Kimberly Yates
Biography
Dr. Kimberly Yates is a senior research oceanographer at the U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg Center for Coastal and Marine Science (SPCMSC). She 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.
Education:
- University of South Florida (USF), Honors Program & Geology, B.A., 1992
- University of South Florida, Geology (Biogeochemistry), Ph.D., 1996
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
Synergistic Activities
- 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
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.
Rigorously 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...
Storlazzi, Curt D.; Reguero, Borja G.; Yates, Kimberly K.; Cumming, Kristen A.; Cole, Aaron D.; Shope, James B.; Gaido L., Camila; Zawada, David G.; Arsenault, Stephanie R.; Fehr, Zachery W.; Nickel, Barry A.; Beck, Michael W.
Measuring 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...
Galavotti, Holly; Vasslides, James; Poach, Matthew; Bohlen, Curtis; Hunt, Christopher W.; Liebman, Matthew; Hu, Xinping; McCutcheon, Melissa; O'Donnell, Jim; Howard-Strobel, Kay; Vella, Prassede; Lehrter, John; Nielsen, Karina; Largier, John; Ford, Tom; Steele, Alex; Yates, Kimberly K.; Johnson, York; Brown, Cheryl; Pacella, Stephen R.
Underwater 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...
Fehr, Zachery W.; Yates, Kimberly K. Identifying 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-...
Kellogg, Christina A.; Moyer, Ryan P.; Jacobsen, Mary; Yates, Kimberly K. Acidification 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...
Hall, Emily R.; Wickes, Leslie; Burnett, Louis; Scott, Geoffrey I.; Hernandez, Debra; Yates, Kimberly K.; Barbero, Leticia; Reimer, Janet J.; Baalousha, Mohammed; Mintz, Jennifer; Cai, Wei-Jun; Craig, J. Kevin; DeVoe, M. Richard; Fisher, William S.; Hathaway, Terri K.; Jewett, Elizabeth B.; Johnson, Zackary; Keener, Paula; Mordecai, Rua S.; Noakes, Scott; Phillips, Charlie; Sandifer, Paul; Schnetzer, Astrid; Styron, Jay Accurate 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...
Hatcher, Gerry; Warrick, Jonathan; Ritchie, Andrew C.; Dailey, Evan; Zawada, David G.; Kranenburg, Christine J.; Yates, Kimberly K.
Tampa Bay Ocean and Coastal Acidification Monitoring Quality Assurance Project Plan
Coastal acidification caused by eutrophication, freshwater inflow, and upwelling is already affecting many estuaries worldwide and can be exacerbated by ocean acidification that is caused by increasing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Effective management, mitigation, and (or) adaptation to the effects of coastal and ocean acidification require...
Yates, Kimberly K.; Moore, Christopher S.; Goldstein, Nathan H.; Sherwood, Edward T. Hydrodynamics and sediment mobility processes over a degraded senile coral reef
Coral reefs can influence hydrodynamics and morphodynamics by dissipating and refracting incident wave energy, modifying circulation patterns, and altering sediment transport pathways. In this study, the sediment and hydrodynamic response of a senile (dead) barrier reef (Crocker Reef, located in the upper portion of the Florida Reef Tract) to...
Torres-Garcia, Legna M.; Dalyander, P. Soupy; Long, Joseph W.; Zawada, David G.; Yates, Kimberly K.; Moore, Christopher; Olabarrieta, Maitane Carbonate system parameters of an algal-dominated reef along west Maui
Constraining coral reef metabolism and carbon chemistry dynamics are fundamental for understanding and predicting reef vulnerability to rising coastal CO2 concentrations and decreasing seawater pH. However, few studies exist along reefs occupying densely inhabited shorelines with known input from land-based sources of pollution. The shallow...
Prouty, Nancy G.; Yates, Kimberly K.; Smiley, Nathan A.; Gallagher, Christopher; Cheriton, Olivia; Storlazzi, Curt D. Vulnerability of coral reefs to bioerosion from land-based sources of pollution
Ocean acidification (OA), the gradual decline in ocean pH and [ ] caused by rising levels of atmospheric CO2, poses a significant threat to coral reef ecosystems, depressing rates of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) production, and enhancing rates of bioerosion and dissolution. As ocean pH and [ ] decline globally, there is increasing emphasis...
Prouty, Nancy G.; Anne Cohen; Yates, Kimberly K.; Storlazzi, Curt D.; Swarzenski, Peter W.; White, Darla Divergence of seafloor elevation and sea level rise in coral reef ecosystems
Coral reefs serve as natural barriers that protect adjacent shorelines from coastal hazards such as storms, waves, and erosion. Projections indicate global degradation of coral reefs due to anthropogenic impacts and climate change will cause a transition to net erosion by mid-century. Here, we provide a comprehensive assessment of the combined...
Yates, Kimberly K.; Zawada, David G.; Smiley, Nathan A.; Tiling-Range, Ginger Seafloor elevation change in Maui, St. Croix, St. Thomas, and the Florida Keys
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center conducted research to quantify the combined effect of all constructive and destructive processes on modern coral reef ecosystems by measuring regional-scale changes in seafloor elevation. USGS staff assessed five coral reef ecosystems in the Atlantic Ocean (Upper...
Yates, Kimberly K.; Zawada, David G.; Smiley, Nathan A.; Range, Ginger; Resnick, Jessica
Corals die, turn to rubble
These Elkhorn corals (Acropora palmata) near Buck Island, U.S. Virgin Islands have died and collapsed into rubble. As coral reef structure degrades, valuable habitat for marine life is lost and nearby coastlines become more susceptible to storms, waves and erosion.
Tampa Bay coastal acidification research featured in EPA National Estuary Program report
Tampa Bay coastal acidification research conducted by Dr. Kim Yates of SPCMSC was highlighted in the latest Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) National Estuary Program (NEP) Report, “The National Estuary Program: At the Forefront of Climate Change Adaptation, Hazard Mitigation, and Resilience.”
New USGS technology provides three dimensional benefits: assessing coastal hazards, seafloor stability, and coral restoration efforts
USGS team invented a new camera system to create highly detailed 3-dimensional models of the seafloor that are proving to be invaluable for coastal hazards research and habitat restoration efforts.
Coral-reef research featured in Science Magazine news article
A news feature published last week in Science Magazine highlights research by SPCMSC scientists into the problem of reef erosion in the Florida Keys.
Seafloor Erosion in Coral Reef Ecosystems Leaves Coastal Communities at Risk
A new USGS study of changing sea depths at five large coral reef tracts in Florida, the Caribbean, and Hawai'i, found the seafloor is eroding in all five places, placing coastal communities protected by the reefs at increased risk from storms, waves, and erosion.
Sea Floor Erosion in Coral Reef Ecosystems Leaves Coastal Communities at Risk
In the first ecosystem-wide study of changing sea depths at five large coral reef tracts in Florida, the Caribbean and Hawai’i, U.S. Geological Survey researchers found the sea floor is eroding in all five places, and the reefs cannot keep pace with sea level rise. As a result, coastal communities protected by the reefs are facing increased risks from storms, waves and erosion.