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Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

2022 Annual Report

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Mapping methane reduction potential of tidal wetland restoration in the United States

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Opportunities to improve alignment with the FAIR Principles for U.S. Geological Survey data

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Scientific literature and information products produced by Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center staff

Featured Journal Article

Herring River, Wellfleet, MA

Calibrating optical turbidity measurements with suspended-sediment concentrations from the Herring River in Wellfleet, Massachusetts, from November 2018 to November 2019

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Featured USGS Series

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Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center—2022 Annual Report.  The 2022 annual report highlights accomplishments, includes a list of publications, and summarizes the work of the center and each of the science groups.

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Sound Waves

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Coastal and Marine Research News from Across the USGS

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Filter Total Items: 1691

Sediment dynamics of a divergent bay–marsh complex

Bay–marsh systems, composed of an embayment surrounded by fringing marsh incised by tidal channels, are widely distributed coastal environments. External sediment availability, marsh-edge erosion, and sea-level rise acting on such bay–marsh complexes may drive diverse sediment-flux regimes. These factors reinforce the ephemeral and dynamic nature of fringing marshes: material released by marsh-edg
Authors
Daniel J. Nowacki, Neil K. Ganju
By
Natural Hazards Mission Area, Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Along-margin variations in breakup volcanism at the Eastern North American Margin

We model the magnetic signature of rift-related volcanism to understand the distribution and volumeofmagmatic activity that occurred during the breakup of Pangaea and early Atlantic opening at the Eastern North American Margin (ENAM).Along-strike variations in the amplitude and character of the prominent East Coast Magnetic Anomaly (ECMA) suggest that the emplacement of the volcanic layers produci
Authors
John A. Greene, Masako Tominaga, Nathaniel C. Miller
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Using tracer variance decay to quantify variability of salinity mixing in the Hudson River Estuary

The salinity structure in an estuary is controlled by time‐dependent mixing processes. However, the locations and temporal variability of where significant mixing occurs is not well‐understood. Here we utilize a tracer variance approach to demonstrate the spatial and temporal structure of salinity mixing in the Hudson River Estuary. We run a 4‐month hydrodynamic simulation of the tides, currents,
Authors
John C. Warner, W Rockwill Geyer, David K. Ralston, Tarandeep S. Kalra
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Probabilistic patterns of inundation and biogeomorphic changes due to sea-level rise along the northeastern U.S. Atlantic coast

ContextCoastal landscapes evolve in response to sea-level rise (SLR) through a variety of geologic processes and ecological feedbacks. When the SLR rate surpasses the rate at which these processes build elevation and drive lateral migration, inundation is likely.ObjectivesTo examine the role of land cover diversity and composition in landscape response to SLR across the northeastern United States.
Authors
Erika Lentz, Sara L. Zeigler, E. Robert Thieler, Nathaniel G. Plant
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Ryder Glacier in northwest Greenland is shielded from warm Atlantic water by a bathymetric sill

The processes controlling advance and retreat of outlet glaciers in fjords draining the Greenland Ice Sheet remain poorly known, undermining assessments of their dynamics and associated sea-level rise in a warming climate. Mass loss of the Greenland Ice Sheet has increased six-fold over the last four decades, with discharge and melt from outlet glaciers comprising key components of this loss. Here
Authors
Martin Jakobsson, Larry Mayer, Johan Nilsson, Christian Stranne, Brian Calder, Matthew O'Regan, J. Farrell, Thomas M. Cronin, Volker Bruchert, Julek Chawarski, Bjorn Eriksson, Jonas Fredriksson, Laura Gemery, Anna Glueder, Felicity A. Holmes, Kevin Jerram, Nina Kirchner, Alan Mix, Julia Muchowski, Abhay Prakash, Brendan Reilly, Brett Thornton, Adam Ulfsbo, Elizabeteh Weidner, Henning Akesson, Tamara Handl, Emelie Stahl, Lee-Gray Boze, Sam Reed, Gabriel West, June Padman
By
Climate Research and Development Program, Florence Bascom Geoscience Center, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Development of a submerged aquatic vegetation growth model in the Coupled Ocean–Atmosphere–Wave–Sediment Transport (COAWST v3.4) model

The coupled biophysical interactions between submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV), hydrodynamics (currents and waves), sediment dynamics, and nutrient cycling have long been of interest in estuarine environments. Recent observational studies have addressed feedbacks between SAV meadows and their role in modifying current velocity, sedimentation, and nutrient cycling. To represent these dynamic proce
Authors
Tarandeep S. Kalra, Neil K. Ganju, Jeremy M. Testa
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Meeting the challenge: U.S. Geological Survey North Atlantic and Appalachian Region fiscal year 2020 in review

The utilization, preservation, and conservation of the Nation’s resources requires well-informed management decisions. The North Atlantic and Appalachian Region (NAAR) of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) supports science-based decision making for Federal, State, and local policymakers to meet the challenges of today and into the future. The science centers in the NAAR have well-deserved reputatio
Authors
By
Chesapeake Bay Activities, Florence Bascom Geoscience Center, Geology, Minerals, Energy, and Geophysics Science Center, Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Water Science Center, National Minerals Information Center, New England Water Science Center, New Jersey Water Science Center, New York Water Science Center, Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Water Science Center, Pennsylvania Water Science Center, Virginia and West Virginia Water Science Center, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, Office of Tribal Relations

Simulated estuary-wide response of seagrass (Zostera marina) to future scenarios of temperature and sea level

Seagrass communities are a vital component of estuarine ecosystems, but are threatened by projected sea level rise (SLR) and temperature increases with climate change. To understand these potential effects, we developed a spatially explicit model that represents seagrass (Zostera marina) habitat and estuary-wide productivity for Barnegat Bay-Little Egg Harbor (BB-LEH) in New Jersey, United States.
Authors
Cara Scalpone, Jessie Jarvis, James Vasslides, Jeremy Testa, Neil K. Ganju
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Dynamics of marsh-derived sediments in lagoon-type estuaries

Salt marshes are valuable ecosystems that must trap sediments and accrete in order to counteract the deleterious effect of sea‐level rise. Previous studies have shown that the capacity of marshes to build up vertically depends on both autogenous and exogenous processes including eco‐geomorphic feedbacks and sediment supply from in‐land and coastal ocean. There have been numerous efforts to quantif
Authors
Carmine Donatelli, Tarandeep S. Kalra, Sergio Fagherazzi, Xoaohe Zhang, Nicoletta Leonardi
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

The role of pre-magmatic rifting in shaping a volcanic continental margin: An example from the Eastern North American Margin

Both magmatic and tectonic processes contribute to the formation of volcanic continental margins. Such margins are thought to undergo extension across a narrow zone of lithospheric thinning (~100 km). New observations based on existing and reprocessed data from the Eastern North American Margin contradict this hypothesis. With ~64,000 km of 2‐D seismic data tied to 40 wells combined with published
Authors
G. Lang, Uri S. ten Brink, Deborah Hutchinson, G.S. Mountain, U. Schattner
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Numerical characterization of cohesive and non-cohesive ‘sediments’ under different consolidation states using 3D DEM triaxial experiments

The Discrete Element Method has been widely used to simulate geo-materials due to time and scale limitations met in the field and laboratories. While cohesionless geo-materials were the focus of many previous studies, the deformation of cohesive geo-materials in 3D remained poorly characterized. Here, we aimed to generate a range of numerical ‘sediments’, assess their mechanical response to stress
Authors
Hadar Elyashiv, Revital Bookman, Lennart Siemann, Uri S. ten Brink, Katrin Huhn
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Modeling the spatial dynamics of marsh ponds in New England salt marshes

Ponds are common features on salt marshes, yet it is unclear how they affect large-scale marsh evolution. We developed a spatially explicit model that combines cellular automata for pond formation, expansion, and drainage, and partial differential equations for elevation dynamics. We use the mesotidal Barnstable marsh (MA, USA) as a case study, for which we measured pond expansion rate by remote s
Authors
G. Mariotti, A. Spivak, S.Y. Luk, G. Ceccherini, M. Tyrrell, Meagan Gonneea Eagle
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center