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Corals

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Corals:
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photo of coral Coral reef ecosystems in the Florida Keys, Hawaii, and the U.S.-affiliated islands in the Pacific and Caribbean thrive in clear, nutrient-poor waters. Small increases in the nutrient content of coastal waters (associated with fertilizer and sewage discharge) may upset the fragile balance necessary to maintain the health of economically important coral reefs. Additional detrimental effects may be caused as well by increased turbidity due to anthropogenic activity and by increased salinity due to poor water management practices.
Other related USGS websites:
Florida Caribbean Science Center
U.S. Coral Reef Task Force

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

These are results 1 through 25 of 49 matches.

Publication
Open-File Report 2008-1295: Coastal Circulation and Sediment Dynamics in Hanalei Bay, Kaua'i, Part IV, Measurements of Waves, Currents, Temperature, Salinity, and Turbidity, June-September 2006
Description: High-resolution measurements of waves, currents, water levels, temperature, salinity and turbidity were made in Hanalei Bay, northern Kaua‘i, Hawai‘i, during the summer of 2006 to better understand coastal circulation, sediment dynamics, and the potential impact of a river flood in a coral reef-lined embayment during quiescent summer conditions. A series of bottommounted instrument packages were deployed in water depths of 10 m or less to collect long-term, high-resolution measurements of waves, currents, water levels, temperature, salinity, and turbidity. These data were supplemented with a series of profiles through the water column to characterize the vertical and spatial variability in water column properties within the bay. These measurements support the ongoing process studies being conducted as part of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Coastal and Marine Geology Program’s Pacific Coral Reef Project; the ultimate goal is to better understand the transport mechanisms of sediment, larvae, pollutants, and other particles in coral reef settings. Information regarding the USGS study conducted in Hanalei Bay during the 2005 summer is available in Storlazzi and others (2006), Draut and others (2006) and Carr and others (2006). This report, the last part in a series, describes data acquisition, processing, and analysis for the 2006 summer data set.
updated: 2008-10-08 pages include:

Publication
Open-File Report 2008-1215: Winds, Waves, Tides, and the Resulting Flow Patterns and Fluxes of Water, Sediment, and Coral Larvae off West Maui, Hawaii
Description: A series of recent studies has focused on the flow patterns and particle fluxes along the coast of West Maui, Hawaii, USA, from Honolua south to Puumana. From those studies a relatively good understanding has emerged of the physical processes that influence the relative amount of suspended sediment in nearshore waters and the circulation patterns that transport sediment and coral larvae along the coast and between islands. This report is a synthesis of our existing knowledge on the nature of flow and transport off West Maui.
updated: 2008-07-02 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 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 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 - 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
USGS FS 2007-3065 --- Kellogg
Description: Coral disease is a major cause of reef decline in the Florida Keys. Bacterium has been defined as the most common pathogen (disease-causing organism). Although much is being done to catalog coral diseases, map their locations, determine the causes of disease, or measure the rates of coral demise, very little research has been directed toward actually preventing or eliminating the diseases affecting coral and coral reef decline.
updated: 2008-02-01 pages include:

Publication
USGS Professional Paper 1751: Systematic Mapping of Bedrock and Habitats along the Florida Reef Tract--Central Key Largo to Halfmoon Shoal
Description: Systematic Mapping of Bedrock and Habitats along the Florida Reef Tract: Central Key Largo to Halfmoon Shoal (Gulf of Mexico) details the bio/geologic record in the Florida Keys from 325,000 years ago to the present.
updated: 2008-01-23 pages include:

General Information
El Niño Home Page
Description: El Niño information with links to a broad range of topics such as Floods, Landslides, Coastal Hazards, Climate, News Releases.
updated: 2007-09-30 pages include:

Publication
Open-File Report 2005-1070: Moloka'i Benthic Habitat Mapping
Description: In order to provide evidence of change in any ecosystem, one must first have a starting point, or "baseline" inventory of resources. Thematic maps providing this baseline inventory are an important tool in assessing change in coral reef ecosystems, allowing scientists to spatially document the location of corals, percentage of coral cover, and relative overall health of the system. In the last decade, scientists and managers have recognized the lack of thematic maps for coral reefs worldwide. In 1998, the President of the U.S. issued Executive Order 13089 establishing the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force (CRTF). Comprised of several Federal agencies, including the U.S. Geological Survey, the primary duty of the CRTF is mapping and monitoring of coral reefs in the U.S. and U.S. Trust Territories. U.S. Geological Survey Open File Report 2005-1070 Version 1.0 Moloka'i Benthic Habitat Mapping By Susan A. Cochran-Marquez USGS Pacific Science Center Santa Cruz, CA Introduction In order to provide evidence of change in any ecosystem, one must first have a starting point, or "baseline" inventory of resources. Thematic maps providing this baseline inventory are an important tool in assessing change in coral reef ecosystems, allowing scientists to spatially document the location of corals, percentage of coral cover, and relative overall health of the system. In the last decade, scientists and managers have recognized the lack of thematic maps for coral reefs worldwide. In 1998, the President of the U.S. issued Executive Order 13089 establishing the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force (CRTF). Comprised of several Federal agencies, including the U.S. Geological Survey, the primary duty of the CRTF is mapping and monitoring of coral reefs in the U.S. and U.S. Trust Territories. Moloka'i is one of the main eight Hawaiian Islands (Figure 1). The south shore of Moloka'i is home to the most continuous fringing coral reef in U.S. waters...
updated: 2007-07-05 pages include:

Publication
Open-File Report 2006-1125: Coastal Circulation and Sediment Dynamics in Hanalei Bay, Kaua'i, Hawaii, Part II, Tracking Recent Fluvial Sedimentation; Isotope Stratigraphy Obtained in Summer 2005
Description: Delivery and dispersal of fluvial sediment in Hanalei Bay, Kaua’i, Hawaii, have important implications for the health of local coral reefs. The reef community in Hanalei Bay represents a relatively healthy ecosystem. However, the reefs are periodically stressed by storm waves, and increases in sediment and dissolved substances from the Hanalei River have the potential to cause additional stress. Increased turbidity and sedimentation on corals during Hanalei River floods that occur in seasons of low wave energy, when sediment would not be readily remobilized and advected out of the bay, could affect the health and sustainability of coral reefs and the many associated species.
updated: 2006-08-04 pages include:

Publication
Open-File Report 2006-1085: Coastal Circulation and Sediment Dynamics in Hanalei Bay, Kaua'i, Part I, Measurements of waves, currents, temperature, salinity and turbidity; June - August, 2005
Description: High-resolution measurements of waves, currents, water levels, temperature, salinity and turbidity were made in Hanalei Bay, northern Kaua’i, Hawaii, during the summer of 2005 to better understand coastal circulation and sediment dynamics in coral reef habitats.
updated: 2006-08-04 pages include:

Publication
Open-File Report 2006-1147: Coastal Circulation and Sediment Dynamics in Hanalei Bay, Kaua'i, Hawaii, Part III, Studies of Sediment Toxicity
Description: In this study purple-spined sea urchin (Arbacia punctulata) fertilization and embryological development porewater toxicity tests were used to evaluate the sediments collected from the coastal environment around Hanalei Bay, Kaua’i, Hawaii. These tests have been used previously to assess the bioavailability of contaminants associated with sediments in the vicinity of coral reefs.
updated: 2006-08-04 pages include:

Publication
Microbial Ecology in Reef Sediments of Biscayne National Park
Description: 'Microbial Ecology in Reef Sediments of Biscayne National Park' is a 4-page discussion of bacterial communities as a critical component of the coral reef ecosystem.
updated: 2006-05-02 pages include:

Research Project
Integrated Remote Sensing and Modeling Group
Description: The Integrated Remote Sensing and Modeling Group conducts investigations of the physical structure and ecological function of coastal ecosystems. The scope of IRSMG projects includes wetlands, estuaries, barrier islands, and coral reef ecosystems occurring about the United States and Caribbean coastal fringe. The IRSMG seeks to marry technical advances in remote sensing from satellite, aircraft, and vessel-based platforms with the natural resource management needs of National Seashores, National Parks, marine sanctuaries, and agencies responsible for the environmental health of major estuaries. The applied research activities of the IRSMG aim to incorporate emerging remote sensing methods in the investigation of the community metabolism and habitat complexity of coastal ecosystems.
updated: 2006-04-13 pages include:

Publication
Open-File Report 2005-1068: Measurements of waves, currents, temperature, salinity and turbidity in Honolua Bay, Northwest Maui: 2003-2004
Description: High-resolution measurements of waves, currents, water levels, temperature, salinity and turbidity were made in Honolua Bay, northwest Maui, Hawaii, during 2003 and 2004 to better understand coastal dynamics in coral reef habitats. Measurements were acquired through two different collection methods. Two hydrographic survey cruises were conducted to acquire spatially-extensive, but temporally-limited, three-dimensional measurements of currents, temperature, salinity and turbidity in the winter and summer of 2003. From mid 2003 through early 2004, a bottom-mounted instrument package was deployed in a water depth of 10 m to collect long-term, single-point high-resolution measurements of waves, currents, water levels, temperature, salinity and turbidity. The purpose of these measurements was to collect hydrographic data to learn how waves, currents and water column properties such as water temperature, salinity and turbidity vary spatially and temporally in a near-shore coral reef system adjacent to a major stream drainage. These measurements support the ongoing process studies being conducted as part of the (USGS Coastal and Marine Geology Program's Coral Reef Project; the ultimate goal is to better understand the transport mechanisms of sediment, larvae, pollutants and other particles in coral reef settings. This report, the final part in a series, describes data acquisition, processing and analysis.
updated: 2006-02-23 pages include:

Research Project
Coral Mortality and African Dust
Description: Why have coral reefs that are bathed in clear oceanic waters throughout much of the Caribbean suffered algal infestation, coral diseases, and near extinction of herbivorous sea urchins from the 1970s through early 1990s? The best known factors detrimental to coral reefs do not apply for many of the affected reefs where human population is low.
updated: 2006-02-14 pages include:

Research Project
Coral Microbial Ecology
Description: Coral microbial ecology is the study of the relationship of coral-associated microorganisms to each other, the coral host, and to their environment.
updated: 2006-02-14 pages include:

Research Project
Research Projects - Integrated Geologic Studies of Coral Reefs: Impacts from Land-Based Pollution and Sea Level Rise
Description: Description of research project.
updated: 2005-07-17 pages include:

Photographs
Tsunamis and Earthquakes - 2005 Sumatra Tsunami Study - USGS WCMG
Description: USGS Western Coastal and Marine Geology was part of an international team that studied sediment deposits in Sri Lanka from the tsunami generated by the magnitude 9.0 Sumatra earthquake on December 26, 2004.
updated: 2005-05-31 pages include:

Research Project
Pulley Ridge
Description: Pulley Ridge is a 100+ km-long series of N-S trending, drowned, barrier islands on the southwest Florida Shelf approximately 250 km west of Cape Sable, Florida. The ridge has been mapped using multibeam bathymetry, submarines and remotely operated vehicles, and a variety of geophysical tools. The ridge is a subtle feature about 5 km across with less than 10 m of relief. The shallowest parts of the ridge are about 60 m deep. Surprisingly at this depth, the southern portion of the ridge hosts an unusual variety of zooxanthellate scleractinian corals, green, red and brown macro algae, and typically shallow-water tropical fishes.
updated: 2005-03-18 pages include:

Publication
Open-File Report 03-482: Long-term measurements of currents, temperature, salinity and turbidity off Kahana, West Maui: 2001-2003
Description: Long-term (15 months), high-resolution measurements of currents, water levels, temperature, salinity and turbidity were made off West Maui, Hawaii, in 2001-2003 to better understand coastal dynamics in coral reef habitats.
updated: 2005-03-08 pages include:

Publication
Open-File Report 03-430: 2003 Hydrographic Survey Cruises A-3-03-HW and A-4-03-HW Report on the spatial structure of currents, temperature, salinity and turbidity along Western Maui
Description: Two multi-day hydrographic survey cruises were conducted to acquire spatially extensive, high-resolution three-dimensional measurements of currents, temperature, salinity and turbidity were made off West Maui in the winter and summer of 2003 to better understand coastal dynamics in coral reef habitats.
updated: 2005-03-08 pages include:

Publication
Open-File Report 2004-1287: Flow and Particulate Dynamics During the 2003 Summer Coral Spawning Season
Description: High-resolution measurements of currents, temperature, salinity and turbidity were made over the course of three months off West Maui in the summer and early fall of 2003 to better understand coastal dynamics in coral reef habitats.
updated: 2005-03-08 pages include:

Publication
High-Energy Storms Shape Puerto Rico - USGS Fact Sheet
Description: Geologists have known for many years that damage inflicted by hurricanes on coastal areas may be less important for the long-term evolution of a coast than the effects of less intense, but more frequent, storm events. Indeed, high-energy storms may be needed to maintain the health of delicate marine ecologies in the coastal environment. Marine geologists of the U.S. Geological Survey working in Puerto Rico are confident that the long-term effects of Hurricane Hugo on the coastal environment are minimal, though the economic damage was significant. Detailed oceanographic studies are needed to define the sediment budget of the nearshore areas of Puerto Rico and to provide baseline information for studying storm effects.
updated: 2004-03-02 pages include:

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