Unified Interior Regions
Region 2: South Atlantic-Gulf (Includes Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands)
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Airborne bacteria in Earth's lower stratosphere resemble taxa detected in the troposphere: Results from a new NASA Aircraft Bioaerosol Collector (ABC)
Airborne microorganisms in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere remain elusive due to a lack of reliable sample collection systems. To address this problem, we designed, installed, and flight-validated a novel Aircraft Bioaerosol Collector (ABC) for NASA's C-20A that can make collections for microbiological research investigations up to...
David J. Smith; Ravichandar, Jayamary D.; Jain, Sunit; Griffin, Dale W.; Yu, Hongbin; Tan, Qian; Thissen, James; Lusby, Terry; Nicoll, Patrick; Shedler, Sarah; Martinez, P.; Osorio, Alejandro; Lechniak, Jason; Choi, Samuel; Sabino, Kayleen; Iverson, Kathryn; Chan, Luisa; Jaing, Crystal; McGrath, John A generically parameterized model of lake eutrophication (GPLake) that links field-, lab- and model-based knowledge
Worldwide, eutrophication is threatening lake ecosystems. To support lake management numerous eutrophication models have been developed. Diverse research questions in a wide range of lake ecosystems are addressed by these models. The established models are based on three key approaches: the empirical approach that employs field surveys, the...
Chang, Manqi; Teurlincx, Sven; DeAngelis, Donald L.; Janse, Jan H.; Troost, Tineke A.; van Wijk, Dianneke; Mooij, Wolf M.; Janssen, Annette B. G. Immediate effects of hurricanes on a diverse coral/mangrove ecosystem in the U.S. Virgin Islands and the potential for recovery
Hurricanes Irma and Maria, two powerful storms that hit the U.S. Virgin Islands less than 2 weeks apart in September 2017, caused extensive damage to the natural resources on St. John. Damage was particularly severe in a unique mangrove/coral ecosystem in three bays within Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument, a National Park Service marine...
Rogers, Caroline Patterns of resource allocation in a coastal marsh plant (Schoenoplectus americanus) along a sediment-addition gradient
Reductions in sediment delivery to coastal marshes increase their vulnerability to relative sea-level rise. Sediment pulses from storm events and commercial dredge-spray operations (e.g., beneficial use) represent increasingly important sediment sources to otherwise sediment-deprived marshes. These sediments can stimulate plant growth by providing...
Temple, Nigel A.; Grace, James B.; Cherry, Julia A Life history, genetics, range expansion and new frontiers of the lionfish (Pterois volitans, Perciformes: Pteroidae) in Latin America
Pterois volitans (lionfish) is a midsize predatory fish commonly found in waters of the western Pacific and Indian Ocean. The species was first documented in Dania Beach, Florida (northwestern Caribbean) in 1985. Since that time the species has expanded its range rapidly to the Northwestern Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean Sea....
Díaz-Ferguson, Edgardo; Hunter, Margaret Mapping crop residue by combining Landsat and WorldView-3 satellite imagery
A unique, multi-tiered approach was applied to map crop-residue cover on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay, USA. Field measurements of crop-residue cover were used to calibrate residue mapping using shortwave infrared (SWIR) indices derived from WorldView-3 imagery for an 8-km x 8-km footprint. The resulting map was then used to calibrate...
Hively, W. Dean; Shermeyer, Jacob; Lamb, Brian T.; Daughtry, Craig S.T.; Quemada, Miguel; Keppler, Jason Loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) diving changes with productivity, behavioral mode, and sea surface temperature
The relationship between dive behavior and oceanographic conditions is not well understood for marine predators, especially sea turtles. We tagged loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) with satellite-linked depth loggers in the Gulf of Mexico, where there is a minimal amount of dive data for this species. We tested for associations between four...
Iverson, Autumn; Fujisaki, Ikuko; Lamont, Margaret; Hart, Kristen Amphibian monitoring in hardwood forests: Optimizing methods for contaminant‐based compensatory restorations
Amphibians such as frogs, toads, and salamanders provide important services in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems and have been proposed as useful indicators of progress and success for ecological restoration projects. Limited guidance is available, however, on the costs and benefits of different amphibian monitoring techniques that might be...
Kunz, Bethany K.; Waddle, Hardin; Green, Nicholas S. Indo-West Pacific species of Trachinotus with spots on their sides as adults, with description of a new species endemic to the Marquesas Islands (Teleostei: Carangidae)
Diagnoses, comparisons, photographs and distribution maps are given for three previously described Indo-West Pacific species of Trachinotus that develop spots on their sides as adults. A new species, Trachinotus macrospilus, is described from the Marquesas Islands where it is endemic and the only species of the genus present. It differs from the...
William F. Smith-Vaniz; Walsh, Stephen J. What nutrient sources support anomalous growth and the recent sargassum mass stranding on Caribbean beaches? A review
Since 2011, tropical beaches from Africa to Brazil, Central America, and the Caribbean have been inundated by tons of sargassum seaweed from a new equatorial source of pelagic sargassum in the Atlantic. In recent years the extraordinary accumulations of sargassum make this a nuisance algal bloom for tropical coasts. In 2018 satellite data...
Oviatt, Candace; Huizenga, Kristin; Rogers, Caroline; Miller, Jeff
South Atlantic Water Science Center Strategic Science Plan: 2019–23
Executive SummaryThe South Atlantic Water Science Center Strategic Science Planning Team has developed a unified strategic science plan to guide the science vision of the South Atlantic Water Science Center (SAWSC) in response to the merging of the Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina Water Science Centers. This plan proposes a path forward...
Cuffney, Thomas F.; Garcia, Ana M.; Horowitz, Arthur J.; LaFontaine, Jacob H.; Landmeyer, James E.; McKee, Anna M.; McSwain, Kristen Bukowski; Painter, Jaime A.; Shelton, John M.; Smith, Christopher A. Using a Bayesian network to understand the importance of coastal storms and undeveloped landscapes for the creation and maintenance of early successional habitat
Coastal storms have consequences for human lives and infrastructure but also create important early successional habitats for myriad species. For example, storm-induced overwash creates nesting habitat for shorebirds like piping plovers (Charadrius melodus). We examined how piping plover habitat extent and location changed on barrier islands in...
Zeigler, Sara L.; Gutierrez, Benjamin T.; Sturdivant, Emily J.; Catlin, Daniel H.; Fraser, James D.; Hecht, A.; Karpanty, Sarah M.; Plant, Nathaniel G.; Thieler, E. Robert
A logging truck in Tennessee
A logging truck in Tennessee. The picture was taken as a part of a Land Cover Trends project field trip.
Hay bales in a hay field in TN
Hay bales in a hay field in Tennessee. This picture was taken as part of a Land Cover Trends project field trip.
Tadpole with organ failure
This tadpole shows signs of severe Perkinsea infection, which causes organ failure.
Lindbergh Beach, U.S. Virgin Islands
A view toward the ocean, featuring a white sand beach, the ocean, and a Seagrape tree partially blocking a palm tree.
Florida Bay
Looking south from the Black Betsy Keys shore, onto waters of Florida Bay. On the horizon, Key islands separate the green bay waters from the blue cloud-filled skies.
Florida Bay sunset
The sky filled with a profusion of colors as the sun slowly set behind this mangrove island in Florida Bay, at the south end of Everglades National Park.
View looking up-stream toward Carraizo Dam, under drought conditions
View looking up-stream toward Carraizo Dam in Loiza, Puerto Rico, under drought conditions.
Winter Park Florida Sinkhole of 1981
Photo 15 of 15: Water level in sinkhole chimney stabilized since the previous day. View to south across the sinhole. In the following weeks and months, the water level in the sinkhole continued to rise, a likely result of the plugging of the conduit into the Floridan aquifer with the sinkhole debris, fill subsequently emplaced by the city, and natural consolidation
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Winter Park Florida Sinkhole of 1981
Photo 14 of 15: Remnants of community pool in sinkhole. View to east across the sinkhole.
The U.S. Geological Survey is expanding its capabilities in hormone research, studying the role contaminants may play in the reproductive development of amphibian, fish and mussel species.
"This morning’s earthquake in southern Alabama was a wake-up call in more ways than one," said Dr. Mark Schaefer, Acting Director of the U.S. Geological Survey. "It serves to remind all of us that earthquakes are not restricted to California, Washington, and Alaska. The East is earthquake country, too."
Federal and local biologists captured and tagged three manatees in early August near Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, as part of efforts to better protect West Indian manatees inhabiting this Caribbean island.
Scientists explored a unique reef in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.
Managers and planners representing Federal, state, and local government agencies and private organizations will gather in Fort Lauderdale on Monday for a 3-day conference (August 25 - 27) to discuss the latest results of more than 50 scientific investigations by the U.S. Geological Survey in South Florida.
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 3.8 occurred in northeastern Tennessee, Wednesday, July 30, 1997 according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The gasoline additive MTBE (methyl tert-butyl ether) was detected in some urban stormwater samples collected in 16 cities and metropolitan areas by the U.S. Geological Survey, but all detections of MTBE were less than the lower limit of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s draft lifetime health advisory for drinking water.
The especially wet Hurricane Hortense has U.S. Geological Survey hydrologists and technicians working around the clock to measure its impact on the rivers of Puerto Rico. The Rio de la Plata in northeastern Puerto Rico, for example, has reached its highest level ever, exceeding the previous record high flow of Jan. 5, 1992, when the river reached a flow of 82 billion gallons per day.
From coastal erosion to measuring the storm surge and flooding as well as providing maps of affected areas, the U.S. Geological Survey is gearing up to provide information on Hurricane Fran as the storm develops, including real-time data, from its offices in Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York.
Follow Region 2 activities on social media, get contact information for Region 2 USGS centers, and meet Region 2's staff and center directors.
Contacts
Locations
Wetland and Aquatic Research Center - Gainesville, FL
Phone: 352-378-8181
Fax: 352-378-4956
Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center - Nashville, TN Office
GS-W-TNnsh Webmaster@usgs.gov
Phone: (615) 837-4700
Fax: (615) 837-4799
Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center - Montgomery, AL Office
Phone: (334) 395-4131
Fax: (334) 395-4168
Caribbean-Florida Water Science Center - Puerto Rico Office
Phone: (787) 749-7400
Fax: (787) 749-7401
South Atlantic Water Science Center - Raleigh, NC Office
Phone: (919) 571-4000
Fax: (919) 571-4041
South Atlantic Water Science Center - Columbia, SC Office
Phone: (803) 750-6100
Fax: (803) 750-6181
South Atlantic Water Science Center - Norcross, GA Office
Phone: (678) 924-6700
Fax: (678) 924-6710
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
Southeast Climate Adaptation Science Center
South Atlantic Water Science Center - Tifton, GA Field Office
Phone: 229-382-6353
South Atlantic Water Science Center - Charleston, SC Field Office
Phone: 843-670-6275
Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center - Memphis, TN Office
Phone: 901-678-7287
Fax: 901-678-7300
Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center - Knoxville, TN Office
rbrendli@usgs.gov
Phone: 865-862-2029
Lower Mississippi-Gulf Water Science Center - Tuscaloosa, AL Office
Phone: 205-348-0950
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
Wetland and Aquatic Research Center - St. John, USVI
South Atlantic Water Science Center - Asheville, NC Field Office
Phone: (828) 684-5905
South Atlantic Water Science Center - Savannah, GA Field Office
Phone: (843) 784-5005
South Atlantic Water Science Center - Charlotte, NC Field Office
Phone: (704) 344-6272
Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center (NOROCK) Southern Appalachian Duty Station
Phone: 865-974-4790
Fax: 865-974-3555
