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Filter Total Items: 915
Modeling the effects of large-scale interior headland restoration on tidal hydrodynamics and salinity transport in an open coast, marine-dominant estuary
The effects of large-scale interior headland restoration on tidal hydrodynamics and salinity transport in an open coast, marine dominant estuary (Grand Bay, Alabama, U.S.A) are investigated using a two-dimensional model, the Discontinuous-Galerkin Shallow Water Equations Model (DG-SWEM). Three restoration alternatives are simulated for present-day conditions, as well as under 0.5 m of sea level ri
Authors
Davina Passeri, Robert L. Jenkins, Autumn C. Poisson, Matthew V. Bilskie, Peter Bacopoulos
Wave runup and inundation dynamics on a perched beach
Sandy beaches perched over rocky shore platforms are common globally, yet their mixed sand and rocky morphology present challenges for quantifying and predicting wave runup and inundation. For typical linear beach profiles, simple relationships can be made between vertical runup and horizontal inundation based on beach slope. However, as topographic irregularities increase, substantial deviations
Authors
Carly Portch, Michael Cuttler, Mark L. Buckley, Jeff Hansen, Ryan Lowe
Coastal acidification trends and controls in a subtropical estuary, Tampa Bay, Florida USA
Many coastal estuaries have experienced declines in pH over the past few decades due to coastal acidification. However, mean monthly water column pH values (collected during daylight hours) have increased in Tampa Bay, Florida over recent decades concurrent with seagrass recovery. We measured changes in carbonate system and water quality variables in Tampa Bay and the near-coastal Gulf of Mexico e
Authors
Kimberly K. Yates, Christopher Moore, Mitchell K Lemon, Ryan P. Moyer, David A. Tomasko, R. Masserini, Edward T. Sherwood
Source contributions to suspended sediment and particulate selenium export from the Loutsenhizer Arroyo and Sunflower Drain watersheds in Colorado
Selenium in aquatic ecosystems of the lower Gunnison River Basin in Colorado is affecting the recovery of populations of endangered, native fish species. Dietary exposure is the primary pathway for bioaccumulation of selenium in fish, and particulate selenium can be consumed directly by fish or by the invertebrates on which fish feed. Although selenium can be incorporated into particulate matter v
Authors
Carleton R. Bern, Cory A. Williams, Christopher G. Smith
Operational forecasts of wave-driven water levels and coastal hazards for US Gulf and Atlantic coasts
Predictions of total water levels, the elevation of combined tides, surge, and wave runup at the shoreline, are necessary to provide guidance on potential coastal erosion and flooding. Despite the importance of early warning systems for these hazards, existing real-time meteorological and oceanographic forecast systems at regional and national scales, until now, have lacked estimates of runup nece
Authors
Hilary F Stockdon, Joseph W. Long, Margaret Louise Palmsten, Andre Van der Westhuysen, Kara S. Doran, Richard J. Snell
Remotely sensed short-crested breaking waves in a laboratory directional wave basin
Short-crested breaking waves that result from directionally spread wave conditions dissipate energy and generate turbulence within the surf zone, altering sediment transport processes, wave runup, and forces on structures. Additionally, vertical vorticity generated near crest ends during breaking, which depends on the gradient in wave height along a crest, may enhance nearshore dispersion of pollu
Authors
Christine Baker, Melissa Moulton, Margaret Louise Palmsten, Katherine Brodie, Emma Nuss, C. Christopher Chickadel
Shoreface sediment availability offshore of a rapidly migrating, mixed-energy barrier island
Less is known about sediment exchanges between shorefaces and mixed-energy barrier islands (MEBI) than between shorefaces and wave-dominated barrier islands. We used seismic stratigraphy from Cedar Island, Virginia, USA to understand the interplay between shoreface deposits and MEBI morphodynamics. Interpretations reveal that the shelf and shoreface are extensively dissected by breach and inlet ch
Authors
Emily A. Wei, Jennifer L. Miselis
Incorporating wave climate complexity into modeling lower shoreface morphology and transport
The lower shoreface, a transitional subaqueous region extending from the seaward limit of the surf zone to beyond the closure depth, serves as a sediment reservoir and pathway in sandy beach environments over annual to millennial time scales. Despite the important role this region plays in shoreline dynamics, the morphodynamics of the lower shoreface remain poorly quantified and understood. To bet
Authors
Megan Gillen, Andrew D. Ashton, Jennifer L. Miselis, Daniel J. Ciarletta, Emily A. Wei, Christopher R. Sherwood
Gulf Islands National Seashore regional sediment budget research and data needs—Workshop series summary
Executive SummaryThe National Park Service (NPS), in collaboration with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), recognizes the need to quantify the sediment budget of the barrier islands within the Gulf Islands National Seashore (GINS) to understand the coastal processes affecting island resiliency. To achieve this goal, identifying and quantifying the physical parameters that drive long-term change is
Authors
Erin Seekamp, James Flocks, Courtney Hotchkiss, Linda York, Kelly Irick
Discovery of a rare pillar coral (Dendrogyra cylindrus) death assemblage off southeast Florida reveals multi-century persistence during the late Holocene
In recent years, coral populations in the western Atlantic have undergone widespread declines from climate change, anthropogenic stressors, and infectious disease outbreaks. The pillar coral, Dendrogyra cylindrus, has been one of the most affected species, prompting its listing as threatened under the United States Endangered Species Act in 2014 and critically endangered under the IUCN Red List in
Authors
Alexander B. Modys, Lauren Toth, Richard A. Mortlock, Anton E. Olenik, William F. Precht
Contributions to uncertainty in runup forecasts
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) provides operational forecasts of total water levels (TWL) and coastal change. Uncertainties around forecast TWL are based on the temporal and spatial range of observed beach slopes near the forecast site. This paper investigates other sources of uncertainty that are not accounted for, focusing on four beaches where the USGS has deployed remote cameras, and on out
Authors
Christopher R. Sherwood, Alfredo Aretxabaleta, Peter A. Traykovski, Jin-Si R. Over, Erin Lyons, David S. Foster, Jennifer L. Miselis, Timothy Nelson, Erdinc Sogut
The potential for coral reef restoration to mitigate coastal flooding as sea levels rise
The ability of reefs to protect coastlines from storm-driven flooding hinges on their capacity to keep pace with sea-level rise. Here, we show how and whether coral restoration could achieve the often-cited goal of reversing the impacts of coral-reef degradation to preserve this essential function. We combined coral-growth measurements and carbonate-budget assessments of reef-accretion potential a
Authors
Lauren Toth, Curt Storlazzi, Elizabeth M. Whitcher, Ilsa B. Kuffner, Ellen Quataert, Johan Reyns, Robert T. McCall, Anastasios Stathakopoulos, Zandy Hillis-Starr, Nathaniel H. Holloway, Kristin A. Ewen, Clayton G. Pollock, Tess Code, Richard B. Aronson