Steven E Suttles
Science and Products
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....
Sediment Transport Instrumentation Facility (STIF)
The Sediment Transport Instrumentation Facility exists to support ocean, coastal and estuarine research. The staff have a broad set of skills; from instrument design and development to all forms of work at sea to software development and data management. The team has successfully deployed and recovered more than 1000 data collection platforms for research in the last 30 years.
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...
Estuarine Processes Eutrophication
Increased loadings of nutrients to estuaries have altered ecosystem function by encouraging growth of phytoplankton and macroalgae while inducing large swings in dissolved oxygen and threatening the sustainability of seagrass meadows. We are measuring and modeling these processes to understand the future trajectory of estuarine ecosystems.
Summary of oceanographic and water-quality measurements in Chincoteague Bay, Maryland and Virginia, 2014–15
U.S. Geological Survey scientists and technical support staff measured oceanographic, waterquality, seabed-elevation-change, and meteorological parameters in Chincoteague Bay, Maryland and Virginia, during the period of August 13, 2014, to July 14, 2015, as part of the Estuarine Physical Response to Storms project (GS2–2D) supported by the...
Suttles, Steven E. ; Ganju, Neil K.; Brosnahan, Sandra M.; Montgomery, Ellyn T. ; Dickhudt, Patrick J. ; Beudin, Alexis; Nowacki, Daniel J. ; Martini, Marinna A.
Quantification of storm-induced bathymetric change in a back-barrier estuary
Geomorphology is a fundamental control on ecological and economic function of estuaries. However, relative to open coasts, there has been little quantification of storm-induced bathymetric change in back-barrier estuaries. Vessel-based and airborne bathymetric mapping can cover large areas quickly, but change detection is difficult because...
Ganju, Neil K.; Suttles, Steven E.; Beudin, Alexis; Nowacki, Daniel J. ; Miselis, Jennifer L.; Andrews, Brian D. Oceanographic, atmospheric and water-quality measurements Sandwich Town Neck Beach, Massachusetts, 2016
This web page provides access to oceanographic, atmospheric, and water quality observations near Sandwich Town Neck Beach, Massachusetts. These measurements were made in conjunction with two U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) projects; the Coastal Model Applications and Measurements Project, and the Barrier Island Evolution Research project, both...
Sherwood, Christopher R.; Montgomery, Ellyn T. ; Suttles, Steven E. ; Brosnahan, Sandra M.
Summary of oceanographic and water-quality measurements in Barnegat Bay, New Jersey, 2014–15
Scientists and technical support staff from the U.S. Geological Survey measured suspended-sediment concentrations, currents, pressure, and water temperature in two tidal creeks, Reedy Creek and Dinner Creek, in Barnegat Bay, New Jersey, from August 11, 2014, to July 10, 2015 as part of the Estuarine Physical Response to Storms project (GS2–2D)....
Suttles, Steven E.; Ganju, Neil K.; Montgomery, Ellyn T.; Dickhudt, Patrick J.; Borden, Jonathan; Brosnahan, Sandra M.; Martini, Marinna A. Colored dissolved organic matter in shallow estuaries: relationships between carbon sources and light attenuation
Light availability is of primary importance to the ecological function of shallow estuaries. For example, benthic primary production by submerged aquatic vegetation is contingent upon light penetration to the seabed. A major component that attenuates light in estuaries is colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM). CDOM is often measured via a proxy...
Oestreich, W.K.; Ganju, Neil K.; Pohlman, John; Suttles, Steven E.