S. Jeffress Williams, a senior scientist emeritus, research coastal marine geologist with the USGS Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, Woods Hole, MA, has focused his research career on understanding the geologic history and processes of coastal, estuarine, wetland, and inner continental shelf regions.
He has more than 50 years research experience investigating topics on the geologic origins and development of coastal, continental shelf, and estuarine regions, Great Lakes coastal systems, Holocene sea-level history, climate-change effects on coasts, and the geologic origins and character of marine sand bodies. Williams has led or participated in more than 80 field studies along the Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, Pacific, Great Lakes coasts, and the Irish Sea, UK and been principal investigator on many offshore geologic mapping investigations. Williams was awarded the Coastal Zone Foundation Award for career achievement in coastal science, the USGS 40-year career service award and career achievement awards for natural resources research from the Eastern Regional Director of the National Park Service and the Director of the NPS. Williams has authored more than 350 scientific publications and been a member on many national and state science committees. In addition, he is a frequent lecturer at scientific meetings, state and local legislatures, and civic groups on coastal topics. Williams directed the USGS Coastal and Marine Geology Program from 1996 to 2000. Prior to joining the USGS, Williams was a research marine geologist with the Coastal Engineering Research Center and an invited visiting scientist at the Institute of Oceanographic Sciences, Taunton, UK. He earned degrees in geology and oceanography.
Professional Experience
Present- 2010 Senior scientist emeritus, USGS/WHSC
Present- 2010 Professional coastal scientist, consultant
2015-2010 Affiliate Faculty, Un.of Hawaii, Geology Department
2010- 2000 Senior research coastal-marine geologist, USGS/WHSC
2000- 1996 Director, USGS Coastal and Marine Geology Program
1996-1993 Research geologist, USGS
1993-1987 Co-coordinator, USGS National Coastal Geology Program
Education and Certifications
MS Lehigh University
BS Allegheny College
Affiliations and Memberships
Organized and co-chaired a special session, “Coasts in Crisis: Sea Level Rise and Inundation and the Drivers for Adaptation”, 2016 AGU Ocean Sciences Mtg.
Invited technical expert, Hawaii Sea-Level R
Science and Products
Filter Total Items: 19
Coastal landforms and processes at the Cape Cod National Seashore, Massachusetts—A primer
Anyone who spends more than a few days on Cape Cod (the Cape) quickly becomes a coastal geologist, quickly learning the rhythms of daily tides and the seasonal cycles of beaches growing and being swept away by storms; swimmers and surfers track how the breakers appear, and dog-walkers notice the hard-packed sand blanketed overnight by an airy layer that leaves deep labored tracks.
Careful observer
The potential for sea-level-rise-induced barrier island loss: Insights from the Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana, USA
As sea level rises and hurricanes become more intense, barrier islands around the world become increasingly vulnerable to conversion from self-sustaining migrating landforms to submerging or subaqueous sand bodies. To explore the mechanism by which such state changes occur and to assess the factors leading to island disintegration, we develop a suite of numerical simulations for the Chandeleur Isl
Introduction to the special issue on “Understanding and predicting change in the coastal ecosystems of the northern Gulf of Mexico”
The coastal region of the northern Gulf of Mexico owes its current landscape structure to an array of tectonic, erosional and depositional, climatic, geochemical, hydrological, ecological, and human processes that have resulted in some of the world's most complex, dynamic, productive, and threatened ecosystems. Catastrophic hurricane landfalls, ongoing subsidence and erosion exacerbated by sea-lev
Character of shell beds flanking Herod Point Shoal, southeastern Long Island Sound, New York
High biogenic productivity, strong tidal currents, shoal topography, and short transport distances combine to favor shell-bed formation along the lower flanks of a cape-associated shoal off Herod Point on Long Island, New York. This shell bed has a densely packed, clast-supported fabric composed largely of undegraded surf clam (Spisula solidissima) valves. It is widest along the central part of th
Coastal vulnerability assessment of the Northern Gulf of Mexico to sea-level rise and coastal change
A coastal vulnerability index (CVI) was used to map the relative vulnerability of the coast to future sea-level rise along the Northern Gulf of Mexico from Galveston, TX, to Panama City, FL. The CVI ranks the following in terms of their physical contribution to sea-level rise-related coastal change: geomorphology, regional coastal slope, rate of relative sea-level rise, historical shoreline change
Estuarine sediment transport by gravity-driven movement of the nepheloid layer, Long Island Sound
Interpretation of sidescan-sonar imagery provides evidence that down-slope gravity-driven movement of the nepheloid layer constitutes an important mode of transporting sediment into the basins of north-central Long Island Sound, a major US East Coast estuary. In the Western Basin, this transport mechanism has formed dendritic drainage systems characterized by branching patterns of low backscatter
Quaternary geology and sedimentary processes in the vicinity of Six Mile Reef, eastern Long Island Sound
Six Mile Reef, a sandy, 22-m-high shoal trending east-west and located about 7.8 km off the Connecticut coast, has a core of postglacial marine deltaic deposits mantled by tidally reworked modern sediments. Sedimentary environments off the eastern end of the shoal are characterized by processes associated with long-term erosion or nondeposition, a mobile-sediment-limited seafloor armored by gravel
Geologic effects and coastal vulnerability to sea-level rise, erosion, and storms
A combination of natural and human factors are driving coastal change and making coastal regions and populations increasingly vulnerable. Sea level, a major agent of coastal erosion, has varied greatly from -120 m below present during glacial period low-stands to + 4 to 6 m above present during interglacial warm periods. Geologic and tide gauge data show that global sea level has risen about 12 to
Seabed mapping and characterization of sediment variability using the usSEABED data base
We present a methodology for statistical analysis of randomly located marine sediment point data, and apply it to the US continental shelf portions of usSEABED mean grain size records. The usSEABED database, like many modern, large environmental datasets, is heterogeneous and interdisciplinary. We statistically test the database as a source of mean grain size data, and from it provide a first exam
Surficial sediment character of the Louisiana offshore continental shelf region: a GIS compilation
The Louisiana coastal zone, comprising the Mississippi River delta plain stretching nearly 400 km from Sabine Pass at the Texas border east to the Chandeleur Islands at the Mississippi border, represents one of North America’s most important coastal ecosystems in terms of natural resources, human infrastructure, and cultural heritage. At the same time, this region has the highest rates of coastal
Geologic characterization of shelf areas using usSEABED for GIS mapping, modeling processes and assessing marine sand and gravel resources
Geologic maps depicting offshore sedimentary features serve many scientific and applied purposes. Such maps have been lacking, but recent computer technology and software offer promise in the capture and display of diverse marine data. Continental margins contain landforms which provide a variety of important functions and contain important sedimentary records. Some shelf areas also contain deposi
Modeling barrier island response to sea-level rise in the Outer Banks, North Carolina
An 8500-year Holocene simulation developed in GEOMBEST provides a possible scenario to explain the evolution of barrier coast between Rodanthe and Cape Hatteras, NC. Sensitivity analyses suggest that in the Outer Banks, the rate of sea-level rise is the most important factor in determining how barrier islands evolve. The Holocene simulation provides a basis for future simulations, which suggest th
Science and Products
- Publications
Filter Total Items: 19
Coastal landforms and processes at the Cape Cod National Seashore, Massachusetts—A primer
Anyone who spends more than a few days on Cape Cod (the Cape) quickly becomes a coastal geologist, quickly learning the rhythms of daily tides and the seasonal cycles of beaches growing and being swept away by storms; swimmers and surfers track how the breakers appear, and dog-walkers notice the hard-packed sand blanketed overnight by an airy layer that leaves deep labored tracks. Careful observerThe potential for sea-level-rise-induced barrier island loss: Insights from the Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana, USA
As sea level rises and hurricanes become more intense, barrier islands around the world become increasingly vulnerable to conversion from self-sustaining migrating landforms to submerging or subaqueous sand bodies. To explore the mechanism by which such state changes occur and to assess the factors leading to island disintegration, we develop a suite of numerical simulations for the Chandeleur IslIntroduction to the special issue on “Understanding and predicting change in the coastal ecosystems of the northern Gulf of Mexico”
The coastal region of the northern Gulf of Mexico owes its current landscape structure to an array of tectonic, erosional and depositional, climatic, geochemical, hydrological, ecological, and human processes that have resulted in some of the world's most complex, dynamic, productive, and threatened ecosystems. Catastrophic hurricane landfalls, ongoing subsidence and erosion exacerbated by sea-levCharacter of shell beds flanking Herod Point Shoal, southeastern Long Island Sound, New York
High biogenic productivity, strong tidal currents, shoal topography, and short transport distances combine to favor shell-bed formation along the lower flanks of a cape-associated shoal off Herod Point on Long Island, New York. This shell bed has a densely packed, clast-supported fabric composed largely of undegraded surf clam (Spisula solidissima) valves. It is widest along the central part of thCoastal vulnerability assessment of the Northern Gulf of Mexico to sea-level rise and coastal change
A coastal vulnerability index (CVI) was used to map the relative vulnerability of the coast to future sea-level rise along the Northern Gulf of Mexico from Galveston, TX, to Panama City, FL. The CVI ranks the following in terms of their physical contribution to sea-level rise-related coastal change: geomorphology, regional coastal slope, rate of relative sea-level rise, historical shoreline changeEstuarine sediment transport by gravity-driven movement of the nepheloid layer, Long Island Sound
Interpretation of sidescan-sonar imagery provides evidence that down-slope gravity-driven movement of the nepheloid layer constitutes an important mode of transporting sediment into the basins of north-central Long Island Sound, a major US East Coast estuary. In the Western Basin, this transport mechanism has formed dendritic drainage systems characterized by branching patterns of low backscatterQuaternary geology and sedimentary processes in the vicinity of Six Mile Reef, eastern Long Island Sound
Six Mile Reef, a sandy, 22-m-high shoal trending east-west and located about 7.8 km off the Connecticut coast, has a core of postglacial marine deltaic deposits mantled by tidally reworked modern sediments. Sedimentary environments off the eastern end of the shoal are characterized by processes associated with long-term erosion or nondeposition, a mobile-sediment-limited seafloor armored by gravelGeologic effects and coastal vulnerability to sea-level rise, erosion, and storms
A combination of natural and human factors are driving coastal change and making coastal regions and populations increasingly vulnerable. Sea level, a major agent of coastal erosion, has varied greatly from -120 m below present during glacial period low-stands to + 4 to 6 m above present during interglacial warm periods. Geologic and tide gauge data show that global sea level has risen about 12 toSeabed mapping and characterization of sediment variability using the usSEABED data base
We present a methodology for statistical analysis of randomly located marine sediment point data, and apply it to the US continental shelf portions of usSEABED mean grain size records. The usSEABED database, like many modern, large environmental datasets, is heterogeneous and interdisciplinary. We statistically test the database as a source of mean grain size data, and from it provide a first examSurficial sediment character of the Louisiana offshore continental shelf region: a GIS compilation
The Louisiana coastal zone, comprising the Mississippi River delta plain stretching nearly 400 km from Sabine Pass at the Texas border east to the Chandeleur Islands at the Mississippi border, represents one of North America’s most important coastal ecosystems in terms of natural resources, human infrastructure, and cultural heritage. At the same time, this region has the highest rates of coastalGeologic characterization of shelf areas using usSEABED for GIS mapping, modeling processes and assessing marine sand and gravel resources
Geologic maps depicting offshore sedimentary features serve many scientific and applied purposes. Such maps have been lacking, but recent computer technology and software offer promise in the capture and display of diverse marine data. Continental margins contain landforms which provide a variety of important functions and contain important sedimentary records. Some shelf areas also contain deposiModeling barrier island response to sea-level rise in the Outer Banks, North Carolina
An 8500-year Holocene simulation developed in GEOMBEST provides a possible scenario to explain the evolution of barrier coast between Rodanthe and Cape Hatteras, NC. Sensitivity analyses suggest that in the Outer Banks, the rate of sea-level rise is the most important factor in determining how barrier islands evolve. The Holocene simulation provides a basis for future simulations, which suggest th