natural and human-induced variability in barrier-island response to sea level rise
Storm-driven sediment fluxes onto and behind barrier islands help coastal barrier systems keep pace with sea level rise (SLR). Understanding what controls cross-shore sediment flux magnitudes is critical for making accurate forecasts of barrier response to increased SLR rates. Here, using an existing morphodynamic model for barrier island...
Miselis, Jennifer L.; Lorenzo-Trueba, JorgeAttribution: St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, Region 2: South Atlantic-Gulf (Includes Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands)
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Miselis, J.L., Lorenzo-Trueba, J., 2017, Natural and Human-Induced Variability in Barrier-Island Response to Sea Level Rise: Geophysical Research Letters, 44, pp. 11,922–11,931, https://doi.org/10.1002/2017GL074811.
Year Published: 2017
Morphologic evolution of the wilderness area breach at Fire Island, New York—2012–15
IntroductionHurricane Sandy, which made landfall on October 29, 2012, near Atlantic City, New Jersey, had a significant impact on the coastal system along the south shore of Long Island, New York. A record significant wave height of 9.6 meters (m) was measured at wave buoy 44025, approximately 48 kilometers offshore of Fire Island, New York. Surge...
Hapke, Cheryl J.; Nelson, Timothy R.; Henderson, Rachel E. ; Brenner, Owen T.; Miselis, Jennifer L.Attribution: St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, Region 2: South Atlantic-Gulf (Includes Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands)
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Hapke, C.J., Nelson, T.R., Henderson, R.E., Brenner, O.T., and Miselis, J.L., 2017, Morphologic evolution of the wilderness area breach at Fire Island, New York—2012–15: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2017–1116, 17 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20171116.
Year Published: 2017
Coastal geophysical data collected in 2016 nearshore Cape Canaveral, Florida
Geophysical data including multibeam bathymetry and backscatter, side scan sonar, and chirp subbottom were collected by Coastal Carolina University (CCU) Center for Marine and Wetland Studies (CMWS), Conway, South Carolina, in June 2016 in collaboration with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center (SPCMSC...
Buster, Noreen A.; Miselis, Jennifer L.; Okano, Shinobu; Gayes, Paul T.; Hill, Jenna C.Attribution: St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center
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Buster, N.A., Miselis, J.L., Okano, S., Gayes, P.T., Hill, J.C., 2017, Coastal geophysical data collected in 2016 nearshore Cape Canaveral, Florida: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/F7833Q8J.
Year Published: 2017
Coastal bathymetry data collected in May 2015 from Fire Island, New York—Wilderness breach and shoreface
Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center in St. Petersburg, Florida, conducted a bathymetric survey of Fire Island from May 6-20, 2015. The USGS is involved in a post-Hurricane Sandy effort to map and monitor the morphologic evolution of the wilderness breach as a part of the Hurricane...
Nelson, Timothy R.; Miselis, Jennifer L.; Hapke, Cheryl J.; Brenner, Owen T.; Henderson, Rachel E. ; Reynolds, Billy J.; Wilson, Kathleen E.Attribution: St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, Region 2: South Atlantic-Gulf (Includes Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands)
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Nelson, T.R., Miselis, J.L., Hapke, C.J., Brenner, O.T., Henderson, R.E., Reynolds, B.J., Wilson, K.E., 2017, Coastal bathymetry data collected in May 2015 from Fire Island, New York—Wilderness breach and shoreface: U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 1049, https://doi.org/10.3133/ds1049.
Year Published: 2017
Nearshore sediment thickness, Fire Island, New York
Investigations of coastal change at Fire Island, New York (N.Y.), sought to characterize sediment budgets and determine geologic framework controls on coastal processes. Nearshore sediment thickness is critical for assessing coastal system sediment availability, but it is largely unquantified due to the difficulty of conducting geological or...
Locker, Stanley D. ; Miselis, Jennifer L.; Buster, Noreen A.; Hapke, Cheryl J.; Wadman, Heidi M. ; McNinch, Jesse E. ; Forde, Arnell S.; Stalk, Chelsea A.Attribution: St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, Region 2: South Atlantic-Gulf (Includes Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands)
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Locker, S.D., Miselis, J.L., Buster, N.A., Hapke, C.J., Wadman, H.M., McNinch, J.E., Forde, A.S., and Stalk, C.A., 2017, Nearshore sediment thickness, Fire Island, New York: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2017–1024, 21 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/ofr20171024.
Pre-USGS Publications
Miselis, J.L. and McNinch, J.E. (2006). Calculating shoreline erosion potential using nearshore stratigraphy and sediment volume: Outer Banks, North Carolina. Journal of Geophysical Research-Earth Surface, VOL. 111, F02019, doi:10.1029/2005JF000389)
Kohn, M.J., Miselis, J.L., Fremd, T.J. (2002). Oxygen isotope evidence for progressive uplift of the Cascade Range, Oregon. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 204: 151-165.
Date published: June 11, 2021
SPCMSC scientists travel to the Outer Banks of North Carolina to conduct DUNEX research
SPCMSC Research Geologist Jennifer Miselis and Operations scientist Andy Farmer will conduct a geophysical survey at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Field Research Facility in Duck, NC as part of DUNEX.
Date published: June 7, 2021
USGS Publishes a Joint Report with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) on Sediment Management Impacts to Barrier Island Systems
On June 1, 2021, USGS and USFWS published a joint report in response to a request from the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources to evaluate the impacts of sediment removal and placement within barrier island systems.
Date published: June 3, 2021
SPCMSC scientists to present at the State of the Coast 2021 conference
SPCMSC geologists are giving presentations on research of recent geomorphologic changes at the Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana, at the virtual State of the Coast 2021 conference held June 2–4, 2021.
Date published: January 28, 2021
SPCMSC Research Scientists will virtually present USGS research at Cape Cod National Seashore Shark Research Meeting
On January 28, 2021, SPCMSC Research Geologist Jennifer Miselis and CNSS Scientist Tim Nelson will virtually present USGS research on the nearshore morphologic evolution of Outer Cape Cod, MA to members of the National Park Service at Cape Cod National Seashore and other local academic and industry partners.
Date published: September 30, 2020
SPCMSC Research Scientist to present at the virtual International Conference on Coastal Engineering being held from 6-9 October 2020
SPCMSC Research Geologist Jennifer Miselis will virtually present on USGS research of three U.S. barrier island systems at the International Conference on Coastal Engineering, which is being held from 6-9 October 2020.
Date published: September 19, 2019
USGS scientists travel to the Rockaways in New York to conduct shoreface geophysical survey
A shoreface geophysical survey will take place from 23 September to 15 October 2019 along Rockaway Beach, NY. The Rockaways are comprised of National Park Service (NPS) lands, public beaches, and the private community of Breezy Point, all of which were impacted by Hurricane Sandy in 2012.
Date published: September 11, 2019
USGS Researchers will travel to Patchogue, NY, to meet with Superintendent and Staff at Fire Island National Seashore
SPCMSC Research Geologists Jennifer Miselis and Daniel Ciarletta and Research Oceanographers Timothy Nelson and Sara Zeigler will travel to the National Park Service (NPS) Fire Island National Seashore (FIIS) office in Patchogue, NY, to meet with the new Superintendent, Alexcy Romero, and his staff.
Date published: May 30, 2019
SPCMSC scientists to present at Coastal Sediments '19 conference
SPCMSC scientists Julie Bernier, Noreen Buster, Kara Doran, Karen Morgan, and Tim Nelson will present their research at the Coastal Sediments '19 conference, May 27–31, in St. Petersburg, Florida. Research Geologist Jennifer Miselis, co-author with Bernier and Buster, will also be attending.
Date published: August 31, 2018
USGS scientists travel to Seven Mile Island in New Jersey to conduct nearshore geophysical survey
USGS SPCMSC personnel Jennifer Miselis (Research Geologist), Julie Bernier (Geologist), Nancy DeWitt (Geologist), Andy Farmer (CNT), Jake Fredericks (Hydrographic Technician), Kyle Kelso (Marine Operations Manager), BJ Reynolds (Engineering Technician), Chelsea Stalk (CNT), and Hunter Wilcox (CNT) will travel to southern New Jersey to conduct a nearshore geophysical survey.
Date published: July 17, 2018
USGS scientists successfully acquire repeat geophysical data at Fire Island National Seashore
The objective of the field effort was to remeasure seafloor elevations and sub-seafloor geology in areas that were surveyed in 2014 in order to quantify change in shoreface sediment availability and flux, some of the first data of its kind.
Date published: July 17, 2018
USGS scientists host National Science Foundation undergraduate students from Mote Marine Laboratory
Several undergraduate students who were awarded internships at Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, Florida, will visit the Saint Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center.
Attribution: St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center
Date published: April 26, 2018
USGS Researchers attend 11th Biennial Science Workshop at Fire Island National Seashore
SPCMSC Research Geologist Jennifer Miselis and WHCMSC Research Geologist Erika Lentz will present USGS research at the 11th Biennial Science Workshop organized by the National Park Service (NPS) Fire Island National Seashore (FIIS).