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Research Projects -
Gulf of Mexico
This project responds to the demand to better understand and assess lower Mississippi sediment-hosted pollutant transport. One of the goals of the USGS Coastal and Marine Geology Program is a national assessment of coastal change hazards. One such hazard is extreme storms and hurricanes as they provide a powerful force that generates dangerous waves and currents capable of moving large amounts of sand, destroying buildings and infrastructure, and reshaping our nation's coastline. Our research focuses on understanding the magnitude and variability of the impacts of hurricanes and extreme storms on the sandy beaches of the United States. The overall objective is to improve the capability to predict coastal change that results from severe storms. Such a capability will facilitate locating buildings, infrastructure, and evacuation routes away from severe coastal change hazards. A Coastal Classification Map describing local geomorphic features is the first step toward determining the hazard vulnerability of an area. The National Assessment of Coastal Change Project's Coastal Classification Maps present ground conditions such as beach width, dune elevations, overwash potential, and density of development. In order to complete a hazard vulnerability assessment, that information must be integrated with other information, such as prior storm impacts and beach stability. The Coastal Classification Maps provide much of the basic information for such an assessment and represent a critical component of a storm-impact forecasting capability. This project has created new capabilities for the baseline inventorying and monitoring of natural and cultural resources within National Seashores. Methods for monitoring barrier island change, land cover distributions, benthic ecosystems, and man-made structures have been devised. These algorithms are being combined with standardized data reduction and documentation procedures to create software packages that generate GIS-ready digital information products relevant to Park needs. The LaserMap system has been developed for the processing of NASA ATM surveys and is in use to fulfill the needs of the NPS Vital Signs Program. Also, a separate software module within the Airborne Lidar Processing System (ALPS) supports the interactive browsing of GPS-referenced digital aerial photography data sets that are acquired concurrent with NASA ATM and EAARL lidar surveys. Information on these capabilities is provided through USGS Open File Reports, conference proceedings papers, and scientific journals. A stream of experimental GIS-ready spatial information products is being distributed to resource managers at several NPS coastal Parks The FLaSH Map project is a multiagency approach to benthic habitat mapping. Existing data is presented via user-friendly graphic, geographic, and visualization tools. Data from multibeam, sidescan sonar imagery, still and video images, streaming resistivity, and sediment grabs are available for viewing by the general public, scientists and managers. To better understand the basin's origin and the processes driving its development and degradation, this wide-ranging study included four topics: 1. Geologic Framework, or how the various sedimentary layers that make up the basin are put together; 2. Sediment Characterization, that is, what are the sediments made of, where did they come from, and what kinds of pollutants do they contain; 3. Shoreline and Wetland Change Over Time; and 4. the processes that control Water Circulation. This project is investigating the loss of coastal wetlands and adjacent uplands in order to determine long-term change in wetlands and to provide a model for determining areas that are most vulnerable to loss because of combinations of human and natural impacts. This project provides records of climate and environmental changes that can be used to estimate impacts of potential future climate warming and provide a baseline for identifying any human related future changes. The Integrated Remote Sensing and Modeling Group (IRSMG) is primarily supported by the USGS Coastal and Marine Geology Program's Decision Support for Coastal Parks, Sanctuaries, and Preserves Project. The primary objectives of the project are to: 1) Advance remote-sensing technology for coastal science and management by developing new methods and capabilities for airborne lidar-topography and multi-spectral data. 2) Utilize recently developed remote-sensing technology within the USGS Coastal and Marine Geology Program (CMGP) in response to coastal impacts in order to assess, document, and evaluate the condition of affected resources. 3) Generate and publish map products for coastal topographic data acquired in support of the projects within the CMG program. 4) Work collaboratively with the National Park Service and other federal and state agencies to generate, analyze, and publish map products using various remote sensors including, but not limited to the Experimental Airborne Advanced Research Lidar (EAARL). Most people are familiar with tropical coral reefs, located in warm, shallow waters. However, corals also exist hundreds and even thousands of meters below the ocean's surface where it is cold and completely dark. In the last few decades, scientists have discovered and photographed incredible gardens of deep-sea corals off the coasts of North America, Great Britain, Europe, Scandinavia, Australia, and New Zealand. These corals survive without algal symbionts (because there is no light for photosynthesis) and may take a long time to grow. Thus the potential role of coral-associated microbes is even more interesting. It is possible that the microbes are helping to feed these corals, similar to the chemosynthetic bacterial symbionts that feed hydrothermal-vent worms. The microbial communities of these cold adapted corals are also likely to contain novel organisms, which will not only increase our understanding of microbial diversity but could also be a source of new enzymes or pharmaceuticals. The Mobile Bay Digital Library was created out of a need for distribution of two specific imagery sets for the area. Under the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program's Comprehensive Conservation Management Plan, the photography was developed for wetlands and submerged aquatic vegetation mapping activities. The National Assessment of Coastal Change Hazards is a multi-year undertaking to identify and quantify the vulnerability of U.S. shorelines to coastal change hazards such as the effects of severe storms, sea-level rise, and shoreline erosion and retreat. It will continue to improve our understanding of processes that control these hazards, and will allow researchers to determine the probability of coastal change locally, regionally, and nationally. The National Assessment will deliver these data and assessment findings about coastal vulnerability to coastal managers, other researchers, and the general public. Beach erosion is a chronic problem along most open-ocean shores of the United States. As coastal populations continue to grow, and community infrastructures are threatened by erosion, there is increased demand for accurate information regarding past and present shoreline changes. There is also need for a comprehensive analysis of shoreline movement that is regionally consistent. To meet these national needs, the Coastal and Marine Geology Program of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is conducting an analysis of historical shoreline changes along open-ocean sandy shores of the conterminous United States and parts of Alaska and Hawaii. A primary goal of this work is to develop standardized methods for mapping and analyzing shoreline movement so that internally consistent updates can periodically be made to record shoreline erosion and accretion. The goal of the Northern Gulf of Mexico (NGOM) Ecosystem Change and Hazard Susceptibility project is to understand the evolution of coastal ecosystems on the northern gulf coast, the impact of human activities on these ecosystems, and the vulnerability of ecosystems and human communities to more frequent and more intense hurricanes in the future. This site will thus review the progress made in SGD science (with particular emphasis on new applications of geochemical tracers and novel geophysical tools), provide links to many SGD projects and study sites, and present an inclusive list of relevant publications. The eventual goal of our SGD science is to develop some forecasting or predictive capability based on being able to de-couple climatic and seasonal signatures from SGD rates. The Gulf Coast Basin is a region where subsidence and fault activation are common around large, mature oil and gas fields even though moderately deep hydrocarbon production has generally been disregarded as the primary cause.
This project will test the hypothesis that long-term, large-volume oil and gas production in the Gulf Coast Basin has resulted in land-surface subsidence and activation of deep-seated faults around some fields. In this collaborative study, the US Geological Survey (USGS), US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), and University of New Orleans (UNO) are responsible for developing an objective and reliable scientific database on subsidence and sea-level rise for managers, planners, and researchers by conducting detailed studies within the Mississippi River delta plain. A holistic, multi-disciplinary approach is needed to address the research needs in the basin and estuary and to provide supportive data for meeting management objectives of the entire ecosystem. The USGS is well situated to focus on the larger concerns of the basin and estuary by addressing specific research questions linking water supply and quality to ecosystem function and health across county and state boundaries. We are interested in developing a strategic plan in cooperation with Federal, State, and local agencies to identify and implement studies to address the most compelling research issues and management questions, and to conduct fundamental environmental monitoring studies. The USGS Tampa Bay Study responds to the need to use an integrated science approach for studying the interrelations between geological, biological, chemical, and hydrological components of estuarine systems, and the impact of natural and anthropogenic change to all components of estuarine systems. The USGS Geological (GD), Biological Resources (BRD), Water Resources (WRD), and National Mapping Disciplines (NMD) are working together with other federal, state, and local partners to develop and implement an integrated, multidisciplinary science strategy for estuarine research. Results from this research will enable scientists and resource managers to better assess the fate of our estuaries in the future. The integrated science strategy developed through this project will be used as a model for USGS integrated science in other Gulf of Mexico Estuaries.
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U. S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey
Atchafalaya and Mississippi River Deltas Study
Coastal Change Hazards: Hurricanes and Extreme Storms
Coastal Classification Mapping Project
Decision Support for Coastal Parks, Sanctuaries, and Preserves
Florida Shelf Habitat (FLaSH) Map Project
Geologic Framework and Processes of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin
Gulf of Mexico and Southeast Tidal Wetlands
Gulf of Mexico Climate and Environmental History
Integrated Remote Sensing and Modeling Group
Microbial Ecology of Deep-Sea Corals
Mobile Bay Digital Library
National Assessment of Coastal Change Hazards
National Assessment of Shoreline Change
Northern Gulf of Mexio (NGOM) Ecosystem Change and Hazards Susceptibility Project
Submarine Groundwater Discharge
Subsidence and fault activation related to fluid energy production, Gulf Coast Basin
Subsidence and Sea-Level Rise in Southeastern Louisiana: Implications for Coastal Management and Restoration
Suwannee River Basin & Estuary
Tampa Bay Study