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Ecosystems

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Many coastal, lacustrine, and marine fragile environments, including coastal wetlands, coral reefs, seagrass beds, and polar ecosystems, have been impacted and degraded during the past century by a combination of natural processes and by human activities. Conserving these environments and preventing further degradation, as well as restoring some areas, requires sound scientific understanding of the geologic processes and the geologic framework in which the dominant processes operate.

Other related USGS websites:
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San Francisco Bay and Delta

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Items below are listed from most recently updated to least recently updated.

These are results 1 through 25 of 124 matches.

Research Project
USGS Coral Reef Studies

Description: Coral Reef Studies conducted in Hawaii, Florida and California.
updated: 2009-06-24 pages include:

Research Project
USGS Northern Gulf of Mexico (NGOM)

Description: 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.
updated: 2009-05-28 pages include:

Research Project
Coastal Change Hazards: Hurricanes and Extreme Storms

Description: 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 Ni�o.
updated: 2009-04-28 pages include:

Publication
Open-File Report 2008-1190: Geologic Resource Evaluation of Pu�ukoholā Heiau National Historic Site, Hawai�i; Part I, Geology and Coastal Landforms

Description: Geologic resource inventories of lands managed by the National Park Service (NPS) are important products for the parks and are designed to provide scientific information to better manage park resources. Park-specific geologic reports are used to identify geologic features and processes that are relevant to park ecosystems, evaluate the impact of human activities on geologic features and processes, identify geologic research and monitoring needs, and enhance opportunities for education and interpretation. These geologic reports are planned to provide a brief geologic history of the park and address specific geologic issues forming a link between the park geology and the resource manager. The Kona coast National Parks of the Island of Hawai�i are intended to preserve the natural beauty of the Kona coast and protect significant ancient structures and artifacts of the native Hawaiians. Pu�ukoholā Heiau National Historic Site (PUHE), Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park (KAHO), and Pu�uhonua O Hōnaunau National Historical Park (PUHO) are three Kona parks studied by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Coastal and Marine Geology Team in cooperation with the National Park Service. This report is one of six related reports designed to provide geologic and benthic-habitat information for the three Kona parks. Each geology and coastal-landform report describes the regional geologic setting of the Hawaiian Islands, gives a general description of the geology of the Kona coast, and presents the geologic setting and issues for one of the parks. The related benthic-habitat mapping reports discuss the marine data and habitat classification scheme, and present results of the mapping program.
updated: 2009-02-10 pages include:

Publication
USGS Gulf Coast Science Conference and Florida Integrated Science Center Meeting: Proceedings with Abstracts, October 20-23, 2008, Orlando, Florida

Description: Talks, posters, and abstracts from the USGS Gulf Coast Science Conference and Florida Integrated Science Center Meeting.
updated: 2009-01-29 pages include:

Publication
Scientific Investigations Report 2007-5101: The Coral Reef of South Moloka�i, Hawai�i�Portrait of a Sediment-Threatened Fringing Reef

Description: In this landmark volume, U.S. Geological Survey researchers and their colleagues have developed and applied a remarkably integrated approach to the reefs of Moloka�i, combining geology, oceanography, and biology to provide an in-depth understanding of the processes that have made these reefs grow and that now limit them. They have joined old fashioned natural history of marine animals and plants with study of the geological evolution of the island, hydrology, meteorology, and land-use history, to an arsenal of new methods of remote sensing, including aerial photography, laser ranging, infrared thermal mapping, seismic reflection, in-situ instrumentation to measure chemical parameters of water quality, and direct measurements of the physical driving forces affecting them�such as wave energy, currents, sedimentation, and sediment transport. They provide a level of documentation and insight that has never been available for any reef before.
updated: 2008-11-19 pages include:

Publication
USGS Data Series 265, Time-Series Photographs of the Sea Floor in Western Massachusetts Bay, Version 2, 1989 - 1996, USGS Data Series 265, Title Page

Description: This U.S. Geological Survey Data Series report presents time-series photographs of the sea floor obtained from an instrumented tripod deployed in western Massachusetts Bay (site LT-A, 42? 22.6' N., 70? 47.0' W., 32 m water depth) from December 1989 to October 1996. The photographs provide time-series observations of changes of the sea floor, near-bottom water turbidity, and life on the sea floor. The photographs, obtained every 4 or every 6 hours, are presented as individual photographs (in .png format) and as a movie (in .avi format).
updated: 2008-11-17 pages include:

Publication
USGS Data Series 266, Time-series photographs of the sea floor in western Massachusetts Bay, 1996 - 2005 Title Page

Publication
Open-File Report 2007-1219: Science and Management in the Hanalei Watershed, A Trans-Disciplinary Approach

Description: The results of recent studies in the Hanalei watershed are impressive, both in content and breadth. Funded, directed, and/or conducted by investigators from many disciplines from local organizations (the Hanalei Watershed Hui), the University of Hawai�i, the State of Hawai�i (Department of Health, Department of Land and Natural Resources), and Federal organizations (U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Geological Survey, Environmental Protection Agency, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency), their sum total have contributed markedly to our understanding of processes in the watershed. There has been an overwhelming amount of information that has been collected in the Hanalei Bay Watershed from Mt. Waialeale to the far reefs in just the past 5 years. This workshop was initiated to document our collective understanding, better integrate our results, and identify the salient issues that remain to be studied.
updated: 2008-10-06 pages include:

Publication
Florida Integrated Science Center (FISC) Coral Reef Research

Description: 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.
updated: 2008-07-01 pages include:

Publication
Data Series 320: Sea-Floor Mapping and Benthic Habitat GIS for the Elwha River Delta Nearshore, Washington

Description: This is a description of selected data layers for the Sea-Floor Mapping and Benthic Habitat GIS for Puget Sound, Washington. From March 1531, 2005, more than 252 km (19.5 km2) of seafloor offshore of the Elwha River Delta in the central Strait of Juan de Fuca was mapped by the USGS Coastal and Marine Geology Program. The purpose of this nearshore mapping was to (1) obtain high resolution bathymetry and acoustic reflectance properties of the seabed, (2) examine and record geologic characteristics of the seafloor, and (3) construct maps of sea-floor geomorphology and habitat. Substrate distribution was characterized with video-supervised statistical classification of the sonar data. Substrate of the survey was dominated by mixed sand-gravel and sand. Numerous boulder reefs were observed west of the river mouth within Freshwater Bay, whereas the sea-floor immediately adjacent to the river mouth was dominated by sand.
updated: 2008-05-07 pages include:

Publication
EAARL Topography-Thomas Stone National

Description: Digital map atlas of lidar-derived topography maps for Thomas Stone National Historic Site
updated: 2008-04-28 pages include:

Publication
USGS-NPS-NASA EAARL Submarine Topography-Northern Florida Keys

Description: Digital map atlas of lidar-derived submarine topography maps for the Northern Florida Keys Reef Tract
updated: 2008-04-25 pages include:

Publication
EAARL Topography-Sagamore Hill National Historic Site (SAHI)

Description: Digital atlas of lidar-derived topography maps for Sagamore Hill National Historic Site
updated: 2008-04-24 pages include:

Publication
EAARL Topography-Gateway National Recreation Area-Home

Description: Digital map atlas of lidar-derived topography maps for the Gateway National Recreation Area
updated: 2008-04-23 pages include:

Publication
EAARL Submarine Topography-Florida Keys National Marine

Description: Digital atlas of Lidar-derived submarine topography maps for Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary
updated: 2008-04-21 pages include:

Publication
EAARL First Return Topography�Fire Island National Seashore

Description: Digital map atlas of lidar-derived topography maps for Assateague Island National Seashore
updated: 2008-04-21 pages include:

Publication
USGS-NPS-NASA EAARL Bare Earth Topography - Fire Island National Seashore

Description: Digital map atlas of Lidar-derived topography maps for Fire Island National Seashore
updated: 2008-04-21 pages include:

Publication
EAARL Topography-Gulf Islands National Seashore (GUIS)-Florida

Description: Digital atlas of lidar-derived bare earth topography maps for Gulf Islands National Seashore-Florida
updated: 2008-04-17 pages include:

Publication
USGS-NPS-NASA EAARL Topography - George Washington Birthplace

Description: Digital map atlas of lidar-derived topography maps for George Washington Birthplace National Monument
updated: 2008-04-17 pages include:

Publication
EAARL Topography - Cape Cod National Seashore

Description: Digital atlas of lidar-derived bare earth topography maps for Cape Cod National Seashore
updated: 2008-04-17 pages include:

Publication
USGS-NPS-NASA EAARL Topography - Dry Tortugas National Park

Description: This lidar-derived submarine topography map was produced as a collaborative effort between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Coastal and Marine Geology Program, National Park Service (NPS) South Florida/Caribbean Network Inventory and Monitoring Program, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Wallops Flight Facility. One objective of this research is to create techniques to survey coral reefs for the purposes of habitat mapping, ecological monitoring, change detection, and event assessment (for example: bleaching, hurricanes, disease outbreaks).
updated: 2008-03-24 pages include:

Publication
Geomorphology and Depositional Sub-environments of Assateague Island MD/VA

Description: Geomorphology and Depositional Sub-environments of Assateague Island MD/VA, Open File Report 2007-1388
updated: 2008-03-17 pages include:

Publication
EAARL Topography�Gulf Islands National Seashore

Description: Digital atlas of lidar-derived topography maps for Gulf Islands National Seashore-Mississippi
updated: 2008-03-17 pages include:

Publication
EAARL Topography - Assateague Island National Seashore (ASIS)

Description: Digital atlas of lidar-derived topography maps for Assateague Island National Seashore
updated: 2008-02-27 pages include:

These are results 1 through 25 of 124 matches.

Coastal and Marine Geology Program > Online Science Resource Locator > Ecosystems