Dr. Kimberly Yates is a senior research oceanographer at the U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg Center for Coastal and Marine Science (SPCMSC).
Dr. Yates is also a member of the U.S. Interagency Work Group on Ocean Acidification (IWG-OA), the Executive and founding Steering Committees of the Southeast Ocean and Coastal Acidification Network (SOCAN), and served as Co-Chair of the Ocean Carbon & Biogeochemistry – Ocean Acidification Subcommittee (OCB-OA). She specializes in integrated science studies that examine how changes in coastal ecosystem processes may impact or mitigate risks from coastal hazards, using a whole system perspective that considers the interactions and linkages among chemistry, biology and the physical environment. Much of her recent work has focused on how coral reef seafloor erosion changes risks from sea level rise, waves and storms; impacts on coral reefs and estuaries from coastal and ocean acidification; and identifying and characterizing coastal climate change refuges.
Professional Experience
Senior Research Oceanographer, U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg, FL 2007 – Present
Research Oceanographer, U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg, FL 1998 – 2007
Research Assistant, University of South Florida, Department of Geology 1989 – 1997
Education and Certifications
University of South Florida (USF), Honors Program & Geology, B.A., 1992
University of South Florida, Geology (Biogeochemistry), Ph.D., 1996
Affiliations and Memberships*
Executive Committee Member and Steering Committee Member, Southeast Ocean and Coastal Acidification Network, 2015-present
Committee Member, Interagency Working Group on Ocean Acidification, National Ocean Science and Technology Subcommittee, 2009-present
Co-Chair, Ocean Carbon and Biogeochemistry Program – Ocean Acidification Subcommittee, 2011-2016
Committee Member, Gulf of Mexico Coastal Acidification Network, 2016-present
Science and Products
Quantifying Flood Risk and Reef Risk Reduction Benefits in Florida and Puerto Rico: The Consequences of Hurricane Damage, Long-term Degradation, and Restoration Opportunities
Coral Reef Ecosystem Studies (CREST)
Coral Reef Seafloor Erosion and Coastal Hazards
Coral Reef Community Calcification and Metabolism
Overlapping seabed images and location data acquired using the SQUID-5 system at Looe Key, Florida, in July 2021, with structure-from-motion derived point cloud, digital elevation model and orthomosaic of submerged topography
Overlapping seabed images and location data acquired using the SQUID-5 system at Eastern Dry Rocks coral reef, Florida, in May 2021, with derived point cloud, digital elevation model and orthomosaic of submerged topography
Time Series of Autonomous Carbonate System Parameter Measurements in Middle Tampa Bay, Florida, USA
Grain-Size Data from Upper Florida Keys: Crocker Reef, FL
Seafloor Elevation and Volume Change Analyses from 2016 to 2019 Along the Florida Reef Tract, USA
Flooding extent polygons for modelled wave-driven water levels in Florida with and without projected coral reef degradation
Upper Florida Keys 1930s-2002 Seafloor Elevation Stability Models, Maps, and Tables
Looe Key, Florida, 2016-2017 Seafloor Elevation Stability Models, Maps, and Tables
Crocker Reef, Florida, 2017-2018 Seafloor Elevation Stability Models, Maps, and Tables
Crocker Reef, Florida, 2016-2017 Seafloor Elevation Stability Models, Maps, and Tables
Florida Reef Tract 1930s-2016 Seafloor Elevation Stability Models, Maps, and Tables
Looe Key, Florida, 2004-2016 Seafloor Elevation Stability Models, Maps, and Tables
Coastal acidification trends and controls in a subtropical estuary, Tampa Bay, Florida USA
Increasing hypoxia on global coral reefs under ocean warming
Ocean acidification in the Gulf of Mexico: Drivers, impacts, and unknowns
Subsampling large-scale digital elevation models to expedite geospatial analyses in coastal regions
Biology: Integrating core to essential variables (Bio-ICE) task team report for hard corals
Rigorously valuing the impact of projected coral reef degradation on coastal hazard risk in Florida
Integrating high-resolution coastal acidification monitoring data across seven United States estuaries
Measuring coastal acidification using in situ sensors in the National Estuary Program
Identifying mangrove-coral habitats in the Florida Keys
Acidification in the U.S. Southeast: Causes, potential consequences and the role of the Southeast Ocean and Coastal Acidification Network
Accurate bathymetric maps from underwater digital imagery without ground control
Underwater photographic reconnaissance and habitat data collection in the Florida Keys—A procedure for ground truthing remotely sensed bathymetric data
Multi-grid Analysis of Point Stability Tool
Science and Products
- Science
Quantifying Flood Risk and Reef Risk Reduction Benefits in Florida and Puerto Rico: The Consequences of Hurricane Damage, Long-term Degradation, and Restoration Opportunities
Coastal flooding and erosion from extreme weather events affect thousands of vulnerable coastal communities; the impacts of coastal flooding are predicted to worsen during this century because of population growth and climate change. Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017 were particularly devasting to humans and natural communities. The coral reefs off the State of Florida and the Commonwealth of...Coral Reef Ecosystem Studies (CREST)
The specific objectives of this project are to identify and describe the processes that are important in determining rates of coral-reef construction. How quickly the skeletons of calcifying organisms accumulate to form massive barrier-reef structure is determined by processes of both construction (how fast organisms grow and reproduce) and destruction (how fast reefs break down by mechanical...Coral Reef Seafloor Erosion and Coastal Hazards
Synchronized field work focused on geochemistry, geology, and metabolic processes overlaid on a habitat map of an entire reef to produce a synoptic overview of reef processes that contribute to carbonate precipitation and dissolution.Coral Reef Community Calcification and Metabolism
This task focuses on forecasting and hind-casting the future and past response of coral reef calcification and growth to changes in seawater carbonate chemistry from pre-industrial time to the year 2100. - Data
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Overlapping seabed images and location data acquired using the SQUID-5 system at Looe Key, Florida, in July 2021, with structure-from-motion derived point cloud, digital elevation model and orthomosaic of submerged topography
Underwater images were collected using a towed-surface vehicle with multiple downward-looking underwater cameras developed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The system is named the Structure-from-Motion (SfM) Quantitative Underwater Imaging Device with Five Cameras (SQUID-5). The raw images and associated navigation data were collected at Looe Key, a coral reef located within the Florida KeysOverlapping seabed images and location data acquired using the SQUID-5 system at Eastern Dry Rocks coral reef, Florida, in May 2021, with derived point cloud, digital elevation model and orthomosaic of submerged topography
Underwater images were collected using a towed-surface vehicle with multiple downward-looking underwater cameras developed by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). The system is named the Structure-from-Motion (SfM) Quantitative Underwater Imaging Device with Five Cameras (SQUID-5). The raw images and associated navigation data were collected at Eastern Dry Rocks, a coral reef located within the FloTime Series of Autonomous Carbonate System Parameter Measurements in Middle Tampa Bay, Florida, USA
This data set contains time series measurements of carbonate system parameters including water temperature (degrees C), pressure (dbars), salinity, pHT (pH on the total scale), carbon dioxide (ppm), dissolved oxygen (milligrams/L), and photosynthetically active radiation (microEinsteins). These data were collected in Middle Tampa Bay, Florida, by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) St. Petersburg CoGrain-Size Data from Upper Florida Keys: Crocker Reef, FL
Sediment samples were collected from undisturbed sections of the seafloor around Crocker Reef, Florida which is a senile, degrading barrier reef located in the northern portion of the Florida Reef Tract (Figure 1). Samples were collected from November 2017 to April 2019. The sediment sample locations were near instruments deployed during the same period to record time series of ocean currents, wavSeafloor Elevation and Volume Change Analyses from 2016 to 2019 Along the Florida Reef Tract, USA
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center conducted research to quantify bathymetric changes along the Florida Reef Tract (FRT) from Miami to Key West within a 939.4 square-kilometer area. USGS staff calculated changes in seafloor elevation and volume from 2016 to 2019 using light detection and ranging (lidar)-derived digital elevation models (DEMs) acquireFlooding extent polygons for modelled wave-driven water levels in Florida with and without projected coral reef degradation
This data release presents projected flooding extent polygon (flood masks) shapefiles based on wave-driven total water levels for the State Florida (the Florida Peninsula and the Florida Keys). There are 12 associated flood mask shapefiles: one for each of four nearshore wave energy return periods (rp; 10-, 50-, 100-, and 500-years), the current scenario (base) and each of the degradation scenarioUpper Florida Keys 1930s-2002 Seafloor Elevation Stability Models, Maps, and Tables
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center (SPCMSC) conducted research to identify areas of seafloor elevation stability and instability based on elevation changes between the 1930s and 2002 in the Upper Florida Keys (UFK) from Triumph Reef to Pickles Reef within a 234.2 square-kilometer area. USGS SPCMSC staff used seafloor elevation-change data from YatesLooe Key, Florida, 2016-2017 Seafloor Elevation Stability Models, Maps, and Tables
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center (SPCMSC) conducted research to identify areas of seafloor elevation stability and instability based on elevation changes between the years of 2016 and 2017 at Looe Key coral reef near Big Pine Key, Florida, within a 19.74 square-kilometer area. USGS SPCMSC staff used seafloor elevation-change data from Yates and othCrocker Reef, Florida, 2017-2018 Seafloor Elevation Stability Models, Maps, and Tables
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center (SPCMSC) conducted research to identify areas of seafloor elevation stability and instability based on elevation changes between the years of 2017 and 2018 at Crocker Reef near Islamorada, Florida, within a 6.11 square-kilometer area. USGS SPCMSC staff used seafloor elevation-change data from Yates and others (2019)Crocker Reef, Florida, 2016-2017 Seafloor Elevation Stability Models, Maps, and Tables
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center (SPCMSC) conducted research to identify areas of seafloor elevation stability and instability based on elevation changes between the years of 2016 and 2017 at Crocker Reef near Islamorada, Florida, within a 33.62 square-kilometer area. USGS SPCMSC staff used seafloor elevation-change data from Yates and others (2019Florida Reef Tract 1930s-2016 Seafloor Elevation Stability Models, Maps, and Tables
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center (SPCMSC) conducted research to identify areas of seafloor elevation stability and instability based on elevation changes between the 1930s and 2016 along the Florida Reef Tract (FRT) from Miami to Key West within a 982.4 square-kilometer area. USGS SPCMSC staff used seafloor elevation-change data from Yates and otheLooe Key, Florida, 2004-2016 Seafloor Elevation Stability Models, Maps, and Tables
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center (SPCMSC) conducted research to identify areas of seafloor elevation stability and instability based on elevation changes between the years of 2004 and 2016 at Looe Key coral reef near Big Pine Key, Florida, within a 16.37 square-kilometer area. USGS SPCMSC staff used seafloor elevation-change data from Yates and oth - Multimedia
- Publications
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Coastal acidification trends and controls in a subtropical estuary, Tampa Bay, Florida USA
Many coastal estuaries have experienced declines in pH over the past few decades due to coastal acidification. However, mean monthly water column pH values (collected during daylight hours) have increased in Tampa Bay, Florida over recent decades concurrent with seagrass recovery. We measured changes in carbonate system and water quality variables in Tampa Bay and the near-coastal Gulf of Mexico eAuthorsKimberly K. Yates, Christopher Moore, Mitchell K Lemon, Ryan P. Moyer, David A. Tomasko, R. Masserini, Edward T. SherwoodIncreasing hypoxia on global coral reefs under ocean warming
Ocean deoxygenation is predicted to threaten marine ecosystems globally. However, current and future oxygen concentrations and the occurrence of hypoxic events on coral reefs remain underexplored. Here, using autonomous sensor data to explore oxygen variability and hypoxia exposure at 32 representative reef sites, we reveal that hypoxia is already pervasive on many reefs. Eighty-four percent of reAuthorsAriel K. Pezner, Travis A. Courtney, Hannah Barkley, Wen-Chen Chou, Hui-Chuan Chu, Samanth M. Clements, Tyler Cyronak, Michael D. DeGrandpre, Samuel A.H. Kekuewa, David I Kline, Yi-Bei Liang, Todd R. Martz, Satoshi Mitarai, Heather N. Page, Max S. Rintoul, Jennifer E. Smith, Keryea Soong, Yuichiro Takeshita, Martin Tresguerres, Yi Wei, Kimberly K. Yates, Andreas J AnderssonOcean acidification in the Gulf of Mexico: Drivers, impacts, and unknowns
Ocean acidification (OA) has resulted in global-scale changes in ocean chemistry, which can disturb marine organisms and ecosystems. Despite its extensively populated coastline, many marine-dependent communities, and valuable economies, the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) remains a relatively understudied region with respect to acidification. In general, the warm waters of the GOM are better buffered from acAuthorsEmily Osborne, Xinping Hu, E. R. Hall, Kimberly K. Yates, Jennifer Vreeland-Dawson, Katie Shamberger, Leticia Barbero, J. Martin Hernandez-Ayon, Fabian Gomez, Tacey Hicks, Yuan-Yuan Xu, Melissa R. McCutcheon, Michael Acquafredda, Cecilia Chapa-Balcorta, Orion Norzagaray, Denis Pierrot, Alain Munoz-Caravaca, Kerri L. Dobson, N. Williams, N. N. Rabalais, Padmanava DashSubsampling large-scale digital elevation models to expedite geospatial analyses in coastal regions
Large-area, high-resolution digital elevation models (DEMs) created from light detection and ranging (LIDAR) and/or multibeam echosounder data sets are commonly used in many scientific disciplines. These DEMs can span thousands of square kilometers, typically with a spatial resolution of 1 m or finer, and can be difficult to process and analyze without specialized computers and software. Such DEMsAuthorsKelly Ann Murphy, David G. Zawada, Kimberly K. YatesBiology: Integrating core to essential variables (Bio-ICE) task team report for hard corals
The Interagency Ocean Observation Committee (IOOC) is chartered by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) Subcommittee on Ocean Science and Technology (SOST). The purpose of the IOOC is to advise, assist, and make recommendations to the SOST on matters related to ocean observations via task teams such as the Biology - Integrating Core to Essential Variables (Bio-ICE) task tAuthorsE. K. Towle, Abigail Benson, Matt Biddle, Sarah Bingo, Kaitlyn Brucker, Gabrielle Canonico, Maggie Chory, Kruit Desai, Masha Edmondson, Miguel Figuerola, Christina Horstmann, Susan K Jackson, Jen Koss, J. Landrum, Kathryn Lohr, Laura Lorenzoni, Anderson Mayfield, Brian Melzin, Frank Muller-Karger, Sarah O'Conner, Deb Santavy, Curt Storlazzi, Anna Toline, Juan Torres-Perez, Kimberly K. YatesRigorously valuing the impact of projected coral reef degradation on coastal hazard risk in Florida
The degradation of coastal habitats, particularly coral reefs, raises risks by increasing the exposure of coastal communities to flooding hazards. In the United States, the physical protective services provided by coral reefs were recently assessed, in social and economic terms, with the annual protection provided by U.S. coral reefs off the coast of the State of Florida estimated to be more thanAuthorsCurt D. Storlazzi, Borja G. Reguero, Kimberly K. Yates, Kristen A. Cumming, Aaron Cole, James B. Shope, Camila Gaido L., David G. Zawada, Stephanie R. Arsenault, Zachery W. Fehr, Barry A. Nickel, Michael W. BeckIntegrating high-resolution coastal acidification monitoring data across seven United States estuaries
Beginning in 2015, the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) National Estuary Program (NEP) started a collaboration with partners in seven estuaries along the East Coast (Barnegat Bay; Casco Bay), West Coast (Santa Monica Bay; San Francisco Bay; Tillamook Bay), and the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Coast (Tampa Bay; Mission-Aransas Estuary) of the United States to expand the use of autonoAuthorsNicholas A Rosenau, Holly Galavotti, Kimberly K. Yates, Curtis Bohlen, Christopher W. Hunt, Matthew Liebman, A Brown, Stephen R. Pacella, John L. Largier, Karina Nielsen, Xinping Hu, Melissa McCutcheon, James Vasslides, Matthew Poach, Tom Ford, Karina Johnston, Alex SteeleMeasuring coastal acidification using in situ sensors in the National Estuary Program
Estuaries and coastal areas are highly vulnerable to the impacts of acidification on shellfish, coral reefs, fisheries, and the commercial and recreational industries that they support. Yet, little is known about the extent of this vulnerability and the estuary-specific drivers that contribute to acidification, such as nutrient enrichment from stormwater, agriculture and wastewater discharges, upwAuthorsHolly Galavotti, James Vasslides, Matthew Poach, Curtis Bohlen, Christopher W. Hunt, Matthew Liebman, Xinping Hu, Melissa McCutcheon, Jim O'Donnell, Kay Howard-Strobel, Prassede Vella, John Lehrter, Karina Nielsen, John Largier, Tom Ford, Alex Steele, Kimberly K. Yates, York Johnson, Cheryl Brown, Stephen R. PacellaIdentifying mangrove-coral habitats in the Florida Keys
Coral reefs are degrading due to many synergistic stressors. Recently there have been a number of global reports of corals occupying mangrove habitats that provide a supportive environment or refugium for corals, sheltering them by reducing stressors such as oxidative light stress and low pH. This study used satellite imagery and manual ground-truthing surveys to search for mangrove-coral habitatsAuthorsChristina A. Kellogg, Ryan P. Moyer, Mary Jacobsen, Kimberly K. YatesAcidification in the U.S. Southeast: Causes, potential consequences and the role of the Southeast Ocean and Coastal Acidification Network
Coastal acidification in southeastern U.S. estuaries and coastal waters is influenced by biological activity, run-off from the land, and increasing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Acidification can negatively impact coastal resources such as shellfish, finfish, and coral reefs, and the communities that rely on them. Organismal responses for species located in the U.S. Southeast document large neAuthorsEmily R. Hall, Leslie Wickes, Louis Burnett, Geoffrey I. Scott, Debra Hernandez, Kimberly K. Yates, Leticia Barbero, Janet J. Reimer, Mohammed Baalousha, Jennifer Mintz, Wei-Jun Cai, J. Kevin Craig, M. Richard DeVoe, William S. Fisher, Terri K. Hathaway, Elizabeth B. Jewett, Zackary Johnson, Paula Keener, Rua S. Mordecai, Scott Noakes, Charlie Phillips, Paul Sandifer, Astrid Schnetzer, Jay StyronAccurate bathymetric maps from underwater digital imagery without ground control
Structure-from-Motion (SfM) photogrammetry can be used with digital underwater photographs to generate high-resolution bathymetry and orthomosaics with millimeter-to-centimeter scale resolution at relatively low cost. Although these products are useful for assessing species diversity and health, they have additional utility for quantifying benthic community structure, such as coral growth and fineAuthorsGerry Hatcher, Jonathan Warrick, Andrew C. Ritchie, Evan Dailey, David G. Zawada, Christine J. Kranenburg, Kimberly K. YatesUnderwater photographic reconnaissance and habitat data collection in the Florida Keys—A procedure for ground truthing remotely sensed bathymetric data
Bathymetric geoprocessing analyses of the Florida Reef Tract have provided insights into trends of seafloor accretion and seafloor erosion over time and following major storm events. However, bathymetric surveys sometimes capture manmade structures and vegetation, which do not represent the desired bare-earth data. Therefore, ground truthing is essential to maintain the most accurate bathymetric dAuthorsZachery W. Fehr, Kimberly K. Yates - Software
Multi-grid Analysis of Point Stability Tool
Elevation-change datasets can also be used to identify stable and unstable areas of the seafloor. The Multi-grid Analysis of Point Stability (MAPS) program was created to automate this process. This program is used to locate persistent areas of user-defined seafloor stability and/or instability at common geographic locations from multiple elevation-change datasets (grids) representing different ti - News
*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government