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Sea-Level Change

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Sea-Level Change:
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Global sea level has always fluctuated depending on the climate. When the climate cools, more ice accumulates at the Earth's poles and sea level drops. When that ice melts, sea level rises. These changes are identifiable in the rock record and ice layers. CMG research aims to understand this cycle and its effects on the marine and coastal environments.
Other related USGS websites:
Global Change Research Program

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

These are results 1 through 25 of 58 matches.

Research Project
National Assessment of Shoreline Change Project
Description: 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.
updated: 2004-07-21 pages include:

Research Project
National Assessment of Coastal Change Hazards
Description: 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.
updated: 2004-06-10 pages include:

Publication
Printable Version - National Assessment of Shoreline Change: Part 1, Historical Shoreline Changes and Associated Coastal Land Loss Along the U.S. Gulf of Mexico - USGS Open File Report 2004-1043
Description: National Assessment of Shoreline Change: Part 1, Historical Shoreline Changes and Associated Coastal Land Loss Along the U.S. Gulf of Mexico is a 44-page, full-color discussion of historical shoreline change and coastal land loss along the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.
updated: 2004-04-14 pages include:

Publication
The National Assessment of Shoreline Change: A GIS Compilation of Vector Shorelines and Associated Shoreline Change Data for the U.S. Gulf of Mexico - USGS Open File Report 2004-1089
Description: The Coastal and Marine Geology Program of the U.S. Geological Survey has generated a comprehensive database of digital vector shorelines and shoreline change rates for the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. These data, which are presented herein, were compiled as part of the U.S. Geological Survey's National Assessment of Shoreline Change Project.
updated: 2004-04-14 pages include:

General Information
U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2004-1021, Coastal Vulnerability Assessment of Olympic National Park to Sea-Level Rise, Title Page
Description: Coastal Vulnerability Assessment of Olympic National Park to Sea-Level Rise.
updated: 2004-04-05 pages include:

General Information
U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2004-1020, COASTAL VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT OF ASSATEAGUE ISLAND NATIONAL SEASHORE (ASIS) TO SEA-LEVEL RISE , Title Page
Description: Coastal Vulnerability Assessment of Assateague Island National Seashore to Sea-Level Rise .
updated: 2004-04-05 pages include:

Publication
Antarctica - The Dynamic Heart of It All - USGS Fact Sheet
Description: 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.
updated: 2004-03-02 pages include:

Publication
Coastal Wetlands and Sediments of the San Francisco Bay System - USGS Fact Sheet
Description: San Francisco Bay has received much scientific attention over the years primarily because of regional questions regarding water quality and, more recently, geologic hazards, but very little is known about sediment distribution and movement on the floor of the Bay. The link between sediment accumulation in the Bay and processes that produce the staggering losses of wetlands acreage and continual channel filling is becoming better understood as U.S. Geological Survey scientists undertake new research of the region.
updated: 2004-03-02 pages include:

Publication
Evolution and History of Incised Valleys: The Mobile Bay Model - USGS Fact Sheet
Description: Incised valleys along the Gulf coast commonly result from rivers eroding rapidly in response to a fall in sea level. As sea level rises, sediments fill incised valleys and form nearshore elongated sandbodies such as barrier islands. These sandbodies can be potential sites for hard-mineral accumulations and are modern analogues to buried sands in the ancient rock record with high potential of being oil and gas reservoirs. Processes that formed residual sediment accumulations may also help to predict the outcome of man's erosion mitigation and wetland nourishment efforts. Today, the geologic imprint of incised valleys across the continental shelf provides evidence of sea-level change over the past 18,000 years.
updated: 2004-03-02 pages include:

Publication
Gas (Methane) Hydrates -- A New Frontier - USGS Fact Sheet
Description: 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.
updated: 2004-03-02 pages include:

Publication
The Lake Pontchartrain Basin: Louisiana's Troubled Urban Estuary - USGS Fact Sheet
Description: Scientific studies recently begun by the U.S. Geological Survey suggest that several key natural processes and human-induced environmental factors are directly affecting the health of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin, one of America's largest estuaries. An increased knowledge of the critical geologic and estuarine processes affecting the Basin is essential for its management, improving environmental conditions, and mitigating future problems in the region. Such baseline information is of immediate value to planners and decision makers involved in the task of reversing the Basin's environmental degradation and restoring its water and habitat qualities.
updated: 2004-03-02 pages include:

Publication
Monterey Bay Marine Sanctuary Geological Processes and Framework - USGS Fact Sheet
Description: The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) will move its Pacific Marine Geology program to a new location at the University of California at Santa Cruz (UCSC) and we are excited about our role in the marine sciences community around Monterey Bay. There is much to learn in the region, not only as a result of new opportunities in the Marine Sanctuary, but also that knowledge gained here may be transferred to our studies of similar environments in other parts of the world.
updated: 2004-03-02 pages include:

Publication
Sand and Gravel Resources of Puerto Rico - USGS Fact Sheet
Description: The sand and gravel resources of Puerto Rico contribute significantly to the economy of the island as they are crucial ingredients in construction and recreation. Despite newly-imposed regulations prohibiting mining of beach sands, the strength of the associated underground economy is sufficiently strong to limit enforcement of the regulations. Consequently, beaches are eroding quickly causing significant damage to the environment and delicate ecosystems. New resources of sand and gravel would allow beaches to be nourished and construction activities to be supplied.
updated: 2004-03-02 pages include:

Research Project
Coastal Classification Mapping Project
Description: A Coastal Classification Map describing local geomorphic features is the first step toward determining the hazard vulnerability of an area. The Coastal Classification Map series of the National Assessment of Coastal Change Project presents ground conditions such as beach width, dune elevations, overwash potential, and density of development. In order to complete a hazard vulnerability assessment, that information must be integrated with other information, such as prior storm impacts and beach stability.
updated: 2004-03-01 pages include:

General Information
U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 03-439, Coastal vulnerability Assessment of Fire Island (FIIS), to sea-level rise, Title Page
Description: Coastal Vulnerability Assessment of Fire Island National Seashore to Sea-Level Rise.
updated: 2004-02-27 pages include:

Map
U.S. Geological Survey Digital Data Series 79, >Coastal Erosion and Wetland Change in Louisiana:
Description: Coastal erosion and wetland change in Louisiana
updated: 2003-12-11 pages include:

Publication
USGS Open File Report 03-398
Description: Shoreline change posters for the Louisiana Barrier Islands, 1885 - 1996
updated: 2003-12-02 pages include:

Map
U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 02-233, Coastal Vulnerability Assessment of Cape Cod National Seashore to Sea-Level Rise, Title Page
Description: Coastal Vulnerability Assessment of Cape Cod National Seashore to Sea-Level Rise
updated: 2003-11-06 pages include:

Publication
USGS Circular 1198 - Beyond the Golden Gate - Oceanography, Geology, Biology, and Environmental Issues in the Gulf of the Farallones
Description: The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) began a major geologic and oceanographic study of the Gulf of the Farallones in 1989. This investigation, the first of several now being conducted adjacent to major population centers by the USGS, was undertaken to establish a scientific data base for an area of 3,400 square kilometers (1,000 square nautical miles) on the Continental Shelf adjacent to the San Francisco Bay region. The results of this study can be used to evaluate and monitor human impact on the marine environment.
updated: 2003-10-01 pages include:

Publication
An Overview of Coastal Land Loss: With Emphasis on the Southeastern United States
Description: 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.
updated: 2003-08-20 pages include:

Research Project
Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS) version 2.0
Description: This page allows the download of the Digital Shoreline Analysis (DSAS) ArcView extension.
updated: 2003-08-08 pages include:

Publication
Primary Causes of Wetland Loss at Madison Bay, Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana - USGS Open File Report 03-060
Description: The Gulf Coast Basin is a region where subsidence and fault activation are common around large, mature oil and gas fields even though moderately deep hydrocarbon production has generally been disregarded as the primary cause. This project will test the hypothesis that long-term, large-volume oil and gas production in the Gulf Coast Basin has resulted in land-surface subsidence and activation of deep-seated faults around some fields.
updated: 2003-03-11 pages include:

Research Project
Subsidence and Sea-Level Rise in Southeastern Louisiana: Implications for Coastal Management and Restoration
Description: The Mississippi River delta plain is subject to the highest rate of relative sea-level rise (3 ft per century) of any region in the Nation largely due to rapid geologic subsidence. This collaborative study is responsible for developing an objective and reliable scientific database on subsidence and sea-level rise by conducting detailed studies within the Mississippi River delta plain.
updated: 2002-12-12 pages include:

Publication
Wetland Subsidence, Fault Reactivation, and Hydrocarbon Production in the U.S. Gulf Coast Region - USGS Fact Sheet 091-01
Description: Wetland losses are so extensive in the Gulf of Mexico Coast region of the United States that they represent critical concerns to government environmental agencies and natural resource managers.
updated: 2002-09-20 pages include:

Movie
USGS Fact Sheet 095-02: Vulnerability of U.S. National Parks to Sea-Level Rise and Coastal Change
Description: Vulnerability of U.S. National Parks to Sea-Level Rise and Coastal Change
updated: 2002-09-19 pages include:

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Coastal and Marine Geology Program > Online Science Resource Locator > Sea-Level Change