Unified Interior Regions
Region 2: South Atlantic-Gulf (Includes Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands)
Regions L2 Landing Page Tabs
Real-Time Storm Response
Coastal change forecasts and pre- and post-storm photos documenting coastal change for landfalling storms. Currently responding to Hurricane Dorian.
Hurricane Dorian 2019
The South Atlantic Water Science Center prepares for Hurricane Dorian.
Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council Monitoring and Assessment Program Development
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and USGS will jointly lead the development of foundational components for Gulf region-wide monitoring.
Treasure Coast and Central Florida Fish Slams- 2019
In March and June 2019, USGS researchers joined partners in Treasure Coast and Central Florida where they sampled freshwater bodies for non-native fishes. The bi-annual Fish Slam event helps monitor new introductions and document range expansion of known non-native fishes.
Terrestrial Analog Sample Collections
The Astrogeology Terrestrial Analog Sample Collections include three individual sample collections: the Meteor Crater Sample Collection, the Flynn Creek Crater Sample Collection, and the Shoemaker Sample Collection (embed links to individual pages; add buttons to click to go to individual pages).
Click Related Science tab above to navigate to the individual...
Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Preferences of Fishes in Lake Apopka, Florida
To achieve the adaptive restoration objective of maximizing fish habitat, researchers will sample fish communities in Florida's Lake Apopka to compare between natural submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV), restored SAV, and bare bottom habitat. To undertand SAV preference of juvenile largemouth bass, researchers will conduct controlled experiments. These experiments will help managers select...
Informing Future Condition Scenario Planning for Habitat Specialists of the Imperiled Pine Rockland Ecosystem of South Florida
South Florida's pine rockland ecosystem represents less than 3% of its original extent. This project will evaluate habitat conditions for two pine rockland snake species to develop future habitat condition scenarios for Species Status Assessments.
Modeling Conservation Targets for the Peninsular Florida Landscape Conservation Cooperative
The USGS is working with the Peninsular Florida Landscape Conservation Cooperative to develop forecast models that integrate potential impacts from external drivers for selected conservation targets and priority resources.
Multispecies Operational Forecasting in the Florida Everglades
A USGS forecasting tool helps Everglades natural resource managers identify management actions that can benefit one or more species while quantifying the potential costs to others.
Information by Region-Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands
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 Florida (the Florida Peninsula and the Florida Keys)
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 Florida (the Florida Peninsula and the Florida Keys). For each island there are 8 associated flood mask and flood depth shapefiles: one for each of four nearshore wave energy return periods %2
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 the U.S. Virgin Islands (the islands of Saint Croix, Saint John, and Saint Thomas)
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 the U.S. Virgin Islands (the islands of Saint Croix, Saint John, and Saint Thomas). For each island there are 8 associated flood mask and flood depth shapefiles: one for each four n
Downloadable Data for Cincinnati Arch Oil and Gas Assessments
GIS Data for Cincinnati Arch Oil and Gas Assessments
Downloadable Data for Black Warrior Basin Oil and Gas Assessments
GIS Data for Black Warrior Basin Oil and Gas Assessments
Downloadable Data for Illinois Basin Oil and Gas Assessments
GIS Data for Illinois Basin Oil and Gas Assessments
Downloadable Data for South Florida Basin Oil and Gas Assessments
Downloadable Data for South Florida Basin Oil and Gas Assessments
Downloadable Data for Gulf Coast Oil and Gas Assessments
Follow this link to access downloadable GIS and tabular data for this province.
Presence of Microbes and the Distribution of Climatic, Environmental, and Geochemical Variables
This web application allows users to make comparisons between national scale environmental datasets and Bacillus species and Bacillus anthracis detection results. The datasets include soil physical, chemical, and mineralogical data, current and historical climate data, landcover, and biological surveys.
Airborne electromagnetic and magnetic survey data in Big Cypress National Preserve and Everglades National Park, 2001
Airborne electromagnetic (AEM) and magnetic survey data, a total of 3065 line-kilometers, were collected during October 2001 in two survey blocks and four repeated lines from an earlier survey. The largest area, Block 1 totaling 2692.2 line-kilometers was flown over Big Cypress Preserve, smaller Block 2 along 277.1 line-kilometers was flown near the town of Homestead, and four lines
Groundwater Conditions of Georgia
The Groundwater Conditions of Georgia application has interactive maps and graphs, that calculate water level trends over time. The application is a continuation of a series of reports begun in 1978.
USGS Domestic Continuous (Unconventional) Oil & Gas Assessments, 2000-Present
Interactively explore assessment summary information for continuous (unconventional) assessments conducted at the USGS from 2000-2018. The assessment results data used to generate this visualization can be downloaded here in Excel Format. These data represent all assessment results...
Coastal and Marine Geology Program Internet Map Server and GIS Data
The USGS Coastal and Marine Geology Program (CMGP) Internet Map Server is an interactive mapping service which allows the user to explore and download GIS data sets published by CMGP.
EPA GMH Electronics Superfund Site near Roxboro, NC
Location of the precipitation gage and streamflow and surface water quality monitoring stations in Orange County, North Carolina
Alabama Counties depicted on the state location map with active wells
Network wells depicted on the Climate Response Network location map
Note: Color shading in the table below indicates multiple wells that plot as a single point on the state location map above.
Note: BLS = Water Level in Feet Below Land Surface, RVD = Water Level referenced to a vertical datum
Potentiometric surface - Upper Floridan aquifer, SW Albany, Ga, March 1999
The Mobile River Basin in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, and Tennessee is one of the 59 study units that are part of the U.S. Geological Survey's National Water-Quality Assessment (NAWQA) Program.
June 1 marks the beginning of hurricane season. Should storms arrive on the Louisiana coast, the people in coastal communities across the State, along with many Federal, State, and local agencies will need to know how the storms are affecting the coastal and low-lying areas.The USGS maintains an extensive network of coastal gages that provides critical time-sensitive water level.
Subsurface geometry of the Mississippi Embayment Regional Aquifer Study (MERAS)
There are 54 streamgage sites collecting 5-minute continuous gage height data in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Network. Of these 54 sites, 44 compute streamflow data as well.
Most sites use line-of-site radios to transmit the data to the USGS within minutes after the data is recorded. These data are loaded in the USGS database and available online soon after.
Real-time water data maps for North Carolina
Project sampling locations.
This map is based on data from more than 70 raingages operated by the U.S. Geological Survey in cooperation with the City of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County as part of the Flood Information and Notification System (FINS).
The history of surface-elevation paradigms in mangrove biogeomorphology
Positioned in the intertidal zone, mangrove forests are a key model ecosystem with which to observe and test biogeomorphological concepts. Understanding how mangroves interact with their intertidal environment, particularly tidal inundation, is important if we are to assess their vulnerability or resilience to accelerated sea-level rise. While...
Friess, Daniel A.; McKee, Karen L.Does geomorphology determine vulnerability of mangrove coasts to sea-level rise?
The greatest climate-based threat to coastlines worldwide is sea-level rise. We tested the hypothesis that tropical coasts fringed by mangroves and receiving high inputs of terrigenous sediment are less vulnerable to sea-level rise than biogenic systems dependent upon peat formation for vertical land development. An analysis of published data...
McKee, Karen L.; Krauss, Ken; Cahoon, DonaldDevelopment and application of surrogate models, calculated loads, and aquatic export of carbon based on specific conductance, Big Cypress National Preserve, south Florida, 2015–17
Understanding the carbon transport within aquatic environments is crucial to quantifying global and local carbon budgets, yet limited empirical data currently (2021) exist. This report documents methodology and provides data for quantifying the aquatic export of carbon from a cypress swamp within Big Cypress National Preserve and is part of a...
Booth, AmandaModeling structural mechanics of oyster reef self-organization including environmental constraints and community interactions
Self-organization is a process of establishing and reinforcing local structures through feedbacks between internal population dynamics and external factors. In reef-building systems, substrate is collectively engineered by individuals that also occupy it and compete for space. Reefs are constrained spatially by the physical environment, and by...
Yurek, Simeon; Eaton, Mitchell; Lavaud, Romain; Laney, R. Wilson; DeAngelis, Don; Pine, William E.; LaPeyre, Megan K.; Martin, Julien; Frederick, Peter C; Wang, Hongqing; Lowe, Michael R.; Johnson, Fred; Camp, Edward V.; Mordecai, RuaMangroves and people: Impacts and interactions
Mangroves have long been associated with human populations, as coastal communities rely on the various ecosystem services that mangroves provide. However, human degradation and destruction of mangrove forests is common, despite and because of our reliance on them as valuable ecosystems. Mangrove research and management must elucidate and reconcile...
Freiss, Daniel A; Chua, Siew Chin; Jaafer, Zeehan; Krauss, Ken; Yando, Erik S.Red imported fire ants reduce invertebrate abundance, richness, and diversity in Gopher Tortoise burrows
Gopher Tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) burrows support diverse commensal invertebrate communities that may be of special conservation interest. We investigated the impact of red imported fire ants (Solenopsis invicta) on the invertebrate burrow community at 10 study sites in southern Mississippi, sampling burrows (1998–2000) before and after bait...
Epperson, Deborah Mardeane; Allen, Craig R.; Hogan, Katharine F.E.Effects-based monitoring of bioactive chemicals discharged to the Colorado River before and after a municipal wastewater treatment plant replacement
Monitoring of the Colorado River near the Moab, Utah, wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) outflow has detected pharmaceuticals, hormones, and estrogen-receptor (ER)-, glucocorticoid receptor (GR)-, and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPARγ)-mediated biological activities. The aim of the present multi-year study was to assess...
Cavallin, J.E.; Battaglin, William A.; Beihoffer, Jon; Blackwell, Bradley D.; Bradley, Paul; Cole, AR; Ekman, Drew R.; Hofer, R; Kinsey, J; Keteles, Kristen; Weissinger, R; Winkelman, Dana L.; Villeneuve, Daniel L.Strategic habitat conservation for beach mice: Estimating management scenario efficiencies
The Perdido Key beach mouse (Peromyscus polionotus trissyllepsis), Choctawhatchee beach mouse (P. p. allophrys), and St. Andrew beach mouse (P. p. peninsularis) are 3 federally endangered subspecies that inhabit coastal dunes of Alabama and Florida, USA. Conservation opportunities for these subspecies are limited and costly. Consequently, well‐...
Cronin, James P.; Tirpak, Blair; Dale, Leah L; Robenski, Virginia E; Tirpak, John M.; Marcot, Bruce G.The impact of ventilation patterns on calcite dissolution rates within karst conduits
Erosion rates in streams vary dramatically over time, as differences in streamflow and sediment load enhance or inhibit erosion processes. Within cave streams, and other bedrock channels incising soluble rocks, changes in water chemistry are an important factor in determining how erosion rates will vary in both time and space. Prior studies in...
Covington, Matthew D.; Knierim, Katherine J.; Young, Holly H; Rodriguez, Josue; Gnoza, HannahGermination potential of baldcypress (Taxodium distichum) swamp soil seed bank along geographical gradients
Changing environments of temperature, precipitation and moisture availability can affect vegetation in ecosystems, by affecting regeneration from the seed bank. Our objective was to explore the responses of soil seed bank germination to climate-related environments along geographic gradients. We collected seed banks in baldcypress (Taxodium...
Lei, Ting; Middleton, BethCarrying capacity of spatially distributed metapopulations
Carrying capacity is a key concept in ecology. A body of theory, based on the logistic equation, has extended predictions of carrying capacity to spatially distributed, dispersing populations. However, this theory has only recently been tested empirically. The experimental results disagree with some theoretical predictions of when they are...
Zhang, Bo; DeAngelis, Don; Ni, Wei-MingSurface elevation change evaluation in mangrove forests using a low‐cost, rapid‐scan terrestrial laser scanner
Mangrove forests have adapted to sea level rise (SLR) increases by maintaining their forest floor elevation via belowground root growth and surface sediment deposits. Researchers use surface elevation tables (SETs) to monitor surface elevation change (SEC) in mangrove forests, after which this information is used to assess SLR resiliency or to...
Kargar, Ali Rouzbeh; MacKenzie, Richard A.; Fafard, Alexander; Krauss, Ken; van Aardt, JanThree scientists launch a "sparker" used in seafloor mapping
USGS research geologist Jason Chaytor (L) and marine technicians Alex Nichols (center) and Eric Moore (R) deploy the “sparker” sound source on a seismic research cruise off the southwest coast of Puerto Rico aboard the R/V Sultana in March 2020.
2020 Southwest Puerto Rico Earthquake Sequence (Jan 29, 2020)
The U.S. Geological Survey has released a report on the potential duration of aftershocks of the 2020 Southwest Puerto Rico earthquake sequence (series) to guide public policy decisions, other actions, and help people stay safe and care for themselves and each other.
i) AFTERSHOCK FORECAST*
Aftershocks are normal and some will be larger than others, but there
Secuencia del Terremoto del 2020 en el Suroeste de Puerto Rico
El Servicio Geológico de los EE. UU. ha publicado un informe sobre la duración potencial de las réplicas de la secuencia (serie) del terremoto del Suroeste de Puerto Rico en el 2020 que puede ser usado como guía en las decisiones de política pública, otras acciones y ayudar a las personas a mantenerse seguras y cuidarse a sí mismas y a los demás.
i
...Dianne López-Trujillo with Lynne Carrier, FEMA translator
Dianne López-Trujillo with Lynne Carrier, FEMA translator.
The USGS Recognizes Dianne Lopez-Trujillo During Hispanic Heritage Month
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?
The USGS relies on its
...One of the houses destroyed during the 6.4 earthquake in Puerto Rico
One of the houses destroyed during the 6.4 earthquake in Puerto Rico.
Congressional event following the 6.4 earthquake in Puerto Rico
Congressional event following the 6.4 earthquake in Puerto Rico held on Jan. 20, 2020. Dr. Jonathan Godt (USGS) and Dr. Elizabeth A. Vanacore (Red Sismica Puerto Rico) answered questions to congressmen: Yauco's major, Bill Posey, Jenniffer González Colón, Stephanie Murphy, Donna Shalala
Congressional event following the 6.4 earthquake in Puerto Rico
Overview of the Congressional event following the 6.4 earthquake in Puerto Rico. Bottom of picture: congressmen. Center: Dianne Lopez, Lindsay Davis, Donyelle Davis
USGS visits areas affected by the 6.4 Puerto Rico earthquake
Part of the USGS Earthquake Response Team visiting areas affected by the 6.4 earthquake. Place: Guánica Boardwalk. From left to right: Donyelle Davis, Dianne López, Jonathan Godt, Alex Grant
USGS Earthquake Response team with governor of Puerto Rico
USGS team with Wanda Vazquez-Garced, governor of Puerto Rico. From left to right: Lindsay Davis, Wanda Vazquez, Dianne Lopez-Trujillo, Jonathan Godt, Donyelle Davis, Alex Grant
USGS St. Petersburg Studebaker Building
This historic brick Studebaker Building, originally built in 1925, was chosen as the location for the USGS St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center in the late 1980's. Many of the building’s original features are kept in tact to this day, including the Studebaker logos along the top of the building, and the Studebaker Distributor sign on the back of the building
...Image of the Week - Festive Fields in North Carolina
The smell of a fresh cut Christmas tree can evoke visions of majestic evergreen forests teeming with winter wildlife. In truth, more than half of U.S. Christmas trees come from farms in Oregon, North Carolina, or Michigan. Cut Christmas Trees area commodity, tracked by the U.S. Department of Agriculture just like corn or soybeans. These USDA aerial images show tree harvest
Impacts to island in Florida Bay following Hurricane Irma
Scientists from the Florence Bascom Geoscience Center first sampled four islands in Florida Bay, Everglades National Park, in April 2014 to collect cores to study sea level rise and storm history in the region. In September 2017, Hurricane Irma (a category 4 storm at landfall in the Florida Keys) passed just to the west of our field sites. The western-most of the four
...Washington – Today, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), U.S. National Park Service (NPS), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and Conservancy of Southwest Florida announced they have teamed up to radio-track Burmese pythons in Big Cypress National Preserve, Crocodile Lake National Wildlife Refuge and other areas of Southwest Florida.
The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season starts June 1, and the U.S. Geological Survey is prepared to provide science that can help guide efforts to protect lives and property if a major storm makes landfall this season.
Most residents of southern Puerto Rico were startled by the sequence of earthquakes that began Dec. 28, 2019 and included a magnitude 6.4 quake on Jan. 7, 2020. Aftershocks are expected to continue for years, including some relatively strong ones, like a May 2 magnitude 5.4 temblor.
U.S. Geological Survey field crews are measuring flooding across the country as spring weather is in full swing. Warming temperatures, increased precipitation and snowmelt have caused moderate to major flooding in the upper Midwest, East Coast, Central Plains and the Southeast portions of the country.
On May 2, 2020, a magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck about 4 miles offshore of Tallaboa, Puerto Rico, at a depth of about 5-6 miles (9 kilometers). This story will be updated if/when more information becomes available.

Groundwater in the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain aquifers is old—more than 21,300 years old in more than half of 252 public-supply wells sampled. That ancient groundwater is more likely to contain concentrations of fluoride, arsenic, and polonium-210 that exceed human-health benchmarks than is younger groundwater, reports a new study from the USGS National Water Quality Program.

By understanding modern changes in temperature, and therefore past changes in the climate of the Gulf of Mexico, scientists can better predict climate changes in Earth’s future– just by studying teeny tiny forams.

This geonarrative constitutes the Decadal Strategic Plan of the USGS's Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program for 2020 to 2030.
A new U.S. Geological Survey map of Puerto Rico shows the relative risks of landslides due to the kind of intense rainfall brought on by hurricanes. It identifies 20% of the island as at high risk, 9% at very high risk, and 1% at extremely high risk of landslides under those conditions.
New Phase of USGS Low-level Airplane Surveys Begins in March
Budget Focuses on Bringing Science, Facilities, and Infrastructure into the 21st Century
Links to forecasts and scenerios (below) will continue to be updated, however, text in this story will not be updated unless there is significant change to the aftershock behavior or to the USGS response to the earthquake.
7-day aftershock forecast [English]
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