Unified Interior Regions
Georgia
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.
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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.
National Assessment of Coastal Vulnerability to Sea Level Rise
The original national coastal vulnerability index (CVI) assessment was motivated by expected accelerated sea-level rise (SLR) and the uncertainty in the response of the coastline to SLR. This research was conducted between 1999 and 2001, and is currently being updated using new data sources and methodology. This original study was part of the ...
Long-Term Coastal Change
Goals of this task include developing and improving coastal-change assessments and supporting long-term planning and decision making to ensure sustainable coastal economies, infrastructure, and ecosystems.
National Assessment of Coastal Change Hazards
Research to identify areas that are most vulnerable to coastal change hazards including beach and dune erosion, long-term shoreline change, and sea-level rise.
Chattahoochee River, Georgia BacteriAlert
Background: How safe is it to swim, wade, and boat in the Chattahoochee River today? For a highly urbanized river such as the Chattahoochee, much of the answer depends on bacteria levels in the water. This website provides "real time" turbidity data, the estimated Escherichia coli (E coli) bacteria count, the most recent E. coli bacteria counts (sample collected each Thursday), and National...
Research and Investigations
The USGS South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC) is comprised of water-science offices throughout Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.
The SAWSC conducts research and investigations related to topics such as groundwater and surface-water quality related to anthropogenic and agricultural activities, hydraulic and hydrologic modeling, tracking the...
Georgia Geologic Survey - Joint USGS and GGS Publications
The South Atlantic Water Science Center - Georgia Office cooperates with the Georgia Geologic Survey (GGS) in many hydrologic projects. A number of joint publications have been published over the years.
South Atlantic Water Science Center Drought Monitoring
When rainfall is less than normal for several weeks, months, or years, the flow of streams and rivers declines, water levels in lakes and reservoirs fall, and the depth to water in wells increases. If dry weather persists and water-supply problems develop, the dry period can become a drought.
Hurricane Monitoring Information for Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina
Hurricane Information for Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
South Atlantic Water Science Center Storm-Tide Monitoring
Preventing flood hazards, such as the hurricane induced storm surge, from becoming human disasters requires an understanding of the relative risks floods pose to specific communities and knowledge of the processes by which flood waters rise, converge, and abate. Historically, hurricane-induced storm tides have been documented through measurement of high-water marks left on structures or...
Rainfall data, maps and resources for Georgia, North and South Carolina
Shift Adjusted Ratings for Georgia, North and South Carolina Stream Gages
Geographical Information Systems (GIS) Resources for Georgia, North and South Carolina
Spatial/GIS data sets
Data Organized by River Basin, in Georgia, North and South Carolina
Flood Inundation Mapping
USGS Flood Inundation Maps, along with Internet information regarding current stage from the USGS streamgage, provide emergency management personnel and residents with information that is critical for flood-response activities, such as evacuations and road closures, as well as for post-flood recovery efforts.
Hurricane and Flood Response Map Viewer
The USGS Flood Event Viewer (FEV) is the public data discovery component of the Short-Term Network (STN) database. Data viewable and downloadable from this page are from the STN database. This application integrates with the USGS National Water Information System (NWIS) database for display of time-series water data.
StreamStats for Georgia, North and South Carolina
StreamStats is a Web-based Geographic Information Systems (GIS) application that provides users with access to an assortment of analytical tools that are useful for a variety of water-resources planning and management purposes, and for engineering and design purposes.
Structures Data
USGS data portray selected structures data, including the location and characteristics of manmade facilities. Characteristics consist of a structure's physical form (footprint), function, name, location, and detailed information about the structure. The types of structures collected are largely determined by the needs of the disaster planning and response and homeland security organizations....
Boundaries Data
Boundaries data or governmental units represent major civil areas including states, counties, Federal, and Native American lands, and incorporated places such as cities and towns.
Hydrography Data
The National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) and Watershed Boundary Dataset (WBD) are used to portray surface water on The National Map.
The United States Interagency Elevation Inventory (USIEI)
The USIEI is a comprehensive, nationwide listing of known high-accuracy topographic and bathymetric data for the United States and its territories. The project is a collaborative effort of the USGS and NOAA with contributions from other federal agencies. The inventory supports the 3D Elevation Program and the Integrated Ocean and Coastal Mapping effort. This resource is updated in Spring and...
Elevation Data
The 3DEP products and services available through The National Map consist of lidar point clouds (LPC), standard digital elevation models (DEMs) at various horizontal resolutions, elevation source and associated datasets, an elevation point query service and bulk point query service. All 3DEP products are available, free of charge and without use restrictions.
Orthoimagery Data
Orthoimagery data typically are high resolution aerial images that combine the visual attributes of an aerial photograph with the spatial accuracy and reliability of a planimetric map. The National Map offers public domain, 1-meter orthoimagery for the conterminous United States with many urban areas and other locations at 2-foot or finer resolution.
2010 update—Streamflow characteristics at selected sites in southwestern Georgia, southeastern Alabama, and northwestern Florida, near Lake Seminole
Since the first edition of this report was published in 1996, continuous streamflow data have been recorded in the tri-state area of Alabama, Georgia, and Florida, near Lake Seminole. Several notable floods and severe droughts have occurred during this additional 16-year period that have sparked the need to include these additional recorded data...
Stamey, Timothy C.
Assessment of Hyporheic Zone, Flood-Plain, Soil-Gas, Soil, and Surface-Water Contamination at the McCoys Creek Chemical Training Area, Fort Gordon, Georgia, 2009-2010
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of the Army Environmental and Natural Resources Management Office of the U.S. Army Signal Center and Fort Gordon, Georgia, assessed the hyporheic zone, flood plain, soil gas, soil, and surface water for contaminants at the McCoys Creek Chemical Training Area (MCTA) at Fort Gordon...
Guimaraes, Wladmir B.; Falls, W. Fred; Caldwell, Andral W.; Ratliff, W. Hagan; Wellborn, John B.; Landmeyer, James E.
Assessment of hyporheic zone, flood-plain, soil-gas, soil, and surface-water contamination at the Old Incinerator Area, Fort Gordon, Georgia, 2009-2010
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of the Army Environmental and Natural Resources Management Office of the U.S. Army Signal Center and Fort Gordon, Georgia, assessed the hyporheic zone, flood plain, soil gas, soil, and surface-water for contaminants at the Old Incinerator Area at Fort Gordon, from October 2009 to...
Guimaraes, Wladmir B.; Falls, W. Fred; Caldwell, Andral W.; Ratliff, W. Hagan; Wellborn, John B.; Landmeyer, James E.
Assessment of groundwater, soil-gas, and soil contamination at the Vietnam Armor Training Facility, Fort Gordon, Georgia, 2009-2010
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of the Army Environmental and Natural Resources Management Office of the U.S. Army Signal Center and Fort Gordon, Georgia, assessed the groundwater, soil gas, and soil for contaminants at the Vietnam Armor Training Facility (VATF) at Fort Gordon, from October 2009 to September...
Guimaraes, Wladmir B.; Falls, W. Fred; Caldwell, Andral W.; Ratliff, W. Hagan; Wellborn, John B.; Landmeyer, James E.
Effects of including surface depressions in the application of the Precipitation-Runoff Modeling System in the Upper Flint River Basin, Georgia
This report documents an extension of the Precipitation Runoff Modeling System that accounts for the effect of a large number of water-holding depressions in the land surface on the hydrologic response of a basin. Several techniques for developing the inputs needed by this extension also are presented. These techniques include the delineation of...
Viger, Roland J.; Hay, Lauren E.; Jones, John W.; Buell, Gary R.
Analysis of complex pumping interactions during an aquifer test conducted at a well field in the coastal plain near Augusta, Georgia, October 2009
A 24-hour aquifer test was conducted in Well Field 2 near Augusta, Georgia, October 21–22, 2009, to characterize the hydraulic properties of the Midville aquifer system. The selected well was pumped at a rate of 684 gallons per minute. At the initiation of aquifer-test pumping, water levels in each of eight wells monitored for the test were...
Gonthier, Gerald J.
Water Use in Georgia by County for 2005; and Water-Use Trends, 1980-2005
Water use for 2005 for each county in Georgia was estimated using data obtained from various Federal and State agencies and local sources. Total consumptive water use also was estimated for each county in Georgia for 2005. Water use is subdivided according to offstream and instream use. Offstream use is defined as water withdrawn or diverted from...
Fanning, Julia L.; Trent, Victoria P.
Acoustic Doppler current profiler applications used in rivers and estuaries by the U.S. Geological Survey
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has collected streamflow information for the Nation's streams since 1889. Streamflow information is used to predict floods, manage and allocate water resources, design engineering structures, compute water-quality loads, and operate water-control structures. The current (2007) size of the USGS streamgaging network...
Gotvald, Anthony J.; Oberg, Kevin A. Does mobility explain variation in colonisation and population recovery among stream fishes?
1. Colonisation and population recovery are crucial to species persistence in environmentally variable ecosystems, but are poorly understood processes. After documenting movement rates for several species of stream fish, we predicted that this variable would influence colonisation rates more strongly than local abundance, per cent occupancy, body...
Angermeier, Paul L.; Albanese, Brett; Peterson, James
Water use in Georgia by county for 2005; and water-use trends, 1980-2005
Water use for 2005 for each county in Georgia was estimated using data obtained from various Federal and State agencies and local sources. Total consumptive water use also was estimated for each county in Georgia for 2005. Estimates of offstream water use include the categories of public supply, domestic, commercial, industrial, mining, irrigation...
Fanning, Julia L.; Trent, Victoria P. Biochemical indicators for the bioavailability of organic carbon in ground water
The bioavailability of total organic carbon (TOC) was examined in ground water from two hydrologically distinct aquifers using biochemical indicators widely employed in chemical oceanography. Concentrations of total hydrolyzable neutral sugars (THNS), total hydrolyzable amino acids (THAA), and carbon‐normalized percentages of TOC present as THNS...
Chapelle, F. H.; Bradley, P. M.; Goode, D.J.; Tiedeman, C.; Lacombe, P.J.; Kaiser, K.; Benner, R. Species richness, equitability, and abundance of ants in disturbed landscapes
Ants are used as indicators of environmental change in disturbed landscapes, often without adequate understanding of their response to disturbance. Ant communities in the southeastern United States displayed a hump-backed species richness curve against an index of landscape disturbance. Forty sites at Fort Benning, in west-central Georgia, covered...
Graham, J.H.; Krzysik, A.J.; Kovacic, D.A.; Duda, J.J.; Freeman, D.C.; Emlen, J.M.; Zak, J.C.; Long, W.R.; Wallace, M.P.; Chamberlin-Graham, C.; Nutter, J.P.; Balbach, H.E.
Measuring streamflow at the Chattahoochee River, epic Sep 2009 flood
Many days of continuous heavy rain in mid-September have resulted in flooding in many parts of Georgia, especially in north Georgia and the Atlanta region. These rains have been producing streamflows of record proportions.
Here, a USGS hydrographer is preparing to measure streamflow at the Chattahoochee River below Morgan Falls Dam water-monitoring site, Fulton
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September 2009 Flooding Chattahoochee River near Whitesburg (02338000)
Epic September 2009 Flooding
Chattahoochee River near Whitesburg (02338000)
Eft Stage of a Red-Spotted Newt
The eft stage of a red-spotted newt in Walker County, Georgia (Crockford-Pigeon Mountain Wildlife Management Area)
Scientists Collecting Bed-Sediment Samples from Suwanee Creek, Georgia
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists collecting bed-sediment samples from Suwanee Creek, Gwinnett County, Georgia, on May 23, 2007.
Georgia Fires, USA
The Georgia Fire consisted of two fires, the Sweat Farm Road fire and the Big Turnaround fire. The fires were located 10 miles (16 kilometers) southwest of Waycross, Georgia, and were separated by Swamp Road. The Sweat Farm Road fire, which began on April 16, 2007, burned more than 87 square miles (140 square kilometers) of forest and swampland in southeast Georgia.
Impervious areas affect rainfall runoff, flooding, and water quality.
Impervious areas can affect precipitation runoff and flooding, and water quality
If you are not familiar with the term "impervious surface," this picture of a typical landscape in suburban Atlanta, Georgia, USA, will help explain it. As cities grow and more development occurs, the natural landscape is replaced by roads, buildings, housing
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Peachtree Creek, Atlanta, Ga. Debris from floods cause bridge problems
Peachtree Creek at Atlanta (USGS 02336300) Water Monitoring Site
Floods are powerful natural mechanisms that can move large amounts of debris seemingly easily. This picture shows the upstream side of a major highway bridge crossing Peachtree Creek in Atlanta, Ga. Looks like flood-borne trees and other debris that have gotten stuck on bridge
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Map Showing the Location of the Total Chlorinated Ethene Plume
Map showing the location of the total chlorinated ethene plume and monitoring wells at Submarine Base Kings Bay, Georgia. The map showes the location of the plume prior to a series of in situ oxidation source-removal actions. Figure 17 from USGS WRIR 03-4057.
TNMCorps Mapping Challenge: Schools in GA & SC as of 04/02/2020
TNMCorps Mapping Challenge: Schools in GA & SC as of 04/02/2020
Big Creek near Alpharetta (02335700)
We have installed a webcam at the Big Creek near Alpharetta to allow you to view, in real time, the current river-stage conditions.
During periods of flooding, the South Atlantic Water Science Center - Georgia will take control of the camera.
Camera is sponsored by the USGS National Streamflow Information Program (
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Aggregates Data by State, Type, and End Use; 1971–2018
This data set contains supplemental aggregates data for the USGS Minerals Yearbook Volume II—Area Reports: Domestic. It contains data for the years 1971 through 2018 and replaces the discrete construction aggregate tables that were included in the individual State chapters prior to 2014. It contains
Chattahoochee River at Helen (02330450)
We have installed a webcam at the Chattahoochee River at Helen to allow you to view, in real time, the current river-stage conditions.
During periods of flooding, the South Atlantic Water Science Center - Georgia will take control of the camera.
Camera is sponsored by the USGS National Streamflow Information Program
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Fayette County Georgia, Water System Director, Lee Pope, discusses water management efforts to alleviate issues downstream.
A carbonatite here, a glacial moraine there, a zig-zagging fault or two, even a behemoth of a batholith. The geology of the 50 States is an enormous patchwork of varied forms, beautiful in their variance but challenging to present as a single map.
A regional assessment of untreated groundwater in the Southeastern Coastal Plain aquifer system is now available from the U.S. Geological Survey.
A regional assessment of untreated groundwater in the combined Valley and Ridge and Piedmont and Blue Ridge aquifers in the eastern United States is now available from the U.S. Geological Survey.
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.
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
“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)
First-of-its-kind survey shows that algal toxins are found nationwide
At least one pharmaceutical chemical was detected in all 59 streams sampled
USGS scientists have detected toxins known as microcystins produced by various forms of algae in 39 percent of the small streams assessed throughout the southeastern United States. Their recent study looked at 75 streams in portions of Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.
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Locations
South Atlantic Water Science Center - Norcross, GA Office
Phone: (678) 924-6700
Fax: (678) 924-6710
South Atlantic Water Science Center - Tifton, GA Field Office
Phone: 229-382-6353
South Atlantic Water Science Center - Savannah, GA Field Office
Phone: (843) 784-5005