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.
Professional Experience
2010-present: Research Oceanographer, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center
2008-2010: Hydraulic Engineer, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center
2001-2008: Hydraulic Engineer, California Water Science Center
Education and Certifications
I studied civil engineering at the University of Michigan (BSCE), the University of Florida (MSCE), and the University of California-Davis (Ph.D.).
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 18
Filter Total Items: 74
Lifespan of marsh units in Assateague Island National Seashore and Chincoteague Bay, Maryland and Virginia Lifespan of marsh units in Assateague Island National Seashore and Chincoteague Bay, Maryland and Virginia
The sediment-based lifespan of salt marsh units in Assateague Island National Seashore (ASIS) and Chincoteague Bay is shown for conceptual marsh units defined by Defne and Ganju (2018). The lifespan represents the timescale by which the current sediment mass within a marsh parcel can no longer compensate for sediment export and deficits induced by sea-level rise. The lifespan calculation...
An Unvegetated to Vegetated Ratio (UVVR) for coastal wetlands of the Conterminous United States (2014-2018) An Unvegetated to Vegetated Ratio (UVVR) for coastal wetlands of the Conterminous United States (2014-2018)
This USGS Data Release represents geospatial data sets which were created to produce an Unvegetated to Vegetated Ratio (UVVR) for coastal wetlands of the conterminous United States (2014-2018). The following listed image products were generated 1) Annual spatial datasets (rasters) from 2014 to 2018 each containing 4 bands (Band 1: Unvegetated land fraction; Band 2: Vegetated land...
Suspended-sediment concentrations and loss-on-ignition from water samples collected in the Herring River during 2018-19 in Wellfleet, MA (ver 1.1, March 2023) Suspended-sediment concentrations and loss-on-ignition from water samples collected in the Herring River during 2018-19 in Wellfleet, MA (ver 1.1, March 2023)
The Herring River in Wellfleet, MA is a tidally-restricted estuary system. Management options including potential restoration of unrestricted tidal flows require an understanding of pre-restoration sediment conditions. Altering future tidal flows may cause changes in net sediment flux and direction, which could affect marsh restoration and aquaculture in Wellfleet Harbor. This research...
Climatological Wave Height, Wave Period and Wave Power along Coastal Areas of the East Coast of the United States and Gulf of Mexico Climatological Wave Height, Wave Period and Wave Power along Coastal Areas of the East Coast of the United States and Gulf of Mexico
This U.S. Geological Survey data release provides data on spatial variations in climatological wave parameters (significant wave height, peak wave period, and wave power) for coastal areas along the United States East Coast and Gulf of Mexico. Significant wave height is the average wave height, from crest to trough, of the highest one-third of the waves in a specific time period. Peak...
Tidal Datums, Tidal Range, and Nuisance Flooding Levels for Chesapeake Bay and Delaware Bay Tidal Datums, Tidal Range, and Nuisance Flooding Levels for Chesapeake Bay and Delaware Bay
This U.S. Geological Survey data release provides data on spatial variations in tidal datums, tidal range, and nuisance flooding in Chesapeake Bay and Delaware Bay. Tidal datums are standard elevations that are defined based on average tidal water levels. Datums are used as references to measure local water levels and to delineate regions in coastal environments. Nuisance flooding refers...
Idealized COAWST numerical model for testing marsh wave thrust and lateral retreat dynamics routines Idealized COAWST numerical model for testing marsh wave thrust and lateral retreat dynamics routines
There are two idealized domains developed in this work to test the marsh dynamics in the COAWST modeling framework. 1. First idealized domain is to test and verify the lateral thrust calculations. 2. Second idealized domain is to test the implementation of lateral retreat formulations.
Filter Total Items: 118
Sediment delivery to marsh platforms minimized by source decoupling and flux convergence Sediment delivery to marsh platforms minimized by source decoupling and flux convergence
Sediment supply is a primary factor in determining marsh response to sea level rise and is typically approximated through high‐resolution measurements of suspended sediment concentrations (SSCs) from adjacent tidal channels. However, understanding sediment transport across the marsh itself remains limited by discontinuous measurements of SSC over individual tidal cycles. Here, we use an...
Authors
Daniel Coleman, Neil K. Ganju, Matt L. Kirwan
Sediment budget estimates for a highly impacted embayment with extensive wetland loss Sediment budget estimates for a highly impacted embayment with extensive wetland loss
External sediment supply is an important control on wetland morphology and vulnerability to storms, sea-level rise, and land use change. Constraining sediment supply and net budgets is difficult due to multiple timescales of variability in hydrodynamic forcing and suspended-sediment concentrations, as well as the fundamental limitations of measurement and modeling technologies. We used...
Authors
Robert Chant, David K. Ralston, Neil K. Ganju, Casia Pianca, Amy Simonson, Richard Cartwright
A non-linear relationship between marsh size and sediment trapping capacity compromises salt marshes’ resilience to sea-level rise A non-linear relationship between marsh size and sediment trapping capacity compromises salt marshes’ resilience to sea-level rise
Global assessments predict the impact of sea-level rise on salt marshes with present-day levels of sediment supply from rivers and the coastal ocean. However, these assessments do not consider that variations in marsh extent and the related reconfiguration of intertidal area affect local sediment dynamics, ultimately controlling the fate of the marshes themselves. We conducted a meta...
Authors
Carmine Donatelli, Xiaohe Zhang, Neil K. Ganju, Alfredo Aretxabaleta, Sergio Fagherazzi, Nicoletta Leonardi
Representing the function and sensitivity of coastal interfaces in Earth system models Representing the function and sensitivity of coastal interfaces in Earth system models
Along coastal interfaces, components of the Earth system interact to regulate ecosystem functions and Earth’s climate. Between the land and ocean, diverse coastal ecosystem types transform, store, and transport material. A dynamic two-way exchange of energy and matter is driven by hydrological and marine processes such as river and groundwater discharge, tides, waves, and storms. Global...
Authors
Nicholas Ward, J. Patrick Megonigal, Ben Bond-Lamberty, Vanessa Bailey, David Butman, Elizabeth Canuel, Heida Diefenderfer, Neil K. Ganju, Miguel Goni, Emily B. Graham, Charles Hopkinson, Tarang Khangaonkar, Adam Langley, Nate McDowell, Allison Myers-Pigg, Rebecca Neumann, Christopher Osburn, Rene Price, Joel Rowland, Aditi Sengupta, Marc Simard, Peter E. Thornton, Maria Tzortziou, Rodrigo Vargas, Pamela Weisenhorn, Lisamarie Windham-Myers
Spatiotemporal variability of light attenuation and net ecosystem metabolism in a back-barrier estuary Spatiotemporal variability of light attenuation and net ecosystem metabolism in a back-barrier estuary
Quantifying system-wide biogeochemical dynamics and ecosystem metabolism in estuaries is often attempted using a long-term continuous record at a single site or short-term records at multiple sites due to sampling limitations that preclude long-term monitoring. However, differences in the dominant primary producer at a given location (e.g., phytoplankton versus benthic producers) control...
Authors
Neil Kamal Ganju, Jeremy Testa, Steven E. Suttles, Alfredo Aretxabaleta
Determining the drivers of suspended sediment dynamics in tidal marsh-influenced estuaries using high-resolution ocean color remote sensing Determining the drivers of suspended sediment dynamics in tidal marsh-influenced estuaries using high-resolution ocean color remote sensing
Sediment budgets are a critical metric to assess coastal marsh vulnerability to sea-level rise and declining riverine sediment inputs. However, calculating accurate sediment budgets is challenging in tidal marsh-influenced estuaries where suspended sediment concentrations (SSC) typically vary on scales of hours and meters, and where SSC dynamics are driven by a complex and often site...
Authors
Xiaohe Zhang, Cedric Fichot, Carly Baracco, Ruizhe Guo, Sydney Neugebauer, Zachary Bengtsson, Neil K. Ganju, Sergio Fagherazzi
Non-USGS Publications**
Defne, Z., N. K. Ganju, and A. Aretxabaleta
(2016), Estimating time-dependent
connectivity in marine systems, Geophys.
Res. Lett., 43, doi:10.1002/2015GL066888.
(2016), Estimating time-dependent
connectivity in marine systems, Geophys.
Res. Lett., 43, doi:10.1002/2015GL066888.
Ganju, N. K., Brush, M. J., Rashleigh, B., Aretxabaleta, A. L., del Barrio, P., Grear, J. S., ... & Vaudrey, J. M., 2015, Progress and challenges in coupled hydrodynamic-ecological estuarine modeling, Estuaries and Coasts, 1-22.
Ganju, N.K., Jaffe, B.E., and Schoellhamer, D.H., 2011, Discontinuous hindcast simulations of estuarine bathymetric change: a case study from Suisun Bay, California. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 93, 142-150.
Ganju, N.K., and Schoellhamer, D.H., 2006, Annual sediment flux estimates in a tidal strait using surrogate measurements. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 69, 165-178.
Ganju, N.K., Schoellhamer, D.H., and Jaffe, B.E., 2009, Hindcasting of decadal-timescale estuarine bathymetric change with a tidal-timescale model. Journal of Geophysical Research-Earth Surface, 114, F04019, doi:10.1029/2008JF001191.
Ganju, N.K., Schoellhamer, D.H., Warner, J.C., Barad, M.F., and Schladow, S.G., 2004, Tidal oscillation of sediment between a river and a bay: a conceptual model. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 60(1), 81-90.
Ganju, N.K., and Sherwood, C.R., 2010, Effect of roughness formulation on the performance of a coupled wave, hydrodynamic, and sediment transport model. Ocean Modelling, 33, 299-313.
Gartner, J.W., and Ganju, N.K., 2007, Correcting acoustic Doppler current profiler discharge measurement bias from moving-bed conditions without global positioning during the 2004 Glen Canyon Dam controlled flood on the Colorado River. Limnology and Oceanography: Methods, 5, 156-162.
Leonardi, N., Ganju, N.K. and Fagherazzi, S., 2016. A linear relationship between wave power and erosion determines salt-marsh resilience to violent storms and hurricanes. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 113(1), pp.64-68.
Kirincich, A. R., Lentz, S. J., Farrar, J. T., and Ganju, N. K., 2013, The Spatial Structure of Tidal and Mean Circulation over the Inner Shelf South of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. Journal of Physical Oceanography, 43(9).
Miselis, J.L., Andrews, B.D., Nicholson, R.S., Defne, Z., Ganju, N.K. and Navoy, A., 2015. Evolution of mid-Atlantic coastal and back-barrier estuary environments in response to a hurricane: Implications for barrier-estuary connectivity. Estuaries and Coasts, pp.1-19.
Oestreich, W. K., Ganju, N. K., Pohlman, J. W., and Suttles, S. E., 2016. Colored dissolved organic matter in shallow estuaries: relationships between carbon sources and light attenuation, Biogeosciences, 13, 583-595, doi:10.5194/bg-13-583-2016.
Rosencranz, J.A., Ganju, N.K., Ambrose, R.F., Brosnahan, S.M., Dickhudt, P.J., Guntenspergen, G.R., MacDonald, G.M., Takekawa, J.Y, and Thorne, K.M., 2015, Balanced sediment fluxes in southern California’s Mediterranean-climate zone salt marshes, Estuaries and Coasts, DOI 10.1007/s12237-015-0056-y.
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 18
Filter Total Items: 74
Lifespan of marsh units in Assateague Island National Seashore and Chincoteague Bay, Maryland and Virginia Lifespan of marsh units in Assateague Island National Seashore and Chincoteague Bay, Maryland and Virginia
The sediment-based lifespan of salt marsh units in Assateague Island National Seashore (ASIS) and Chincoteague Bay is shown for conceptual marsh units defined by Defne and Ganju (2018). The lifespan represents the timescale by which the current sediment mass within a marsh parcel can no longer compensate for sediment export and deficits induced by sea-level rise. The lifespan calculation...
An Unvegetated to Vegetated Ratio (UVVR) for coastal wetlands of the Conterminous United States (2014-2018) An Unvegetated to Vegetated Ratio (UVVR) for coastal wetlands of the Conterminous United States (2014-2018)
This USGS Data Release represents geospatial data sets which were created to produce an Unvegetated to Vegetated Ratio (UVVR) for coastal wetlands of the conterminous United States (2014-2018). The following listed image products were generated 1) Annual spatial datasets (rasters) from 2014 to 2018 each containing 4 bands (Band 1: Unvegetated land fraction; Band 2: Vegetated land...
Suspended-sediment concentrations and loss-on-ignition from water samples collected in the Herring River during 2018-19 in Wellfleet, MA (ver 1.1, March 2023) Suspended-sediment concentrations and loss-on-ignition from water samples collected in the Herring River during 2018-19 in Wellfleet, MA (ver 1.1, March 2023)
The Herring River in Wellfleet, MA is a tidally-restricted estuary system. Management options including potential restoration of unrestricted tidal flows require an understanding of pre-restoration sediment conditions. Altering future tidal flows may cause changes in net sediment flux and direction, which could affect marsh restoration and aquaculture in Wellfleet Harbor. This research...
Climatological Wave Height, Wave Period and Wave Power along Coastal Areas of the East Coast of the United States and Gulf of Mexico Climatological Wave Height, Wave Period and Wave Power along Coastal Areas of the East Coast of the United States and Gulf of Mexico
This U.S. Geological Survey data release provides data on spatial variations in climatological wave parameters (significant wave height, peak wave period, and wave power) for coastal areas along the United States East Coast and Gulf of Mexico. Significant wave height is the average wave height, from crest to trough, of the highest one-third of the waves in a specific time period. Peak...
Tidal Datums, Tidal Range, and Nuisance Flooding Levels for Chesapeake Bay and Delaware Bay Tidal Datums, Tidal Range, and Nuisance Flooding Levels for Chesapeake Bay and Delaware Bay
This U.S. Geological Survey data release provides data on spatial variations in tidal datums, tidal range, and nuisance flooding in Chesapeake Bay and Delaware Bay. Tidal datums are standard elevations that are defined based on average tidal water levels. Datums are used as references to measure local water levels and to delineate regions in coastal environments. Nuisance flooding refers...
Idealized COAWST numerical model for testing marsh wave thrust and lateral retreat dynamics routines Idealized COAWST numerical model for testing marsh wave thrust and lateral retreat dynamics routines
There are two idealized domains developed in this work to test the marsh dynamics in the COAWST modeling framework. 1. First idealized domain is to test and verify the lateral thrust calculations. 2. Second idealized domain is to test the implementation of lateral retreat formulations.
Filter Total Items: 118
Sediment delivery to marsh platforms minimized by source decoupling and flux convergence Sediment delivery to marsh platforms minimized by source decoupling and flux convergence
Sediment supply is a primary factor in determining marsh response to sea level rise and is typically approximated through high‐resolution measurements of suspended sediment concentrations (SSCs) from adjacent tidal channels. However, understanding sediment transport across the marsh itself remains limited by discontinuous measurements of SSC over individual tidal cycles. Here, we use an...
Authors
Daniel Coleman, Neil K. Ganju, Matt L. Kirwan
Sediment budget estimates for a highly impacted embayment with extensive wetland loss Sediment budget estimates for a highly impacted embayment with extensive wetland loss
External sediment supply is an important control on wetland morphology and vulnerability to storms, sea-level rise, and land use change. Constraining sediment supply and net budgets is difficult due to multiple timescales of variability in hydrodynamic forcing and suspended-sediment concentrations, as well as the fundamental limitations of measurement and modeling technologies. We used...
Authors
Robert Chant, David K. Ralston, Neil K. Ganju, Casia Pianca, Amy Simonson, Richard Cartwright
A non-linear relationship between marsh size and sediment trapping capacity compromises salt marshes’ resilience to sea-level rise A non-linear relationship between marsh size and sediment trapping capacity compromises salt marshes’ resilience to sea-level rise
Global assessments predict the impact of sea-level rise on salt marshes with present-day levels of sediment supply from rivers and the coastal ocean. However, these assessments do not consider that variations in marsh extent and the related reconfiguration of intertidal area affect local sediment dynamics, ultimately controlling the fate of the marshes themselves. We conducted a meta...
Authors
Carmine Donatelli, Xiaohe Zhang, Neil K. Ganju, Alfredo Aretxabaleta, Sergio Fagherazzi, Nicoletta Leonardi
Representing the function and sensitivity of coastal interfaces in Earth system models Representing the function and sensitivity of coastal interfaces in Earth system models
Along coastal interfaces, components of the Earth system interact to regulate ecosystem functions and Earth’s climate. Between the land and ocean, diverse coastal ecosystem types transform, store, and transport material. A dynamic two-way exchange of energy and matter is driven by hydrological and marine processes such as river and groundwater discharge, tides, waves, and storms. Global...
Authors
Nicholas Ward, J. Patrick Megonigal, Ben Bond-Lamberty, Vanessa Bailey, David Butman, Elizabeth Canuel, Heida Diefenderfer, Neil K. Ganju, Miguel Goni, Emily B. Graham, Charles Hopkinson, Tarang Khangaonkar, Adam Langley, Nate McDowell, Allison Myers-Pigg, Rebecca Neumann, Christopher Osburn, Rene Price, Joel Rowland, Aditi Sengupta, Marc Simard, Peter E. Thornton, Maria Tzortziou, Rodrigo Vargas, Pamela Weisenhorn, Lisamarie Windham-Myers
Spatiotemporal variability of light attenuation and net ecosystem metabolism in a back-barrier estuary Spatiotemporal variability of light attenuation and net ecosystem metabolism in a back-barrier estuary
Quantifying system-wide biogeochemical dynamics and ecosystem metabolism in estuaries is often attempted using a long-term continuous record at a single site or short-term records at multiple sites due to sampling limitations that preclude long-term monitoring. However, differences in the dominant primary producer at a given location (e.g., phytoplankton versus benthic producers) control...
Authors
Neil Kamal Ganju, Jeremy Testa, Steven E. Suttles, Alfredo Aretxabaleta
Determining the drivers of suspended sediment dynamics in tidal marsh-influenced estuaries using high-resolution ocean color remote sensing Determining the drivers of suspended sediment dynamics in tidal marsh-influenced estuaries using high-resolution ocean color remote sensing
Sediment budgets are a critical metric to assess coastal marsh vulnerability to sea-level rise and declining riverine sediment inputs. However, calculating accurate sediment budgets is challenging in tidal marsh-influenced estuaries where suspended sediment concentrations (SSC) typically vary on scales of hours and meters, and where SSC dynamics are driven by a complex and often site...
Authors
Xiaohe Zhang, Cedric Fichot, Carly Baracco, Ruizhe Guo, Sydney Neugebauer, Zachary Bengtsson, Neil K. Ganju, Sergio Fagherazzi
Non-USGS Publications**
Defne, Z., N. K. Ganju, and A. Aretxabaleta
(2016), Estimating time-dependent
connectivity in marine systems, Geophys.
Res. Lett., 43, doi:10.1002/2015GL066888.
(2016), Estimating time-dependent
connectivity in marine systems, Geophys.
Res. Lett., 43, doi:10.1002/2015GL066888.
Ganju, N. K., Brush, M. J., Rashleigh, B., Aretxabaleta, A. L., del Barrio, P., Grear, J. S., ... & Vaudrey, J. M., 2015, Progress and challenges in coupled hydrodynamic-ecological estuarine modeling, Estuaries and Coasts, 1-22.
Ganju, N.K., Jaffe, B.E., and Schoellhamer, D.H., 2011, Discontinuous hindcast simulations of estuarine bathymetric change: a case study from Suisun Bay, California. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 93, 142-150.
Ganju, N.K., and Schoellhamer, D.H., 2006, Annual sediment flux estimates in a tidal strait using surrogate measurements. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 69, 165-178.
Ganju, N.K., Schoellhamer, D.H., and Jaffe, B.E., 2009, Hindcasting of decadal-timescale estuarine bathymetric change with a tidal-timescale model. Journal of Geophysical Research-Earth Surface, 114, F04019, doi:10.1029/2008JF001191.
Ganju, N.K., Schoellhamer, D.H., Warner, J.C., Barad, M.F., and Schladow, S.G., 2004, Tidal oscillation of sediment between a river and a bay: a conceptual model. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, 60(1), 81-90.
Ganju, N.K., and Sherwood, C.R., 2010, Effect of roughness formulation on the performance of a coupled wave, hydrodynamic, and sediment transport model. Ocean Modelling, 33, 299-313.
Gartner, J.W., and Ganju, N.K., 2007, Correcting acoustic Doppler current profiler discharge measurement bias from moving-bed conditions without global positioning during the 2004 Glen Canyon Dam controlled flood on the Colorado River. Limnology and Oceanography: Methods, 5, 156-162.
Leonardi, N., Ganju, N.K. and Fagherazzi, S., 2016. A linear relationship between wave power and erosion determines salt-marsh resilience to violent storms and hurricanes. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 113(1), pp.64-68.
Kirincich, A. R., Lentz, S. J., Farrar, J. T., and Ganju, N. K., 2013, The Spatial Structure of Tidal and Mean Circulation over the Inner Shelf South of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. Journal of Physical Oceanography, 43(9).
Miselis, J.L., Andrews, B.D., Nicholson, R.S., Defne, Z., Ganju, N.K. and Navoy, A., 2015. Evolution of mid-Atlantic coastal and back-barrier estuary environments in response to a hurricane: Implications for barrier-estuary connectivity. Estuaries and Coasts, pp.1-19.
Oestreich, W. K., Ganju, N. K., Pohlman, J. W., and Suttles, S. E., 2016. Colored dissolved organic matter in shallow estuaries: relationships between carbon sources and light attenuation, Biogeosciences, 13, 583-595, doi:10.5194/bg-13-583-2016.
Rosencranz, J.A., Ganju, N.K., Ambrose, R.F., Brosnahan, S.M., Dickhudt, P.J., Guntenspergen, G.R., MacDonald, G.M., Takekawa, J.Y, and Thorne, K.M., 2015, Balanced sediment fluxes in southern California’s Mediterranean-climate zone salt marshes, Estuaries and Coasts, DOI 10.1007/s12237-015-0056-y.
**Disclaimer: The views expressed in Non-USGS publications are those of the author and do not represent the views of the USGS, Department of the Interior, or the U.S. Government.