Unified Interior Regions
Region 2: South Atlantic-Gulf (Includes Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands)
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We conduct impartial, multi- and interdisciplinary research and monitoring to address a broad range of natural-resource issues that affect the quality of life of citizens and landscapes in the Southeastern United States and the Caribbean region.
Coastal Change Hazards
Natural processes such as waves, tides, and weather, continually change coastal landscapes. The integrity of coastal homes, businesses, and infrastructure can be threatened by hazards associated with event-driven changes, such as extreme storms and their impacts on beach and dune erosion, or longer-term, cumulative...
Fish Chat and Slam November 2019
Fifty fish biologists from 15 organizations participated in a three-day Fish Chat and Slam event in South Florida on November 5-7, 2019.
Contaminants Assessment in the Coral Reefs of the Virgin Islands National Park and Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument
USGS collected samples at reef locations within the Virgin Islands National Park and analyzed for the presence of contaminants, organotin compounds, or sunscreen compounds.
Fine-Scale Dive Profiles and Activity Patterns of Sea Turtles in the Gulf of Mexico
Researchers are developing acceleration data logger pop-off packages that can be affixed to sea turtles to collect behavioral patterns of diving, surfacing, and general activity levels.
Applications of Advanced Tracking and Modeling Tools with Burmese Pythons across South Florida's Landscape
Researchers will determine movement rates and habitat-use patterns of pythons across the South Florida landscape by conducting a telemetry study tracking pythons simultaneously in several locations
Habitat Selection of the Burmese Python in the Florida Everglades
Researchers plotted locations of radio-tagged pythons to create a habitat suitability model.
Hotspot and Risk Analysis for Sea Turtles in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary
Researchers will collect location data that will be used to identify areas of high-use for resident sea turtles in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.
U.S. Seismic Hazard Maps – Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, Samoa and the Pacific Islands, and Guam and Northern Mariana Islands
Seismic hazard maps for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, Samoa and the Pacific Islands, and Guam.
Spatial Ecology of Bobcats in the Greater Everglades
WARC researchers will estimate the density and distribution of bobcats in relation to environmental variables through the development of spatially explicit capture-recapture and occupancy models.
Topobathymetric Elevation Model of Outer Banks and Pamlico Sound, North Carolina
Pamlico Sound is ecologically important as it is the second largest estuary in the United States, and is the largest lagoon on the U.S. east coast. The sound is separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Outer Banks, a series of low, sandy barrier islands that are vulnerable to hurricane storm surge and sea-level rise. The seamless high-resolution topobathymetric digital elevation model (TBDEM)...
Topobathymetric Elevation Model of Mobile Bay, Alabama
Mobile Bay is ecologically important as it is the fourth largest estuary in the United States. The Mobile Bay topobathymetric digital elevation model (TBDEM) was developed in collaboration between U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Coastal and Marine Geology Program (CMGP) and USGS National...
Hurricane Dorian - Forecast and Documentation of Coastal Change
Hurricane Dorian coastal change forecast and pre- and post-storm photos documenting coastal change.
Suspended-sediment concentration data from water samples collected in 2016-17 in Grand Bay, Alabama and Mississippi
In wetlands within and near Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, parts of the salt marsh are eroding relatively rapidly. To understand the connection between sediment fluxes and these processes, the U.S. Geological Survey made oceanographic and water-quality measurements from August 2, 2016, to January 28, 2017
Crustal Architecture Beneath the Southern Midcontinent (USA) -- Data Grids and 3D Geophysical Models
Regional grid files and 3D voxel models were used to study crustal architecture beneath the Southern Midcontinent (USA) by McCafferty and others (2019). The study covered a rectangular, multi-state area of 924 by 924 kilometers centered on Missouri, and a corresponding volume extending from the topographic surface to a depth of 50 kilometers below sea level. The grid files consist of
Ground-based time-domain electromagnetic data and resistivity models for the Mississippi Alluvial Plain Project
The Mississippi Alluvial Plain (MAP) Project contains several geologic units which act as important aquifers. We collected several sets of time-domain electromagnetic (TEM) data consisting of two higher-density surveys and six regional-scale transects. The higher density surveys were collected to compare and contrast to other geophysical data not included in this data release, such as a
Coastal and Marine Geoscience Data System
Information about scientific data collected through field activities conducted by scientists in the USGS Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources program
National Water Information System (NWIS) Mapper
The NWIS mapper provides access to over 1.5 million sites contained in the USGS National Water Information System (NWIS), including sites where current and historical surface-water, groundwater, springs, and atmospheric data has been collected. Users can search by site type, data type, site number, or place.
Hydrologic Conditions of Selected Reservoirs in Puerto Rico
The following graphs show water surface elevations above NGVD 1929 in selected reservoirs for several years, including 2015. The purpose of these graphs is to compare water surface elevations during 2015 with water surface elevations observed during years when documented droughts have occurred.
Hydrologic Conditions of Selected Reservoirs in Puerto Rico
The following graphs show water surface elevations above NGVD 1929 in selected reservoirs for several years, including 2015. The purpose of these graphs is to compare water surface elevations during 2015 with water surface elevations observed during years when documented droughts have occurred.
Water Level and Salinity Analysis Mapper
The Water Level and Salinity Analysis Mapper is designed to conduct automated statistical and graphical analyses on water-level and salinity data collected from sites monitored by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in South Florida.
Time series data of oceanographic conditions from La Parguera, Puerto Rico, 2017-2018 Coral Reef Circulation and Sediment Dynamics Experiment
Time-series data of water surface elevation, waves, currents, temperature, and salinity collected between 17 May 2017 and 17 Jan 2018 off the southwest coast of Puerto Rico in support of a study on circulation and sediment transport dynamics over coral reefs. The data are available in NetCDF format, grouped together in zip files by instrument site location. A README.txt file details the
Projected flooding extents and depths based on 10-, 50-, 100-, and 500-year wave-energy return periods, with and without coral reefs, for the States of Hawaii and Florida, the Territories of Guam, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands,
This data release provides flooding extent polygons (flood masks) and depth values (flood points) based on wave-driven total water levels for 22 locations within the States of Hawaii and Florida, the Territories of Guam, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. For each of the 22 locations there are eight ass
Projected flood extent polygons and flood depth points based on 10-, 50-, 100-, and 500-year wave-energy return periods, with and without coral reefs, for the State of Hawaii (the islands of Hawaii, Kahoolawe, Kauai, Lanai, Maui, Molokai, Niihau, and Oahu
This part of the data release presents projected flooding extent polygon (flood masks) and flooding depth points (flood points) shapefiles based on wave-driven total water levels for the State of Hawaii (the islands of Hawaii, Kahoolawe, Kauai, Lanai, Maui, Molokai, Niihau, and Oahu). For each island there are 8 associated flood mask and flood depth shapefiles: one for
Projected flood extent polygons and flood depth points based on 10-, 50-, 100-, and 500-year wave-energy return periods, with and without coral reefs, for the Territory of Puerto Rico (the islands of Culebra, Puerto Rico, and Vieques)
This part of the data release presents projected flooding extent polygon (flood masks) and flooding depth points (flood points) shapefiles based on wave-driven total water levels for the Territory of Puerto Rico (the islands of Culebra, Puerto Rico, and Vieques). For each island there are 8 associated flood mask and flood depth shapefiles: one for each four nearshore wave energy
The USGS developed the SPARROW (SPAtially Referenced Regressions On Watershed attributes) modeling framework to relate water-quality monitoring data to upstream nutrient and sediment sources and watershed characteristics. The mapper can be used to evaluate alternative hypotheses about the relative importance of various pollutant sources.
This map shows the provinces assessed by the USGS for undiscovered oil and gas resources.
Okeechobee County, Florida irrigated agricultural land-use GIS shapefile for the 2017 growing season
This data set consists of a detailed digital map of individual irrigated fields and a summary of the irrigated acreage for the 2017 growing season developed for Okeechobee County, Florida. Selected attribute data that include crop type, irrigation system, and primary water source were collected for each irrigated field.
Flynn Creek crater is a 3.8 km diameter, 360-million-year-old impact structure located in north central Tennessee, and is an invaluable terrestrial analog for the study of impact cratering dynamics. The Flynn Creek Crater Sample Collection consists of over two thousand boxes of drill core from 18 drill holes in the crater’s central uplift, floor, and rim.
Hurricane Irma, the most intense hurricane observed in the Atlantic in the last decade, approached the west coast of Florida on September 10th, 2017. This animation shows the precipitation and river conditions through time as Irma moved over the southeastern United States.
The New Hope arm of Jordan Lake, located in Chatham County, North Carolina, serves as a drinking-water supply for the Towns of Cary, Apex, and Morrisville. The reservoir is listed as impaired due to nutrient over-enrichment and occasionally experiences algal blooms and fish kills.
Real-Time streamflow data for the Lower Roanoke
Development of a Guidance Manual for Assessing Scour Using the South Carolina Bridge-Scour Envelope Curves
Figure 1. Location of physiographic provinces and bridge-scour investigation sites in South Carolina.
All data collected during this project will be available online in the USGS National Water Information System (NWIS).
All data collected and analyzed by the USGS will be archived in the USGS National Water Information System (NWIS) database
Georgia Augusta Richmond County Groundwater Level Network
The USGS and EPA project will be conducted at the North Carolina State University (NCSU) Lake Wheeler Road Field Laboratory (LWRFL) in Wake County, North Carolina. The LWRFL is an agricultural site used for both research and teaching purposes. The farm contains both a swine facility and a dairy facility with each having two animal-waste storage lagoons.
Executive summary and annotated bibliography of selected references from “Microbial and viral indicators of pathogens and human health risks from recreational exposure to waters impaired by fecal contamination” with related project ideas for Gwinnett County, Georgia
This document was prepared in cooperation with Gwinnett County, Georgia, to supplement the journal article “Microbial and Viral Indicators of Pathogens and Human Health Risks from Recreational Exposure to Waters Impaired by Fecal Contamination” (published in Journal of Sustainable Water in the Built Environment). The document includes an executive...
McKee, Anna M.; Cruz, Marcella A.Water resources of St. Martin Parish, Louisiana
Information concerning the availability, use, and quality of water in St. Martin Parish, Louisiana, is critical for proper water-supply management. The purpose of this fact sheet is to present information that can be used by water managers, parish residents, and others for stewardship of this vital resource. In 2014, about 46.99 million gallons...
Lindaman, Maxwell A.; White, Vincent E.Water resources of Iberville Parish, Louisiana
Information concerning the availability, use, and quality of water in Iberville Parish, Louisiana, is critical for proper water-supply management. The purpose of this fact sheet is to present information that can be used by water managers, parish residents, and others for stewardship of this vital resource. In 2014, about 589.87 million...
Lindaman, Maxwell A.; White, Vincent E.Groundwater-quality and select quality-control data from the National Water-Quality Assessment Project, January 2017 through December 2019
Groundwater-quality environmental data were collected from 983 wells as part of the National Water-Quality Assessment Project of the U.S. Geological Survey National Water Quality Program and are included in this report. The data were collected from six types of well networks: principal aquifer study networks, which are used to assess the quality...
Kingsbury, James A.; Bexfield, Laura M.; Arnold, Terri; Musgrove, MaryLynn; Erickson, Melinda L.; Degnan, James R.; Tesoriero, Anthony J.; Lindsey, Bruce D.; Belitz, KennethReconnaissance of cumulative risk of pesticides and pharmaceuticals in Great Smoky Mountains National Park streams
The United States (US) National Park Service (NPS) manages protected public lands to preserve biodiversity. Exposure to and effects of bioactive organic contaminants in NPS streams are challenges for resource managers. Recent assessment of pesticides and pharmaceuticals in protected-streams within the urbanized NPS Southeast Region (SER) indicated...
Bradley, Paul; Kulp, Matt A.; Huffman, Bradley J.; Romanok, Kristin; Smalling, Kelly; Breitmeyer, Sara; Clark, Jimmy; Journey, Celeste A.Public and private tapwater: Comparative analysis of contaminant exposure and potential risk, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA
BackgroundHumans are primary drivers of environmental contamination worldwide, including in drinking-water resources. In the United States (US), federal and state agencies regulate and monitor public-supply drinking water while private-supply monitoring is rare; the current lack of directly comparable information on contaminant-mixture exposures...
Bradley, Paul; LeBlanc, Denis R.; Romanok, Kristin; Smalling, Kelly; Focazio, Michael J.; Cardon, Mary C.; Clark, Jimmy; Conley, Justin M.; Evans, Nicola; Givens, Carrie E; Gray, James L.; Gray, L. Earl; Hartig, Phillip C.; Higgins, Christopher P.; Hladik, Michelle; Iwanowicz, Luke R.; Loftin, Keith; McCleskey, R. Blaine; McDonough, Carrie A.; Medlock-Kakaley, Elizabeth; Weis, Christopher P.; Wilson, Vickie S.Quantifying thresholds of barrier geomorphic change in a cross-shore sediment-partitioning model
Barrier coasts, including barrier islands, beach-ridge plains, and associated landforms, can assume a broad spectrum of morphologies over multi-decadal scales that reflect conditions of sediment availability, accommodation, and relative sea-level rise. However, the quantitative thresholds of these controls on barrier-system behavior remain largely...
Ciarletta, Daniel James; Miselis, Jennifer L.; Shawler, Justin L.; Hein, Christopher J.The evolving perceptual model of streamflow generation at the Panola Mountain Research Watershed
The Panola Mountain Research Watershed (PMRW) is a 41‐hectare forested catchment within the Piedmont Province of the Southeastern United States. Observations, experimentation, and numerical modelling have been conducted at Panola over the past 35 years. But to date, these studies have not been fully incorporated into a more comprehensive synthesis...
Aulenbach, Brent T.; Hooper, Richard P; van Meerveld, H. J.; Burns, Douglas A.; Freer, James E.; Shanley, James B.; Huntington, Thomas; McDonnell, Jeffery J.; Norman E. PetersGulf Coast vicariance shapes phylogeographic history of a North American freshwater mussel species complex
AimFreshwater mussels share habitat and are parasites of freshwater fishes during the larval life stage. Therefore, models of fish biogeography may also explain the historical biogeography of freshwater mussels. We tested this assumption using predictions of three biogeographic models constructed for northern Gulf of Mexico drainages on a...
Keogh, Sean M.; Johnson, Nathan; Williams, James D.; Randklev, Charles R.; Simons, AndrewPopulation density and stream-habitat relations of the Yellowcheek Darter (Nothonotus moorei) among the headwaters of the Little Red River in Arkansas
Nothonotus moorei (Yellowcheek Darter [YCD]) is an endangered species endemic to the headwaters of the Little Red River in north-central Arkansas. Population decline, habitat loss and fragmentation, and threats from land use and seasonal drought necessitate monitoring of population density and distribution to determine ecological and habitat...
Driver, Lucas; Justus, BillyInclusion of pesticide transformation products is key to estimating pesticide exposures and effects in small U.S. streams
Improved analytical methods can quantify hundreds of pesticide transformation products (TPs), but understanding of TP occurrence and potential toxicity in aquatic ecosystems remains limited. We quantified 108 parent pesticides and 116 TPs in more than 3 700 samples from 442 small streams in mostly urban basins across five major regions of the...
Mahler, Barbara; Nowell, Lisa H.; Sandstrom, Mark W.; Bradley, Paul; Romanok, Kristin; Konrad, Christopher; Van Metre, PeterReview of the invasive Asian clam Corbicula spp. (Bivalvia: Cyrenidae) distribution in North America, 1924–2019
The bivalve Corbicula is one of the most successful aquatic mollusk invaders in the world. Since being introduced to North America from its native range in Asia, it has dispersed widely over a large portion of the continent from southern Canada to Panama. The first evidence of its introduction in the Western Hemisphere was discovered in 1924 in...
Benson, Amy J.; Williams, James D.The Floodplain and Evaluation Tool (FACET) is an open-source python tool that maps the floodplain extent and derives reach-scale summaries of stream and floodplain geomorphic measurements from high-resolution digital elevation models (DEMs).
The Pedestrian Evacuation Analyst is an ArcGIS extension that estimates how long it would take for someone to travel on foot out of a hazardous area that was threatened by a sudden event such as a tsunami, flash flood, or volcanic lahar. It takes into account the elevation changes and the different types of landcover that a person would encounter along the way.
U.S. regions in the tropical-to-temperate transition
A map showing North America's tropical-to-temperate transition zone. Red, orange, and yellow depict the more tropical zones, and blues depict the more temperate zones, based on to the coldest recorded temperature for each area between 1980 and 2009. Photos show some cold-sensitive plants and animals with northern range limits governed by winter cold temperature extremes.
...Subtropical snook gather at a warm Florida springhead in winter
Winter temperature extremes control the distributions of subtropical fishes. Common snook (Centropomus undecimalis), aggregate at a spring in northern Florida during winter. Snook are warm saltwater game fish, common in Florida, that have been moving further northward as extreme cold spells become less frequent and less intense.
Winter landscape at Lake Placid
Photo Contest Winner | January 2021 | USGS at Work
Winter Wonderland in Lake Placid, NY
Ellis River New Hampshire
Photo Contest Winner | January 2021 | Where We Work
Ellis River, New Hampshire
Earth MRI Funds Critical Minerals Projects in Texas
USGS map of Earth MRI projects in Texas' Trans-Pecos region announced in September 2020.
USGS Scientists Work on Four Tropical Cyclones at Once
In this NOAA satellite image from Sept. 15, 2020, Hurricane Sally approaches the U.S. Gulf Coast, Hurricane Paulettte creates storm waves far out in the Atlantic, and Tropical Storms Teddy and Vicky lie near the coast of Africa. Two tropical depressions are also developing; one of them is not visible in this image.
Hurricane Isaias Unlikely to Cause Widespread Atlantic Beach Erosion
USGS coastal change experts predict that storm waves kicked up by the Category 1 hurricane are likely to cause some erosion at the base of the dunes along about 11 percent of coastal beaches between Florida and Virginia. However, only about one percent of beaches in the region are likely to have waves overwashing the dunes, and inundation - the most severe type of beach
...Dragonfly Mercury Project specimen collection in Glacier NP
Researchers instruct volunteers on how to collect dragonfly larvae in Glacier NP as a part of the Dragonfly Mercury Project.
Finding Seafloor Faults Linked to Puerto Rico Earthquake
Map of the portion of the southwest coast of Puerto Rico affected by an earthquake sequence that began in December 2019, along with portions of the seafloor where faults involved in the earthquake sequence were suspected to exist. (A related image shows indications of seafloor faulting found on a USGS seismic research cruise led by USGS research geophysicist Uri ten Brink
...Scientists find signs of undersea faults off SW Puerto Rico
Locations of multichannel seismic reflection profiles (in black), collected during cruise FA2020-14. The profiles are overlain on colored and shaded multibeam bathymetry, Lidar topography (green and white) and near-shore bathymetry (darker blue), and NOAA coastal relief model (light blue and white). Dashed purple lines – hypothesized faults from the distribution of
...On a hillside in Las Marias, USGS scientists examine landslide effects
USGS ground failure experts examine landslides after Hurricane Maria in the municipality of Las Marias, Puerto Rico.
A helicopter flight reveals landslides' damage in Utuado municipality
An aerial view of landslide damage after Hurricane Maria in Utuado municipality, Puerto Rico.
Cold-sensitive plants, animals moving north due to fewer, weaker winter freezes
Nursery-grown elkhorn coral transplanted into Dry Tortugas National Park survived and thrived, growing twice as fast as corals planted in other locations in the Florida Keys, according to a new U.S. Geological Survey study published in Endangered Species Research.
To learn more about USGS’s role in providing science to decision-makers before, during and after Hurricane Delta, visit the USGS Hurricane Delta page at www.usgs.gov/delta.
What happens when a 6.4 magnitude earthquake strikes Puerto Rico and the public needs critical information? How does a mostly English-speaking science agency reach a mostly Spanish-speaking public?
A total of $134,453 will fund new research and preserve important data across the Lone Star State
The scarcity or overabundance of water presents some of the most dangerous, damaging and costly threats to human life, ecosystems and property in the form of drought, floods and debris flows.
Laura and Sally affecting Gulf Coast, waves from Paulette and Teddy to strike Atlantic beaches
To learn more about USGS’s role in providing science to decision-makers before, during and after Hurricane Sally, visit usgs.gov/sally.
To learn more about USGS’s role in providing science to decision makers before, during and after Hurricane Laura, visit www.usgs.gov/laura
Some erosion likely for nearly one-half of sandy shorelines from East Texas to Alabama
Editor's Note: This updated story reflects today's coastal change forecast and includes a new map.
To learn more about USGS’s role in providing science to decision makers before, during and after Hurricane Laura, visit www.usgs.gov/laura
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck near Sparta, North Carolina August 9, 2020 at 8:07 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time. Seismic instruments indicate the earthquake originated at a depth of about 2.3 miles. The USGS currently estimates there is a low likelihood of casualties or damage from this earthquake.
To learn more about USGS’s role in providing science to decision makers before, during, and after Hurricane Isaias, visit the USGS Hurricane Isaias page at https://www.usgs.gov/isaias.
To learn more about USGS’s role in providing science to decision makers before, during, and after Hurricane Isaias, visit the USGS Hurricane Isaias page at https://www.usgs.gov/isaias.
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