Unified Interior Regions
Florida
World class scientists working in Southeast Region Science Centers help our partners understand and manage complex issues including competition for limited water resources, coastal hazards, mineral and energy resource extraction, degraded ecosystems, vector-borne diseases, rapidly changing land use, and response to climate change.
States L2 Landing Page Tabs
Geophysical Infrastructure Study: Jim Woodruff Lock and Dam
A study site of the Geophysical Infrastructure Studies: Earthen Dams and Abandoned Mine Lands project.
Tropical Storm Colin - Forecast of Coastal Change
Forecast of coastal change for Tropical Storm Colin.
The Florida Coastal Mapping Program
The Florida Coastal Mapping Program (FCMaP) is an initiative between Federal and Florida State agencies and institutions to coordinate and facilitate the collection and accessibility of Florida coastal seafloor data in order to fill priority areas and gaps.
Coastal Change
The continued devastation from recent hurricanes and tropical storms demonstrates the vulnerability of coastal communities to coastal-change hazards. Changes in sea level and storm-wave intensity are changing the areas that are prone to erosion and storm-related flooding. The Hazards Vulnerability Team has worked with USGS coastal researchers and partners to improve our understanding of...
Measuring Coral Growth to Help Restore Reefs
It is critical to start measuring calcification rates in a systematic way now, particularly at subtropical latitudes where conditions fluctuate seasonally, so that we can understand how dynamic ocean conditions affect calcifying organisms today and predict possible changes in the future. We established a calcification monitoring network in the Florida Keys and have been measuring calcification...
Climate and Environmental Change in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean
This project documents paleoceanographic, climatic, and environmental changes in the Gulf of Mexico and adjacent land areas over the last 10,000 years. The paleoenvironmental data is used to determine rates of change in the past, and to better understand both the natural and anthropogenic factors that contribute to climate variability on inter-annual to millennial timescales.
Relative Sensitivity of Adult Mosquitoes and Butterflies to Adult Mosquito Control Pesticides
Mosquito control on Department of the Interior (DOI) managed lands is a resource management challenge. The pesticides used to control mosquitoes may also affect nontarget organisms whose conservation is one of the primary responsibilities of resource managers.
Hurricane Matthew - Forecast and Documentation of Coastal Change
Hurricane Matthew coastal change forecast and pre- and post-storm photos documenting coastal change.
Hurricane Irma - Forecast and Documentation of Coastal Change
Hurricane Irma coastal change forecast and pre- and post-storm photos documenting coastal change.
Hurricane Nate - Forecast and Documentation of Coastal Change
Hurricane Nate coastal change forecast and pre- and post-storm photos documenting coastal change.
Scenario-Based Assessments for Coastal Change Hazard Forecasts
A decade of USGS research on storm-driven coastal change hazards has provided the data and modeling capabilities needed to identify areas of our coastline that are likely to experience extreme and potentially hazardous erosion during an extreme storm.
Forecasting Coastal Change
This project focuses on understanding the magnitude and variability of extreme storm impacts on sandy beaches. The overall objective is to improve real-time and scenario-based predictions of coastal change to support management of coastal infrastructure, resources, and safety.
Sunrise in Melbourne, FL
A colorful sunrise appears over the horizon of a calm ocean offshore of Melbourne, Florida. USGS Scientist RC Mickey collects data for location and elevation of sea turtle crawls and associated beach profiles this stretch of coastline. Collected data is used in a cooperative project with FWC, FWS, USGS, and USFSP aimed at understanding sea turtle nesting behavior in
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Barry's wave, surge likely to affect beaches in four states
This Coastal Change Storm Hazard Team map was created Friday, July 12, 2019 and shows forecast beach erosion (the strip of colored bars closest to the coast), overwash (middle strip) and inundation (outer strip) effects of Tropical Storm Barry’s predicted landfall in Louisiana. See https://marine.
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Barry's wave, surge likely to affect beaches in four states
This Coastal Change Storm Hazard Team map was created Friday, July 12, 2019 and shows forecast beach erosion (the strip of colored bars closest to the coast), overwash (middle strip) and inundation (outer strip) effects of Tropical Storm Barry’s predicted landfall in Louisiana. See https://marine.
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Sea Turtle Underwater POV
See St. Joseph Bay in the Florida Panhandle through the eyes of two young adult female loggerheads as they swim, surface to breathe, dive, forage on underwater grasses and spend time with other sea turtles. Three species of threatened or endangered sea turtles congregate in St. Joseph Bay. They surface only briefly to breathe, and rarely come ashore except when females
Congressman Charlie Crist visits the SPCMSC
On May 6, 2019, Congressman Charlie Crist (13th district, FL) and Operations and Outreach Director Mr. Kendrick Lewis will visit the St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center (SPCMSC). Congressman Crist requested this visit because he is interested to learn more about the Center and to discuss needs/priorities that we may have. (First row, left to right:
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Breach in Eastern Berm of Jim Foot Key, Florida
In Photo: Eastern berm of Jim Foot Key, April 2019. This photo taken from Florida Bay, looking in toward the center of the island (now covered in water). The arrow points toward a breach in the berm, first noted in 2014, but the cut has deepened significantly after Hurricane Irma, and the island interior appears to be permanently tidal. Loss of the berm structure is
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Interior Mudflat on Jim Foot Key, Florida
In Photo: Interior mudflat on Jim Foot Key covered with saline water, April 2019. Stumps of dead mangroves (reportedly damaged by Hurricane Donna in 1960 (Craighead, 1962)) are visible projecting from the water. Shadowed areas below the water are underwater grasses typically found in Florida Bay, now growing inside the island, indicating the mudflat is converting to an
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Juvenile Mangroves on Jim Foot Key, Florida
In Photo: Juvenile mangroves on eastern berm of Jim Foot Key, April 2019. Mangroves are intermingled with saltwort, the dominant live vegetation on the damaged berms, and standing dead mangroves. Grid is 25 cm high. The question is whether these trees will mature fast enough to protect the berm from rising sea level.
Scientists from the Florence Bascom
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Researchers deploying a corer in Lake Enriquillo.
Jessica Rodysill (Reston) and Hunter Wilcox (SPCMSC) deploying a corer in Lake Enriquillo. The scientists will use the cores to construct precipitation changes in Dominican Republic over the late Holocene (~5000 years ago to present) time period.
SPMSC scientist Lauren Toth conducts a photographic survey of the reef
SPMSC scientist Lauren Toth conducts a photographic survey of Porter Patch reef off Key Largo, one of the sites that has been surveyed as part of FWRI’s Coral Reef Ecosystem Monitoring project since 1996. The modern reef surveys will be compared to historic surveys to determine how much structural complexity the reefs of the Florida Keys have lost over the past two decades
Berm at Jim Foot Key, Florida (2019)
In Photo: Berm of Jim Foot Key about 1.5 years after Hurricane Irma. The red circle indicates the same position as shown in the April 2014 photo. The mature mangrove trees have not recovered from the storm.
Scientists from the Florence Bascom Geoscience Center
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A sea turtle mosaic made from the field station's broken floor tiles
After Hurricane Michael obliterated Fish Inn, the sea turtle research team's field station, team members salvaged some of the building's floor tiles and made this sea turtle mosaic, which they plan to eventually install in a new field station.
Boulder corals in the waters of Dry Tortugas National Park, 70 miles from Key West, contain evidence that confirms a centuries-old sea temperature cycle linked to rains, droughts and hurricanes.
A regional assessment of untreated groundwater in the Coastal Lowlands aquifer system in the southeastern United States is now available from the U.S. Geological Survey.
A regional assessment of untreated groundwater in the Southeastern Coastal Plain aquifer system is now available from the U.S. Geological Survey.
New low-altitude aerial photos of Southeastern beaches taken before and after Hurricane Matthew passed offshore show a new storm-cut inlet, and roads, dunes and structures lost.
The heavy rains and storm surge Hurricane Matthew produced caused severe flooding in many parts of the south east, resulting in almost 40 peak flood records. As the flood waters continue to recede from some affected areas, the U. S. Geological Survey will continue its efforts to record this historic flooding. Click here to learn more about the work the USGS has completed for Hurricane Matthew.
Fish Marks 36th Non-Native Marine Fish Species Found in State
USGS is engaged in research, monitoring, sampling and coastal change forecasting associated with Hurricane Matthew from Florida north up into Virginia.
To learn about storm sensors and see their location, explore the USGS Coastal Change Hazard Portal, or see satellite imagery before and after the storm, visit the USGS Hurricane Matthew page.
As the east coast prepares for Hurricane Matthew's arrival, the U.S. Geological Survey uses advanced models to forecast the coastal impacts Matthew could bring.
Media interested in going out with USGS field crews deploying sensors please contact:
Florida: Richard Kane, rkane@usgs.gov, 813-918-1275
Georgia: Brian McCallum, bemccall@usgs.gov, 678- 924-6672
South Carolina: John Shelton, jmshelto@usgs.gov, 803-767-5542
North Carolina: Jeanne Robbins, jrobbins@usgs.gov, 919-571-4017
Burmese pythons have been found on Key Largo.
“From the mountains to the coast, the southeastern U.S. contains ecosystems that harbor incredible biodiversity. Many of those ecosystems are already highly at risk from urbanization and other human land-use change. Identifying the ecosystems at risk from climate change will help inform conservation and management to ensure we don’t lose that biodiversity.” (Jennifer Constanza, report author)
Outlook incorporates multiple hypoxia models for the second year
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Locations
Wetland and Aquatic Research Center - Gainesville, FL
Phone: 352-378-8181
Fax: 352-378-4956
Caribbean-Florida Water Science Center - Lutz, FL Office
Phone: (813) 498-5000
Fax: (813) 498-5002
St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center
Phone: (727) 502-8000
Fax: (727) 502-8181
USGS-St. Petersburg Carbon Analytical Laboratory
USGS Everglades Research Offices
Phone: 305-242-7834
Caribbean-Florida Water Science Center - Fort Myers, FL Field Office
Phone: (239) 275-8448
Fax: (239) 275-6820
Caribbean Florida Water Science Center - Tallahassee, FL Field Office
Phone: (850) 553-3640
Fax: (805) 553-3641
Caribbean-Florida Water Science Center - Orlando, FL Field Office
Phone: (407) 803-5500
Fax: (407) 803-5501
Caribbean-Florida Water Science Center - Davie, FL Field Office
Phone: (954) 377-5900
Fax: (954) 377-5901
