The potential impacts of global warming on coastal areas are significant. Melting of the polar icecaps would cause sea level to rise worldwide. Heightened atmospheric temperatures would enable the generation of more energetic and destructive storms. CMG research seeks to understand these effects and how they would impact our heavily populated coastlines.
USGS Northern Gulf of Mexico (NGOM) 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. Posted: 2009-05-28
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
U.S. Geological Survey Geologic Investigations Series Map I-2600-A Changes in the area and volume of polar ice sheets are intricately linked to changes in global climate, and the resulting changes in sea level could severely impact the densely populated coastal regions on Earth. Melting of the West Antarctic part alone of the Antarctic ice sheet would cause a sea-level rise of approximately 6 meters (m). The potential sea-level rise after melting of the entire Antarctic ice sheet is estimated to be 65 m (Lythe and others, 2001) to 73 m (Williams and Hall, 1993). In addition to its importance, the mass balance (the net volumetric gain or loss) of the Antarctic ice sheet is highly complex, responding differently to different conditions in each region (Vaughan, 2005). In a review paper, Rignot and Thomas (2002) concluded that the West Antarctic ice sheet is probably becoming thinner overall; although it is thickening in the west, it is thinning in the north. Thomas and others (2004), on the basis of aircraft and satellite laser altimetry surveys, believe the thinning may be accelerating. Joughin and Tulaczyk (2002), on the basis of analysis of ice-flow velocities derived from synthetic aperture radar, concluded that most of the Ross ice streams (ice streams on the east side of the Ross Ice Shelf) have a positive mass balance, whereas Rignot and others (2004) infer even larger negative mass balance for glaciers flowing northward into the Amundsen Sea, a trend suggested by Swithinbank and others (2003a,b, 2004). The mass balance of the East Antarctic ice sheet is thought by Davis and others (2005) to be strongly positive on the basis of the change in satellite altimetry measurements made between 1992 and 2003. Posted: 2007-10-11
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
National Assessment of Shoreline Change Project 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. Posted: 2007-09-29
National Assessment of Coastal Change Hazards 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. Posted: 2007-09-28
Gulf of Mexico and Southeast Tidal Wetlands 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. Posted: 2007-06-01
Coral Microbial Ecology Coral microbial ecology is the study of the relationship of coral-associated microorganisms to each other, the coral host, and to their environment. Posted: 2006-02-14
Antarctica - The Dynamic Heart of It All - USGS Fact Sheet The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has worked in Antarctica for nearly 50 years, starting in 1947 with geophysical and geologic surveys and in 1957 with topographic mapping. Today the USGS also does marine, airborne, and satellite studies, as well as mapping and coring of the ice sheet, as part of the U.S. Antarctic Program. USGS scientific leadership is a cornerstone for international Antarctic cooperation, and data and information gathered by USGS researchers are important to the development of U.S. policy regarding the Antarctic. Posted: 2004-03-02
Coastal Erosion of Southern Lake Michigan - USGS Fact Sheet Geological Survey studies the geologic processes at work in the Great Lakes region because they have direct bearing on the use, management, development, and preservation of the shoreline. It is important to understand how these processes shape our daily lives. About 15 percent of the United States' and 50 percent of Canada's population live along or near the 9,000-kilometer-long coastline of the Great Lakes. About 83 percent of the shoreline is privately-owned with property values as high as $10,000 per linear foot of lakefront. Posted: 2004-03-02
Gas (Methane) Hydrates -- A New Frontier - USGS Fact Sheet Methane trapped in marine sediments as a hydrate represents such an immense carbon reservoir that it must be considered a dominant factor in estimating unconventional energy resources; the role of methane as a 'greenhouse' gas also must be carefully assessed. Posted: 2004-03-02
An Overview of Coastal Land Loss: With Emphasis on the Southeastern United States In states bordering the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean, vast areas of coastal land have been destroyed since the mid 1800s as a result of natural processes and human activities. The physical factors that have the greatest influence on coastal land loss are reductions in sediment supply, relative sea level rise, and frequent storms, whereas the most important human activities are sediment excavation, river modification, and coastal construction. As a result of these agents and activities, coastal land loss is manifested most commonly as beach/bluff erosion and coastal submergence. Posted: 2003-08-20
USGS OFR 02-349: Human Impact on the Planet: An Earth Science Perspective and Ethical Considerations The modern Earth Narrative, the scientific story of the 4.5 billion-year natural and human history of the Earth, has emerged from the solid foundation of two factual concepts: Deep (or Geologic) Time and Biological Evolution. Widespread acceptance of the Earth Narrative is critically important as we begin the third millennium, because it provides a clear understanding of the growing impact of human population growth and associated activities on the Earth System, especially the negative impact on Earth's biosphere. It is important for humans to realize that we are but one of 4,500 species of mammals that exist on Earth and that we are but one species in the estimated 30 to 100 million species that form the complex biosphere. We also need to recognize that all species exist within the physical limits imposed by the geosphere. We are totally dependent on the biosphere for food, oxygen, and other necessities of life. Humans are one of the latest results of biological evolution operating over a long period of Geologic Time. We find ourselves on Earth, after 4.5 billion years of Earth history by chance, not by design. Humans have become so successful at modifying their environment that many of the natural limitations on the expansion of populations of our fellow animals have been overcome by technological and cultural innovations. According to Peter Raven "Humans, at a current population of 6 billion [expected to nearly double by 2050], are consuming or wasting about 50 percent of the total net biological productivity on land and 50 percent of the available supply of freshwater." The overwhelming and expanding human presence leaves less and less room in the environment for other biota.” The 21st century will be a pivotal time in the fate of Earth's biosphere. Whereas human modification of the geosphere will slowly recover over time, human changes to the biosphere are a far more consequential matter -- extinction of a species is forever! Will humans effectively use our new knowledge of natural and human history to stop further degradation of Earth's ecosystems and extinction of its biota? The fate of the biosphere, including humanity, depends on a reaffirmation by all humans of all cultures and religions of the global importance of a planet-wide conservation of the Earth's biotic heritage. For the world's religions it means elevation of stewardship of the Earth to a moral imperative and a goal of complete preservation of the Earth's biotic inheritance, one which is based on a Do No Harm ethic. Posted: 2002-10-07
Lake Pontchartrain, LA, Geochemistry Geology, geologic history, sediments, circulation, satellite imagery, of Lake Pontchartrain, LA, and a sediment database and geochemical assessment of the Lake. Posted: 2002-04-23
Assessment of Coastal Vulnerability to Sea-Level Rise: Preliminary Results for the U.S. Gulf of Mexico Coast This report estimates relative vulnerability to sea-level rise of different coastal environments in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. This initial classification is based on coastal geomorphology, regional coastal slope, rate of sea-level rise, wave and tide characteristics, and historical shoreline change rates. Posted: 2002-04-23
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
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
Coastal-Change and Glaciological Maps of Antarctica Changes in the area and volume of the two polar ice sheets in Antarctica (fig. 1) and Greenland are intricately linked to changes in global climate and could result in sea-level changes that would severely affect the densely populated coastal regions on Earth. Melting of the West Antarctica part of the Antarctic ice sheet alone could cause a worldwide sea-level rise of approximately 8 m. The use of a number of different sensor data sets allow determination of coastal change in Antarctica over 15-20 years for the MSS and TM images and over as much as 32 years where Argon and ERS images exist, such as the Antarctic Peninsula. Cooperation with other Antarctic mapping groups now includes scientists from Italy, Russia, Norway, Canada, Australia, Argentina, and Germany. Posted: 1999-02-08
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