Kathryn E L Smith, PhD
Kathryn Smith is a coastal ecologist at the St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center in St. Petersurg, Florida.
Biography
Dr. Kathryn Smith’s research focuses on linking geospatial and geophysical data to assess environmental change in coastal wetlands, estuaries, and barrier islands. Kathryn is responsible for leading efforts in geospatial data analysis procedures, enhancing capabilities for paleoecological assessment of coastal habitats, examining the complex dynamics of coastal sedimentary processes, and paired field and spatial modeling studies which assess the vulnerability of coastal ecosystems to storms and sea-level rise. In addition, Kathryn has maintained a teaching and graduate student advising role at the University of South Florida. Dr. Smith is a graduate of the University of Florida with a PhD in Environmental Engineering and an MS in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation. She obtained her BS from the University of Minnesota in Environmental Science.
Science and Products
Estuarine and MaRsh Geology Research Project
The goal of the Estuarine and MaRsh Geology (EMRG) Research Project is to study how and where short- and long-term marsh and estuarine coastal processes interact, how they influence coastal accretion or erosion, and how they pre-condition a marsh’s resiliency to storms, sea-level change, and human alterations along the northern Gulf of Mexico (Grand Bay and Point aux Chenes, Mississippi and St...
Sea-level and Storm Impacts on Estuarine Environments and Shorelines (SSIEES)
This project assesses the physical controls of sediment and material exchange between wetlands and estuarine environments along the northern Gulf of Mexico (Grand Bay Alabama/Mississippi and Vermilion Bay, Louisiana) and the Atlantic coast (Chincoteague Bay, Virginia/Maryland).
Coastal wetland shoreline change monitoring: A comparison of shorelines from high-resolution WorldView satellite imagery, aerial imagery, and field surveys
Shoreline change analysis is an important environmental monitoring tool for evaluating coastal exposure to erosion hazards, particularly for vulnerable habitats such as coastal wetlands where habitat loss is problematic world-wide. The increasing availability of high-resolution satellite imagery and emerging developments in analysis techniques...
Smith, Kathryn; Terrano, Joseph; Pitchford, Jonathan L; Archer, Michael Lateral shoreline erosion and shore-proximal sediment deposition on a coastal marsh from seasonal, storm and decadal measurements
The persistence of coastal marsh is dependent on its ability to maintain elevation relative to sea level, particularly for marshes experiencing high rates of shoreline erosion due to wave-attack, storms, and sea level rise. Sediments eroded at the marsh edge are either delivered onto the marsh platform or into the estuary, the...
Smith, Kathryn; Terrano, Joseph; Khan, Nicole S.; Smith, Christopher; Pitchford, Jonathan L
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, Kristi A geospatially resolved wetland vulnerability index: Synthesis of physical drivers
Assessing wetland vulnerability to chronic and episodic physical drivers is fundamental for establishing restoration priorities. We synthesized multiple data sets from E.B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, New Jersey, to establish a wetland vulnerability metric that integrates a range of physical processes, regulatory information and physical/...
Defne, Zafer; Aretxabaleta, Alfredo; Ganju, Neil Kamal; Kalra, Tarandeep S.; Jones, Daniel K.; Smith, Kathryn Analysis of multi-decadal wetland changes, and cumulative impact of multiple storms 1984 to 2017
Land-cover classification analysis using Landsat satellite imagery acquired between 1984 and 2017 quantified short- (post-Hurricane Sandy) and long-term wetland-change trends along the Maryland and Virginia coasts between Metompkin Bay, VA and Ocean City, MD. Although there are limited options for upland migration of wetlands in the study area,...
Douglas, Steven H.; Bernier, Julie C.; Smith, Kathryn
Barrier-island and estuarine-wetland physical-change assessment after Hurricane Sandy
IntroductionThe Nation’s eastern coast is fringed by beaches, dunes, barrier islands, wetlands, and bluffs. These natural coastal barriers provide critical benefits and services, and can mitigate the impact of storms, erosion, and sea-level rise on our coastal communities. Waves and storm surge resulting from Hurricane Sandy, which made landfall...
Plant, Nathaniel G.; Smith, Kathryn; Passeri, Davina; Smith, Christopher G.; Bernier, Julie C. Estuarine shoreline and sandline change model skill and predicted probabilities
The Barrier Island and Estuarine Wetland Physical Change Assessment was created to calibrate and test probability models of barrier island estuarine shoreline and sandline change for study areas in Virginia, Maryland, and New Jersey. The models examined the influence of hydrologic and physical variables related to long-term and event-driven (...
Smith, Kathryn E. L.; Passeri, Davina; Plant, Nathaniel G. Historical shoreline for New Jersey (1971 to 1978): Vector digital data
This data release features a digitized historic shoreline for the New Jersey coastline (Point Pleasant, NJ to Longport, NJ) from 1971 to 1978. Imagery of the New Jersey coastline was acquired from the New Jersey Geographic Information Network (NJGIN) as two images: "1970 NJDEP Wetlands Basemap" (1971-78) and the "1977 Tidelands Basemaps" (1977-78...
Swiderski, Danielle C.; Terrano, Joseph F.; Smith, Kathryn E. L.
Ground-penetrating radar and differential global positioning system data collected from Long Beach Island, New Jersey, April 2015
Scientists from the United States Geological Survey, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, and students from the University of Hawaii at Manoa collected sediment cores, sediment surface grab samples, ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and Differential Global Positioning...
Zaremba, Nicholas J.; Smith, Kathryn E.L.; Bishop, James M.; Smith, Christopher G.
Analysis of shoreline and geomorphic change for Breton Island, Louisiana, from 1869 to 2014
Many barrier islands in the United States are eroding and losing elevation substantively because of storm surge, waves, and sea-level changes. This is particularly true for the deltaic barrier system in Louisiana. Breton Island is near the mouth of the Mississippi River at the southern end of the Chandeleur barrier island chain in southeast...
Terrano, Joseph F.; Flocks, James G.; Smith, Kathryn E. L. Estuarine shoreline and barrier-island sandline change assessment
The Barrier Island and Estuarine Wetland Physical Change Assessment Dataset was created to calibrate and test probability models of barrier island sandline and estuarine shoreline change for study areas in Virginia, Maryland, and New Jersey. The models examined the influence of hydrologic and physical variables related to storm-derived overwash...
Terrano, Joseph F.; Smith, Kathryn E.L. Historical shoreline for New Jersey (1839 to 1875): T-sheets and vector digital Data
Historical shoreline surveys were conducted by the National Ocean Service (NOS), dating back to the early 1800s. The maps resulting from these surveys, often called t-sheets, provide a reference of historical shoreline position that can be compared to modern data to identify shoreline change. The t-sheets are stored at the National Archives...
Terrano, Joseph; Smith, Kathryn E
Kathryn Smith and Christopher G. Smith will present at the Grand Bay NERR Research Symposium
Kathryn Smith and Christopher G. Smith of the USGS St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center will present their research during the “Ecological processes” session of the Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve Research Symposium on September 10.
New study from SPCMSC compares wetland shoreline change analysis methods
SPCMSC Research Ecologist Kathryn Smith and team publish a new paper, “Coastal Wetland Shoreline Change Monitoring: A Comparison of Shorelines from High-Resolution WorldView Satellite Imagery, Aerial Imagery, and Field Surveys”
SPCMSC scientists publish new paper on shoreline erosion and sediment deposition
Kathryn Smith and team publish a new paper, “Lateral shoreline erosion and shore-proximal sediment deposition on a coastal marsh from seasonal, storm and decadal measurements” in the journal Geomorphology. The study provides new information about sediment accumulation and marsh shoreline erosion at multiple time scales in the Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve.
Lunch & Learn: Estuarine Shoreline Change Analysis
USGS Research Ecologist, Kathryn Smith, and CNT Researcher, Joseph Terrano, have been invited to present their estuarine shoreline change analysis research at the Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (GBNERR) Lunch & Learn webinar series, which will be held online on July 22nd, 2020.
Collaborative research will advance knowledge on coastal erosion hazards of marsh shorelines and the impact of living shorelines
Coastal wetland loss has been well documented and attributed to many factors, including increased shoreline erosion from human activities, sea level rise, and storms.
USGS scientists publish study documenting recent wetland-changes along Maryland and Virginia coastline
New study analyzed Landsat satellite imagery to document historical and recent (post-Hurricane Sandy) wetland changes that occurred along the Maryland and Virginia coastlines since 1984.
Big Bend Coastal Mapping Prioritization Workshop in Cedar Key, Florida
The USGS, FWRI, and FIO, as part of the Florida Coastal Mapping Program (FCMaP), are leading a coastal and seafloor mapping prioritization workshop on Sept. 7, 2018, with stakeholders from 20 different Federal, State, County, and academic entities. The group will utilize a new tool developed by NOAA and FWRI to indicate which areas of the seabed, from the shore to the shelf edge, are most...