The USGS is assessing the physical condition of coastal wetlands and their response to external forces, using field observations and remote-sensing data. The U.S.
Neil Kamal Ganju, PhD
My research spans the multiple disciplines that converge in estuarine systems. Research projects include numerical model development, field observations of hydrodynamics and water quality, wetland and coastal vulnerability assessments, geomorphic change, and eutrophication.
In 2001, I began working for the USGS at the California Water Science Center, on the San Francisco Bay Sediment Transport Project with Dr. David Schoellhamer. In 2008 I moved to the Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center and began multiple projects throughout the northeast US. The Estuarine Processes, Hazards, and Ecosystems project, started in 2015, details the past and ongoing studies we are involved with.
Science and Products
Science to Support Marsh Conservation and Management Decisions in the Northeastern United States
Coastal resource and infrastructure managers face rapidly mounting environmental challenges. Increases in sea levels, decaying or outdated infrastructure, compound flooding from ocean storm surges and river runoff, and temperature and moisture extremes are all increasing the vulnerability of natural habitats, public, private, and commercial infrastructure, and community health and functionality. T
Effects of Urban Coastal Armoring on Salt Marsh Sediment Supplies and Resilience to Climate Change
Salt marshes are grassy wetlands that form along sheltered coastlines. These areas provide crucial habitats for many species of birds and other animals, in addition to recreational activities and economic opportunities. Marshes also protect the coast from storms and filter runoff from the landscape, ensuring cleaner and healthier coastal waters. As climate change causes sea levels to rise salt mar
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 waves...
Back-barrier and Estuarine - Coastal System Change at Fire Island, New York
Regional-scale modeling forecasts how atmospheric forcing and oceanographic circulation influence estuarine circulation and water levels, sediment transport, and wetland change.
Estuarine Processes, Hazards, and Ecosystems
Estuarine processes, hazards, and ecosystems describes several interdisciplinary projects that aim to quantify and understand estuarine processes through observations and numerical modeling. Both the spatial and temporal scales of these mechanisms are important, and therefore require modern instrumentation and state-of-the-art hydrodynamic models. These projects are led from the U.S. Geological...
Hurricane Sandy Response- Linking the Delmarva Peninsula's Geologic Framework to Coastal Vulnerability
The Delmarva Peninsula is a 220-kilometer-long headland, spit, and barrier island complex that was significantly affected by Hurricane Sandy. In order to better constrain controls on coastal vulnerability and evolution, the region’s sediment sources, transport pathways and sediment sinks must be identified. This project defines the geologic framework of the Delmarva coastal system through...
Coastal Model Applications and Field Measurements
Numerical models are used by scientists, engineers, coastal managers, and the public to understand and predict processes in the coastal ocean. This project supports the development and application of open-source coastal models and has several objectives: 1) improve the code of numerical sediment-transport models by implementing new or improved algorithms; 2) obtain measurements of coastal ocean...
Estuarine Processes Tidal Wetlands
Tidal wetlands are an important geomorphic and ecological feature of the coastal zone. Our projects deal with the physical forcings that affect wetland stability over event-to-annual timescales, including wave attack, sediment supply, and sea-level rise.
Estuarine Processes Coastal Hazards
Extreme tides and coastal storms transfer high water levels to estuaries through natural and managed entrances. The size of the transfer depends on the duration of the event and the geomorphology of the estuary. We use observational data and modeling scenarios to understand and spatially map this transfer at our study sites.
Estuarine Processes Model Development
We are developing new routines within the COAWST model framework to represent coupled bio-physical processes in estuarine and coastal regions. These include routines for marsh vulnerability to waves, estuarine biogeochemistry, and feedbacks between aquatic vegetation and hydrodynamics.
U.S. Coastal Wetland Synthesis Applications Webpage Image
The USGS is assessing the physical condition of coastal wetlands and their response to external forces, using field observations and remote-sensing data. The U.S.
Collecting Samples in Barnegat Bay
Box-cores provide a relatively undistributed look into the recent past to help better understand the processes contributing to sediment deposition and erosion.
Box-cores provide a relatively undistributed look into the recent past to help better understand the processes contributing to sediment deposition and erosion.
Barnegat Bay, NJ Surface Sediments
Surface sediments will be analyzed for various physical parameters that will be used as initial conditions in hydrodynamic and sediment transport models.
Surface sediments will be analyzed for various physical parameters that will be used as initial conditions in hydrodynamic and sediment transport models.
Storm erosion at Chincoteague Bay, MD
Storm induced erosion of marsh shorelines can provide significant quantities of sediment to the bay altering the deposition patterns.
Storm induced erosion of marsh shorelines can provide significant quantities of sediment to the bay altering the deposition patterns.
Inundated Marsh
Inundated marsh at Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, New Jersey.
Inundated marsh at Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, New Jersey.
Measuring seagrass!
Measuring seagrass biomass in Chincoteague Bay, Maryland to constrain numerical models.
Measuring seagrass biomass in Chincoteague Bay, Maryland to constrain numerical models.
Hydrodynamic Model
Visualization of hydrodynamics around seagrass patch.
Visualization of hydrodynamics around seagrass patch.
Inundated Marsh
Inundated marsh at Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, New Jersey.
Inundated marsh at Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, New Jersey.
Macroalgae, seagrass, and litter oh my!
Macroalgae, seagrass, and litter in West Falmouth Harbor, MA
Macroalgae, seagrass, and litter in West Falmouth Harbor, MA
Simulation Model
Simulation results for geomorphic change in Suisun Bay, CA (Ganju and Schoellhamer, 2010)
Simulation results for geomorphic change in Suisun Bay, CA (Ganju and Schoellhamer, 2010)
Science and Products
Science to Support Marsh Conservation and Management Decisions in the Northeastern United States
Coastal resource and infrastructure managers face rapidly mounting environmental challenges. Increases in sea levels, decaying or outdated infrastructure, compound flooding from ocean storm surges and river runoff, and temperature and moisture extremes are all increasing the vulnerability of natural habitats, public, private, and commercial infrastructure, and community health and functionality. T
Effects of Urban Coastal Armoring on Salt Marsh Sediment Supplies and Resilience to Climate Change
Salt marshes are grassy wetlands that form along sheltered coastlines. These areas provide crucial habitats for many species of birds and other animals, in addition to recreational activities and economic opportunities. Marshes also protect the coast from storms and filter runoff from the landscape, ensuring cleaner and healthier coastal waters. As climate change causes sea levels to rise salt mar
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 waves...
Back-barrier and Estuarine - Coastal System Change at Fire Island, New York
Regional-scale modeling forecasts how atmospheric forcing and oceanographic circulation influence estuarine circulation and water levels, sediment transport, and wetland change.
Estuarine Processes, Hazards, and Ecosystems
Estuarine processes, hazards, and ecosystems describes several interdisciplinary projects that aim to quantify and understand estuarine processes through observations and numerical modeling. Both the spatial and temporal scales of these mechanisms are important, and therefore require modern instrumentation and state-of-the-art hydrodynamic models. These projects are led from the U.S. Geological...
Hurricane Sandy Response- Linking the Delmarva Peninsula's Geologic Framework to Coastal Vulnerability
The Delmarva Peninsula is a 220-kilometer-long headland, spit, and barrier island complex that was significantly affected by Hurricane Sandy. In order to better constrain controls on coastal vulnerability and evolution, the region’s sediment sources, transport pathways and sediment sinks must be identified. This project defines the geologic framework of the Delmarva coastal system through...
Coastal Model Applications and Field Measurements
Numerical models are used by scientists, engineers, coastal managers, and the public to understand and predict processes in the coastal ocean. This project supports the development and application of open-source coastal models and has several objectives: 1) improve the code of numerical sediment-transport models by implementing new or improved algorithms; 2) obtain measurements of coastal ocean...
Estuarine Processes Tidal Wetlands
Tidal wetlands are an important geomorphic and ecological feature of the coastal zone. Our projects deal with the physical forcings that affect wetland stability over event-to-annual timescales, including wave attack, sediment supply, and sea-level rise.
Estuarine Processes Coastal Hazards
Extreme tides and coastal storms transfer high water levels to estuaries through natural and managed entrances. The size of the transfer depends on the duration of the event and the geomorphology of the estuary. We use observational data and modeling scenarios to understand and spatially map this transfer at our study sites.
Estuarine Processes Model Development
We are developing new routines within the COAWST model framework to represent coupled bio-physical processes in estuarine and coastal regions. These include routines for marsh vulnerability to waves, estuarine biogeochemistry, and feedbacks between aquatic vegetation and hydrodynamics.
U.S. Coastal Wetland Synthesis Applications Webpage Image
The USGS is assessing the physical condition of coastal wetlands and their response to external forces, using field observations and remote-sensing data. The U.S.
The USGS is assessing the physical condition of coastal wetlands and their response to external forces, using field observations and remote-sensing data. The U.S.
Collecting Samples in Barnegat Bay
Box-cores provide a relatively undistributed look into the recent past to help better understand the processes contributing to sediment deposition and erosion.
Box-cores provide a relatively undistributed look into the recent past to help better understand the processes contributing to sediment deposition and erosion.
Barnegat Bay, NJ Surface Sediments
Surface sediments will be analyzed for various physical parameters that will be used as initial conditions in hydrodynamic and sediment transport models.
Surface sediments will be analyzed for various physical parameters that will be used as initial conditions in hydrodynamic and sediment transport models.
Storm erosion at Chincoteague Bay, MD
Storm induced erosion of marsh shorelines can provide significant quantities of sediment to the bay altering the deposition patterns.
Storm induced erosion of marsh shorelines can provide significant quantities of sediment to the bay altering the deposition patterns.
Inundated Marsh
Inundated marsh at Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, New Jersey.
Inundated marsh at Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, New Jersey.
Measuring seagrass!
Measuring seagrass biomass in Chincoteague Bay, Maryland to constrain numerical models.
Measuring seagrass biomass in Chincoteague Bay, Maryland to constrain numerical models.
Hydrodynamic Model
Visualization of hydrodynamics around seagrass patch.
Visualization of hydrodynamics around seagrass patch.
Inundated Marsh
Inundated marsh at Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, New Jersey.
Inundated marsh at Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, New Jersey.
Macroalgae, seagrass, and litter oh my!
Macroalgae, seagrass, and litter in West Falmouth Harbor, MA
Macroalgae, seagrass, and litter in West Falmouth Harbor, MA
Simulation Model
Simulation results for geomorphic change in Suisun Bay, CA (Ganju and Schoellhamer, 2010)
Simulation results for geomorphic change in Suisun Bay, CA (Ganju and Schoellhamer, 2010)