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Wetlands

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Coastal wetlands, a fragile transitional zone between marine and terrestrial environments, have significant economic and ecological value. They are the most productive ecosystems known, providing nutrients and habitats that support the entire coastal ecosystem. Most of the Nation's coastal commercial and recreational fisheries depend upon wetlands for spawning, hatching, and nursery activities. Coastal wetlands also play vital roles as habitats for wildlife, waterfowl, and migratory birds.

Other related USGS websites:
National Wetlands Research Center

Project Information

Educational Materials

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Items below are listed from most recently updated to least recently updated.

These are results 1 through 25 of 47 matches.

Research Project
USGS Northern Gulf of Mexico (NGOM)

Description: The goal of the USGS Northern Gulf of Mexico 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.
updated: 2009-05-28 pages include:

Publication
USGS Gulf Coast Science Conference and Florida Integrated Science Center Meeting: Proceedings with Abstracts, October 20-23, 2008, Orlando, Florida

Description: Talks, posters, and abstracts from the USGS Gulf Coast Science Conference and Florida Integrated Science Center Meeting.
updated: 2009-01-29 pages include:

Publication
Derivation of Ground Surface and Vegetation in a Coastal Florida Wetland with Airborne Laser Technology

Description: The geomorphology and vegetation of marsh-dominated coastal lowlands were mapped from airborne laser data points collected on the Gulf Coast of Florida near Cedar Key. Surface models were developed using low- and high-point filters to separate ground-surface and vegetation-canopy intercepts. In a non-automated process, the landscape was partitioned into functional landscape units to manage the modeling of key landscape features in discrete processing steps. The final digital ground surface-elevation model offers a faithful representation of topographic relief beneath canopies of tidal marsh and coastal forest. Bare-earth models approximate field-surveyed heights by + 0.17 m in the open marsh and + 0.22 m under thick marsh or forest canopy. The laser-derived digital surface models effectively delineate surface features of relatively inaccessible coastal habitats with a geographic coverage and vertical detail previously unavailable.
updated: 2008-06-01 pages include:

Publication
Land Area Change in Coastal Louisiana: A Multidecadal Perspective (from 1956 to 2006)

Description: The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) analyzed changes in the configuration of land and water in coastal Louisiana by using a sequential series of 14 data sets summarizing land and water areas from 1956 to 2006. The purpose of this study is to provide a spatially and temporally consistent source of quantitative information on land area across coastal Louisiana, broken into three physiographic provinces (the term "coastal Louisiana" is used to present data on the collective area).
updated: 2008-05-21 pages include:

Publication
Geomorphology and Depositional Sub-environments of Assateague Island MD/VA

Description: Geomorphology and Depositional Sub-environments of Assateague Island MD/VA, Open File Report 2007-1388
updated: 2008-03-17 pages include:

Publication
Habitat and Hydrology: Assessing Biological Resources of the Suwannee River Estuarine System Open-File Report 2007-1382

Description: Habitat and Hydrology: Assessing Biological Resources of the Suwannee River Estuarine System, Open File Report 2007-1382
updated: 2008-01-18 pages include:

Educational Materials
USGS Monterey Bay Science

Description: USGS Monterey Bay Science - USGS research in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and coastal watersheds of central California
updated: 2008-01-01 pages include:

Educational Materials
USGS Coastal Change Hazards

Description: USGS Coastal Change Hazards - Focuses on hurricanes, tsunamis, sea-level rise, shoreline erosion, wetland destruction, and other issues relevant to coastal zone management and disaster preparedness.
updated: 2008-01-01 pages include:

Educational Materials
Coastal and Marine Knowledge Bank

Description: An initiative to develop and present a national-scale, interdisciplinary scientific framework for marine environments, the coastal zone, and coastal watersheds
updated: 2007-11-28 pages include:

Publication
USGS Open-File Report 2006-1046, Surficial Sediment Character of the New York-New Jersey Offshore Continental Shelf Region: a GIS Compilation, Title Page

Description: Broad continental shelf regions such as the New York Bight are the product of a complex geologic history and dynamic oceanographic processes, dominated by the Holocene marine transgression (>100 m sea-level rise) following the end of the last Pleistocene ice advance ~ 20,000 years ago. Geologic maps of these areas containing detailed morphologic features and sediment character can serve many scientific and operational purposes, but have been lacking until recent advances in computer hardware and software began offering promising results. This report contains a compilation of published and unpublished sediment texture and other geologic data about the seafloor, selected from U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 118; usSEABED Atlantic Coast Offshore Surficial Sediment Data Release, version 1.0. Examples of data products displaying attributes such as grain size and sediment color are included. This report contains information that is the scientific foundation for the USGS Marine Aggregate Resources and Processes Assessment and Benthic Habitats projects, and will be useful to the marine science community for other studies of the New York-New Jersey offshore region.
updated: 2007-10-11 pages include:

Publication
USGS Open-File Report 2006-1195, Surficial Sediment Character of the Louisiana Offshore Continental Shelf Region: a GIS Compilation

Description: The Louisiana coastal zone, comprising the Mississippi River delta plain stretching nearly 400 km from Sabine Pass at the Texas border east to the Chandeleur Islands at the Mississippi border, represents one of North America's most important coastal ecosystems in terms of natural resources, human infrastructure, and cultural heritage. At the same time, this region has the highest rates of coastal erosion and wetland loss in the Nation due to a complex combination of natural processes and anthropogenic actions over the past century. The USGS has actively supported coastal and wetlands geologic research for the past two decades in partnership with universities (e.g., Louisiana State University, University of New Orleans), state agencies (e.g. Louisiana Geological Survey, Louisiana Department of Natural Resources), and private organizations (Williams and others, 1992a,b; Williams and Cichon, 1993; List and others, 1994). These studies have focused on regional-scale mapping of coastal and wetland change and developing a better understanding of the processes that cause coastal erosion and wetlands loss, particularly the rapid deterioration of Louisiana's barrier islands, estuaries, and wetlands environments. With a better understanding of these processes, the ability to model and predict erosion and wetlands loss will improve. More accurate predictions will, in turn, allow for proper management of coastal resources. Improved predictions will also allow for better assessments of the utility of different restoration alternatives.
updated: 2007-10-11 pages include:

Research Project
National Assessment of Shoreline Change Project

Description: 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.
updated: 2007-09-29 pages include:

Research Project
National Assessment of Coastal Change Hazards

Description: 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 Assessment will deliver these data and assessment findings about coastal vulnerability to coastal managers, other researchers, and the general public.
updated: 2007-09-28 pages include:

Publication
Historical Changes in the Mississippi-Alabama Barrier Islands and the Roles of Extreme Storms, Sea Level, and Human Activities

Description: Historical Changes in the Mississippi-Alabama Barrier Islands and the Roles of Extreme Storms, Sea Level, and Human Activities explores the causes of Mississippi-Alabama barrier island land loss and translocation.
updated: 2007-08-16 pages include:

Research Project
Gulf of Mexico and Southeast Tidal Wetlands

Description: 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.
updated: 2007-06-01 pages include:

Publication
Open-File Report 2007-1151: Investigation of Wind and Water Level for the Giacomini Wetland Restoration Project, Point Reyes National Seashore

Description: ... At the head of Tomales Bay, the Giacomini Ranch comprises 563 acres of pastureland currently being used for grazing dairy cattle. After more than 50 years of operation as a dairy, the National Park Service acquired the Giacomini property with the intention to restore most of it and the nearby Olema Marsh to tidal wetland. Restoration will add approximately 4% to the existing coastal wetlands in California. The project will return the headwaters of Tomales Bay and two major stream intersections to an intertidal marsh environment, enhancing habitat for both wildlife and fish populations and contributing to the long-term health of Tomales Bay...
updated: 2007-05-21 pages include:

Publication
USGS Open-File Report 2004-1043: National Assessment of Shoreline Change: Part 1, Historical Shoreline Changes and Associated Coastal Land Loss Along the U.S. Gulf of Mexico

Description: National Assessment of Shoreline Change: Part 1, Historical Shoreline Changes and Associated Coastal Land Loss Along the U.S. Gulf of Mexico is a 44-page, full-color discussion of historical shoreline change and coastal land loss along the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.
updated: 2006-09-15 pages include:

Publication
Constraining Rates and Trends of Historical Wetland Loss, Mississippi River Delta Plain, South-Central Louisiana

Description: 'Constraining Rates and Trends of Historical Wetland Loss, Mississippi River Delta Plain, South-Central Louisiana' was originally published in Coastal Environment and Water Quality - Proceedings of the AIH 25th Anniversary Meeting and International Conference 'Challenges in Coastal Hydrology and Water Quality.' The paper describes the timing, magnitude, and rate of wetland loss for five wetland-loss hotspots in the Terrebonne Basin of the Mississippi River delta plain.
updated: 2006-07-11 pages include:

Research Project
Coasts of Colombia

Description: Due to the complex geologic history of the northwestern part of South America, the Colombian coasts include a variety of coastline types, ranging from high-relief, steep-plunging cliffs typical of igneous and metamorphic massifs, to low, sandy barrier islands and extensive mangrove swamps characteristic of deltaic areas of both coasts.
updated: 2006-06-14 pages include:

Research Project
Coastal Classification Mapping Project

Description: A Coastal Classification Map describing local geomorphic features is the first step toward determining the hazard vulnerability of an area. The Coastal Classification Map series of the National Assessment of Coastal Change Project presents 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.
updated: 2006-05-02 pages include:

Publication
Florida Salt Marsh Vole Habitat: Lower Suwannee

Description: Florida Salt Marsh Vole Habitat: Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge details an effort by the U.S. Geological Survey to map potential habitat sites of the Florida salt marsh vole in the Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge.
updated: 2006-04-10 pages include:

Publication
The National Assessment of Shoreline Change: A GIS Compilation of Vector Shorelines and Associated Shoreline Change Data for the U.S. Gulf of Mexico - USGS Open File Report 2004-1089

Description: The Coastal and Marine Geology Program of the U.S. Geological Survey has generated a comprehensive database of digital vector shorelines and shoreline change rates for the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. These data, which are presented herein, were compiled as part of the U.S. Geological Survey's National Assessment of Shoreline Change Project.
updated: 2004-04-14 pages include:

Publication
Sedimentary Environments in Long Island Sound: A Guide to Sea-Floor Management in a Large Urbanized Estuary - USGS Fact Sheet 041-98

Description: Bottom sedimentary environments, defined by sidescan-sonar patterns, indicate where sea-floor sediments are moved and deposited in the Long Island Sound estuary. The patchy distribution of environments, which reflects both regional and local changes in geologic and oceanographic conditions, provides a predictive framework for those concerned with the management and utilization of the sea floor in this urbanized area.
updated: 2004-03-02 pages include:

Publication
Coastal Wetlands and Sediments of the San Francisco Bay System - USGS Fact Sheet

Description: San Francisco Bay has received much scientific attention over the years primarily because of regional questions regarding water quality and, more recently, geologic hazards, but very little is known about sediment distribution and movement on the floor of the Bay. The link between sediment accumulation in the Bay and processes that produce the staggering losses of wetlands acreage and continual channel filling is becoming better understood as U.S. Geological Survey scientists undertake new research of the region.
updated: 2004-03-02 pages include:

Publication
Evolution and History of Incised Valleys: The Mobile Bay Model - USGS Fact Sheet

Description: Incised valleys along the Gulf coast commonly result from rivers eroding rapidly in response to a fall in sea level. As sea level rises, sediments fill incised valleys and form nearshore elongated sandbodies such as barrier islands. These sandbodies can be potential sites for hard-mineral accumulations and are modern analogues to buried sands in the ancient rock record with high potential of being oil and gas reservoirs. Processes that formed residual sediment accumulations may also help to predict the outcome of man's erosion mitigation and wetland nourishment efforts. Today, the geologic imprint of incised valleys across the continental shelf provides evidence of sea-level change over the past 18,000 years.
updated: 2004-03-02 pages include:

These are results 1 through 25 of 47 matches.

Coastal and Marine Geology Program > Online Science Resource Locator > Wetlands