Archive of Sediment Data from Vibracores Collected in 2016 from Fire Island, New York

Researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) conducted a long-term coastal morphologic-change study at Fire Island, New York, prior to and after Hurricane Sandy impacted the area in October 2012. The Fire Island Coastal Change project objectives include understanding the morphologic evolution of the barrier island system on a variety of time scales (months to centuries) and resolving storm-related impacts, post-storm beach response, and recovery. In April 2016, scientists from the USGS St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center conducted sediment sampling and geophysical surveys on Fire Island to characterize and quantify spatial variability in the subaerial geology with the goal of subsequently integrating onshore geology with other surf zone and nearshore datasets.

This data release serves as an archive of sediment data from 14 vibracores collected along 6 profiles from the upper beach to shoreface along Fire Island on April 10 and 11, 2016 (USGS Field Activity Number [FAN] 2016-322-FA). Sedimentologic and stratigraphic metrics (for example, sediment texture or unit thicknesses) derived from these data can be used to assess spatial and temporal trends and may aid in understanding beach evolution. Data collection and processing methods are described in U.S. Geological Survey Data Series 1100.