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Research Projects -
Texas
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 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 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 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.
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U. S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey
Coastal Change Hazards: Hurricanes and Extreme Storms
Coastal Classification Mapping Project
Decision Support for Coastal Parks, Sanctuaries, and Preserves
Gulf of Mexico Climate and Environmental History
National Assessment of Coastal Change Hazards
National Assessment of Shoreline Change
Subsidence and fault activation related to fluid energy production, Gulf Coast Basin