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Number of results: 36

• Coastal Change Hazards: Hurricanes and Extreme Storms
  This project investigates the coastal impacts of hurricanes and extreme storms, such as Hurricanes Isabel (2003), Dennis (1999), Bonnie & Georges (1998), and winter storms, such as those associated with the 1997-98 El Niño.
  Posted: 2009-04-28
• Transplanting Coral Fragments to Damaged Coral Reefs in a National Park - Planting the Seeds to Recovery?
  This research was conducted in the nearshore waters of Virgin Islands National Park, St. John, US Virgin Islands. Storm-produced fragments of the three fastest growing species of Caribbean coral (elkhorn, staghorn and finger corals) were collected from habitats inhospitable to survival and transplanted to other reefs (Trunk and Whistling Cay). Inert nylon cable ties were used to secure the fragments to the sea bottom (dead coral). At the beginning of the project, little was known about survival and growth of small coral colonies. Sixty transplanted and 75 control colonies were monitored for survival and growth for 5 years (1999-2004). Over 70 volunteers from Friends of Virgin Islands National Park and 5th and 6th grade classes from Pine Peace School monitored the colonies monthly (1999-2001).
  Posted: 2009-02-01
• EAARL Submerged Topography–U.S. Virgin Islands 2003
  This DVD contains Lidar-derived submerged topography GIS datasets of a portion of the U.S. Virgin Islands. These datasets were acquired on April 21, 23, and 30, May 2, and June 14 and 17, 2003.
  Posted: 2008-12-01
• USGS OFR 2007-1017: Historical Shoreline Changes at Rincón, Puerto Rico, 1936-2006, Title Page
  The coast from Punta Higüero to Punta Cadena in Rincón, Puerto Rico is experiencing long-term erosion. This study documents historical shoreline changes at Rincón for the period 1936-2006 and constitutes a significant expansion and revision of previous work. The study area extends approximately 8 km from Punta Higüero to Punta Cadena. Fourteen historical shoreline positions were compiled from existing data, new orthophotography, and Global Positioning System (GPS) field surveys.
  Posted: 2008-11-17
• Decision Support for Coastal Science and Management
  The Decision Support for Coastal Science and Management project, sponsored by the USGS Coastal and Marine Geology Program (CMGP) is supporting the creation of new capabilities for the synoptic remote sensing of coastal-marine and terrestrial environments based on aircraft and satellite sensors. These coastal remote-sensing, mapping, and point-monitoring tools constitute a unique integrated package of instrumentation and software that may be deployed in support of appropriately timed and scaled zoning decisions by management authorities in order to conserve and sensibly exploit nearshore coastal and marine ecosystems.
  Posted: 2008-07-15
• Florida Integrated Science Center (FISC) Coral Reef Research
  The U.S. Geological Survey Florida Integrated Science Center (USGS–FISC) is conducting a coordinated Coral Reef Research Project beginning in 2009. Specific research topics are aimed at addressing priorities identified in the “Strategic Science for Coral Ecosystems 2007-2011” document (U.S. Geological Survey, 2007). Planned research will include a blend of historical, monitoring, and process studies aimed at improving our understanding of the development, current status and function, and likely future changes in coral ecosystems. Topics such as habitat characterization and distribution, coral disease, and trends in biogenic calcification are major themes of understanding reef structure, ecological integrity, and responses to global change.
  Posted: 2008-07-01
• Coral Diseases Following Massive Bleaching in 2005 Cause 60 Percent Decline in Coral Cover and Mortality of the Threatened Species, Acropora Palmata, on Reefs in the U.S. Virgin Islands
  Record-high seawater temperatures and calm seas in the summer of 2005 led to the most severe coral bleaching (greater than 90 percent bleached coral cover) ever observed in the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) (figs. 1 and 2). All but a few coral species bleached, including the threatened species, Acropora palmata. Bleaching was seen from the surface to depths over 20 meters.
  Posted: 2008-07-01
• USGS Open-File Report 2005-1066, Project PROBE Leg I, CTD/XBT and GPS Navigation Data Collected During USGS Cruise 02051, Puerto Rico Trench, September 24-30, 2002, title page
  This report contains the documentation and raw data files that were collected between 24 September and 10 September 2002 as part of USGS Cruise 02051 (NOAA Cruise RB0208). It includes archive files of Multibeam Bathymetry and Acoustic Backscatter, CTD/XBT and GPS navigation that were collected in the process of mapping the Puerto Rico Trench.
  Posted: 2008-02-01
• USGS FS 2007-3065 --- Kellogg
  Coral disease is a major cause of reef decline in the Florida Keys. Bacterium has been defined as the most common pathogen (disease-causing organism). Although much is being done to catalog coral diseases, map their locations, determine the causes of disease, or measure the rates of coral demise, very little research has been directed toward actually preventing or eliminating the diseases affecting coral and coral reef decline.
  Posted: 2008-02-01
• USGS Coastal Change Hazards
  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.
  Posted: 2008-01-01
• Coastal and Marine Knowledge Bank
  An initiative to develop and present a national-scale, interdisciplinary scientific framework for marine environments, the coastal zone, and coastal watersheds
  Posted: 2007-11-28
• El Niño Home Page
  El Niño information with links to a broad range of topics such as Floods, Landslides, Coastal Hazards, Climate, News Releases.
  Posted: 2007-09-30
• Open-File Report 2006-1293 - Reconnaissance Investigation of Caribbean Extreme Wave Deposits; Preliminary Observations, Interpretations, and Research Directions
  his report presents an overview of preliminary geological investigations and recommended future research activities in the Caribbean region pertaining to coastal hazards with an emphasis on establishing tsunami risk for U.S. territories. Fieldwork was conducted in March 2006 on the islands of Bonaire, Puerto Rico, and Guadeloupe to evaluate the stratigraphic records of extreme wave deposits as possible indicators of paleotsunami recurrence. Morphological, sedimentological, and stratigraphic evidence indicate that shore-parallel coral rubble deposits composed of coarse clasts and sand that are 10s of meters wide and several meters thick are depositional complexes that have accumulated for a few centuries or millennia, and are not entirely the result of one or a few tsunamis as previously reported. The origins of boulder fields on elevated rock platforms of the Caribbean islands are more complicated than the origins of ridge complexes because boulder fields can be constructed by either storm waves or tsunamis. What is needed now for more conclusive interpretations is a systematic sedimentological approach to deposit analysis and a set of criteria for distinguishing between coarse clast storm and tsunami deposits. Assembling more field data from other Caribbean islands, analyzing stratigraphic deposits on Puerto Rico and Bonaire, and investigating boulder field deposits resulting from a historical tsunami can accomplish this. Also needed are improved sediment transport models for coarse clasts that can be used to estimate the competence and capacity of tsunamis and storms waves and to determine whether a deposit likely was created by a tsunami or extreme storm. Improved models may also be useful for reconstructing the magnitude of extreme wave events.
  Posted: 2006-10-30
• U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2004-1416, Coastal Vulnerability Assessment of Dry Tortugas National Park (DRTO) to Sea-Level Rise, Title Page
  coastal vulnerability index (CVI) was used to map the relative vulnerability of the coast to future sea-level rise within Dry Tortugas National Park in Florida. The CVI ranks the following in terms of their physical contribution to sea-level rise-related coastal change: geomorphology, regional coastal slope, rate of relative sea-level rise, historical shoreline change rates, mean tidal range and mean significant wave height. The rankings for each input variable were combined and an index value calculated for 1-minute grid cells covering the park. The CVI highlights those regions where the physical effects of sea-level rise might be the greatest. This approach combines the coastal system's susceptibility to change with its natural ability to adapt to changing environmental conditions, yielding a quantitative, although relative, measure of the park's natural vulnerability to the effects of sea-level rise. The CVI provides an objective technique for evaluation and long-term planning by scientists and park managers. Dry Tortugas National Park (DRTO) consists of relatively stable to washover-dominated portions of carbonate beach and man-made fortification. The areas within Dry Tortugas that are likely to be most vulnerable to sea-level rise are those with the highest rates of shoreline erosion and the highest wave energy.
  Posted: 2006-10-20
• U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2004-1398, Coastal Vulnerability Assessment of Virgin Islands National Park (VIIS) TO Sea-Level Rise, Title Page
  Coastal Vulnerability Assessment of Virgin Islands National Park to Sea-Level Rise.
  Posted: 2006-10-20
• USGS Open-File Report 2004-1400
  This report contains the documentation and raw data files that were collected between 18 February and 7 March 2003 as part of USGS Cruise 03008 (NOAA Cruise RB0303). It includes archive files of Swath Bathymetric Sonar, CTD/XBT and GPS navigation that were collected in the process of mapping the Puerto Rico Trench.
  Posted: 2006-10-20
• USGS Coastal and Marine Geology - usSEABED
  usSEABED provides data on sediment and rock distributions in the waters off the United States.
  Posted: 2006-08-28
• usSEABED: Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Offshore Surficial Sediment Data Release, Title Page
  usSEABED: Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean (Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands) Offshore Surficial Sediment Data Release.
  Posted: 2006-07-18
• Research Projects - Tsunami Hazard Potential in the Caribbean
  Description of research project.
  Posted: 2006-04-10
• Research Projects: Coastal and Marine Catastrophic Hazards - USGS WCMG
  Description of research project.
  Posted: 2005-07-25
• High-Energy Storms Shape Puerto Rico - USGS Fact Sheet
  Geologists have known for many years that damage inflicted by hurricanes on coastal areas may be less important for the long-term evolution of a coast than the effects of less intense, but more frequent, storm events. Indeed, high-energy storms may be needed to maintain the health of delicate marine ecologies in the coastal environment. Marine geologists of the U.S. Geological Survey working in Puerto Rico are confident that the long-term effects of Hurricane Hugo on the coastal environment are minimal, though the economic damage was significant. Detailed oceanographic studies are needed to define the sediment budget of the nearshore areas of Puerto Rico and to provide baseline information for studying storm effects.
  Posted: 2004-03-02
• Sand and Gravel Resources of Puerto Rico - USGS Fact Sheet
  The sand and gravel resources of Puerto Rico contribute significantly to the economy of the island as they are crucial ingredients in construction and recreation. Despite newly-imposed regulations prohibiting mining of beach sands, the strength of the associated underground economy is sufficiently strong to limit enforcement of the regulations. Consequently, beaches are eroding quickly causing significant damage to the environment and delicate ecosystems. New resources of sand and gravel would allow beaches to be nourished and construction activities to be supplied.
  Posted: 2004-03-02
• U.S. Coral Reefs—Imperiled National Treasures | USGS Fact Sheet 025-02
  Coral reefs are home to 25% of all marine species. However, the tiny colonial animals that build these intricate limestone masses are dying at alarming rates. If this trend continues, in 20 years the living corals on many of the world’s reefs will be dead and the ecosystems that depend on them severely damaged. As part of the effort to protect our Nation’s extensive reefs, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists are working to better understand the processes that affect the health of these ecologically and economically important ecosystems.
  Posted: 2003-03-18
• Coral Mortality and African Dust
  Why have coral reefs that are bathed in clear oceanic waters throughout much of the Caribbean suffered algal infestation, coral diseases, and near extinction of herbivorous sea urchins from the 1970s through early 1990s? The best known factors detrimental to coral reefs do not apply for many of the affected reefs where human population is low.
  Posted: 2003-02-18
• African Dust Carries Microbes Across the Ocean: Are They Affecting Human and Ecosystem Health? - USGS Open File Report 03-028
  A four-page full-color discussion of how atmospheric transport of dust from northwest Africa to the western Atlantic Ocean region may be responsible for a number of environmental hazards, including the demise of Caribbean corals; red tides; amphibian diseases; increased occurrence of asthma in humans; and oxygen depletion (eutrophication) in estuaries.
  Posted: 2003-02-04
• USGS Fact Sheet 095-02: Vulnerability of U.S. National Parks to Sea-Level Rise and Coastal Change
  Vulnerability of U.S. National Parks to Sea-Level Rise and Coastal Change
  Posted: 2002-09-19
• Coral Reefs in Honduras: Status after Hurricane Mitch - Online Mini-Documentary Movie
  "Coral Reefs in Honduras: Status after Hurricane Mitch" is an eight minute mini-documentary featuring geologist Bob Halley describing the USGS response in the wake of Hurricane Mitch to assess the impact of the storm on Caribbean coral reefs off Honduras. Narrated by geologist Terry Edgar.
  Posted: 2002-04-05
• Online Mini-Documentary Movie - The Effects of Globally Transported African and Asian Dust on Coral Reef and Human Health
  "The Effects of Globally Transported African and Asian Dust on Coral Reef and Human Health" is an eight minute mini-documentary featuring biologist Ginger Garrison, geologist Gene Shinn, chemist Chuck Holmes, and microbiologist Dale Griffin as they explain the deterioration of Caribbean coral health over the past several decades, and how unlocking the key role of trans-Atlantic dust transport has opened the door to understanding the effects and implications of this global phenomenon. Narrated by geologist Terry Edgar.
  Posted: 2001-11-08
• Coral Reefs in Honduras: Status after Hurricane Mitch - USGS Open File Report 01-133
  In response to the devastation wrought by Hurricane Mitch in Honduras, the United States Geological Survey performed a study to determine the impact the storm had on the coral reef systems of Cayos Cochinos and Roatan, Honduras.
  Posted: 2001-10-14
• Project PROBES (Puerto Rico Ocean Bottom Earthquake Survey), USGS Open-File Report 01-112
  Project PROBES: Puerto Rico Ocean Bottom Earthquake Survey, U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 01-112
  Posted: 2001-09-07
• USGS Fact Sheet 141-00: Earthquakes and Tsunamis in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands
  Earthquakes and Tsunamis in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands
  Posted: 2001-05-02
• Global Inventory of Natural Gas Hydrate Occurance
  This updated global inventory reports on natural gas hydrate recovered from 20 places worldwide and includes 79 places where the presence of gas hydrate has been inferred from geophysical, geochemical, or geological evidence.
  Posted: 2001-01-09
• Navassa Island: A Photographic Tour
  Several thematic photographic tours of the Caribbean island of Navassa, compiled from photographs taken by USGS geologists Dr. Robert Halley and Don Hickey during their trip to the island as part of the Caribbean Quest expedition sponsored by the Discovery Channel.
  Posted: 2000-08-19
• About Gas Hydrates and a USGS gas hydrate project
  Questions and answers about submarine gas hydrates: an ice-like crystalline solid formed of water and gas that is found in places under the sea floor and has important implications to techniques of deep-sea drilling and future energy supplies.
  Posted: 1999-03-08
• Hurricane Georges Coastal Impacts - Pre/Post-Storm Oblique Aerial Photography
  This set of oblique aerial photogrpahy covers three areas impacted by Hurricane Georges in September, 1998 - Puerto Rico, the Florida Keys, and Gulf Coast barrier islands off Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.
  Posted: 1998-10-14
• Coasts in Crisis - Corals, Wetlands, and Hurricanes
  Educational background information on corals, wetlands, and hurricanes, and why we study them.
  Posted: 1998-05-05