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Pollution

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photo of pollution Pollution is a major concern in the coastal and marine realm where increasing population pressure and human activities stress a wide variety of natural systems. CMG research aims to map existing pollutant deposits, and improve our knowledge of understanding of how pollutants and particles are transported, deposited, recycled, and stored in marine and coastal settings.

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

These are results 1 through 25 of 85 matches.

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
Scientific Investigations Map 3007: Views of the Sea Floor in Northern Monterey Bay, California
Description: A sonar survey that produced unprecedented high-resolution images of the sea floor in northern Monterey Bay was conducted in 2005 and 2006. The survey, performed over 14 days by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), consisted of 172 tracklines and over 300 million soundings and covered an area of 12.2 km2 (4.7 mi2). The goals of this survey were to collect high-resolution bathymetry (depth to the sea floor) and acoustic backscatter data (amount of sound energy bounced back from the sea floor, which provides information on sea-floor hardness and texture) from the inner continental shelf. These data will provide a baseline for future change analyses, geologic mapping, sediment- and contaminant-transport studies, benthic-habitat delineation, and numerical modeling efforts. The survey shows that the inner shelf in this area is extremely varied in nature, encompassing flat sandy areas, faults, boulder fields, and complex bedrock ridges that support rich marine ecosystems. Furthermore, many of these complex bedrock ridges form the “reefs” that result in a number of California”s classic surf breaks.
updated: 2008-06-09 pages include:

Publication
Scientific Investigations Report 2007-5254: Sources, Dispersal, and Fate of Fine Sediment Supplied to Coastal California
Description: We have investigated the sources, dispersal, and fate of fine sediment supplied to California coastal waters in a partnership between the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the California Sediment Management Workgroup (CSMW). The purpose of this study was to document the rates and characteristics of these processes so that the State can better manage its coastal resources, including sediment.
updated: 2008-02-29 pages include:

Publication
Submarine Ground-Water Discharge: Nutrient Loading and Nitrogen Transformations
Description: In coastal watersheds with soils of high hydraulic conductivity and permeable coastal sediments, ground water is a major route of transport of freshwater and its solutes from land to sea. Freshwater flowing downgradient from aquifers may either discharge from a seepage face near the intertidal zone, or flow directly into the sea as submarine ground-water discharge (SGD).
updated: 2008-02-01 pages include:

Research Project
USGS Northern Gulf of Mexico (NGOM) - Welcome!
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: 2008-01-31 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:

Publication
Habitat and Hydrology: Assessing Biological Resources of the Suwannee River Estuarine System Open-File Report 2007-1382
Description: Habitat and Hydrology: Assessing Biological Resources of the Suwannee River Estuarine System, Open File Report 2007-1382
updated: 2008-01-18 pages include:

Publication
Open-File Report 2006-1288: Circulation and Physical Processes within the San Gabriel River Estuary During Summer 2005
Description: For nearly a decade, dredged material from San Francisco Bay has been deposited at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region IX designated disposal site on the continental slope west of the Farallon Islands. Over the past several years, annual disposal volumes have ranged from 136,170 m3 (61 barge loads) to 2,407,600 m3 (1,173 barge loads) (Ota, personal communication, 2000). The EPA has conducted extensive studies to evaluate the fate and effects of the disposed material (Abdelrhman, 1992; Tetra-Tech, 1992; SAIC, 1992). The EPA has also maintained a long-term monitoring program to collect hydrodynamic, sedimentary, chemical, and biological data that are used to determine whether the dredged material adversely affects the ecology of adjacent water bodies and whether it moves from the disposal site, especially into the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary. As part of this monitoring program, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Coastal and Marine Geology Program (CMGP) deployed arrays of instruments on three moorings near the EPA disposal site from November 1997 to November 1998. This report describes the results and findings of this field monitoring experiment.
updated: 2008-01-11 pages include:

Educational Materials
USGS Monterey Bay Science
Description: USGS Monterey Bay Science - USGS research in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and coastal watersheds of central California
updated: 2008-01-01 pages include:

Educational Materials
Coastal and Marine Knowledge Bank
Description: An initiative to develop and present a national-scale, interdisciplinary scientific framework for marine environments, the coastal zone, and coastal watersheds
updated: 2007-11-28 pages include:

Publication
USGS Circular 1198 - Beyond the Golden Gate - Oceanography, Geology, Biology, and Environmental Issues in the Gulf of the Farallones
Description: The 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: 2006-11-17 pages include:

Publication
U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2005-3061
Description: Predictions of the transport and long-term fate of particles in the coastal ocean are needed to address issues related to commerce, defense, public health, and the quality of the marine environment. For example, models can be used to investigate waste disposal and the transport and fate of contaminated materials; burial rates for naval mines or archaeological artifacts; water-column optical properties; transport and fate of biological particles; prediction of coastal flooding and coastal erosion; impacts of sea-level or wave-climate changes and coastal development; construction and maintenance of navigable waterways; habitat for commercial fisheries; impacts of natural or anthropogenic changes in coastal conditions on recreational activities; and design of intakes and outfalls for sewage treatment, cooling systems, and desalination plants.
updated: 2006-10-20 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:

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
Research Projects: The California Urban Ocean Project - USGS WCMG
Description: Description of research project.
updated: 2006-01-31 pages include:

Publication
Contaminant Transport in Massachusetts Bay
Description: Contaminants have accumulated in sediments of many coastal environments of the United States, particularly those near major metropolitan centers. U.S. Geological Survey scientists provide information about the distribution, severity, and fate of these contaminated sediments that is essential for making informed management decisions about multiple uses of these coastal environments.
updated: 2004-03-02 pages include:

Publication
Metal Concentrations in Sediments of Boston Harbor and Massachusetts Bay Document Environmental Change - USGS Fact Sheet 150-97
Description: Over the last decade, contaminants entering Boston Harbor have been significantly reduced. Although parts of the harbor still contain metals at concentrations above toxicity guidelines for bottom-dwelling animals, we have observed decreasing metal concentrations over time that are encouraging. We are learning which natural sedimentary processes significantly influence the fate and transport of metals in Boston Harbor and Massachusetts Bay.
updated: 2004-03-02 pages include:

Publication
Predicting the Long-Term Fate of Sediments and Contaminants in Massachusetts Bay - USGS Fact Sheet 172-97
Description: Contaminants have accumulated in the sediments of Massachusetts Bay, typical of many coastal areas near major metropolitan centers that have been used for waste disposal since colonial times. Developing an understanding of where and why contaminants accumulate is essential for making informed management decisions about uses of these coastal areas and for developing sound strategies for monitoring environmental change.
updated: 2004-03-02 pages include:

Publication
Predicting the Impact of Relocating Boston's Sewage Outfall - USGS Fact Sheet 185-97
Description: For nearly 300 years, Boston Harbor has been the disposal site for regional sewage. Today, Boston is approaching completion of a $3.5 billion court-ordered cleanup project that includes elimination of sludge discharge, treatment of secondary sewage, and containment of combined sewer overflows. One aspect of the project, however, has created substantial controversy -- the relocation of the sewage outfall from the mouth of Boston Harbor to a new site 15 km offshore in Massachusetts Bay. There is concern that the new outfall, scheduled to begin discharge in October 1998, might turn Massachusetts Bay into the next Boston Harbor and that whales and other species in the region (which includes the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary) might be endangered.
updated: 2004-03-02 pages include:

Publication
Sedimentary Environments in Long Island Sound: A Guide to Sea-Floor Management in a Large Urbanized Estuary - USGS Fact Sheet 041-98
Description: Bottom sedimentary environments, defined by sidescan-sonar patterns, indicate where sea-floor sediments are moved and deposited in the Long Island Sound estuary. The patchy distribution of environments, which reflects both regional and local changes in geologic and oceanographic conditions, provides a predictive framework for those concerned with the management and utilization of the sea floor in this urbanized area.
updated: 2004-03-02 pages include:

Publication
Coastal Erosion of Southern Lake Michigan - USGS Fact Sheet
Description: Geological Survey studies the geologic processes at work in the Great Lakes region because they have direct bearing on the use, management, development, and preservation of the shoreline. It is important to understand how these processes shape our daily lives. About 15 percent of the United States' and 50 percent of Canada's population live along or near the 9,000-kilometer-long coastline of the Great Lakes. About 83 percent of the shoreline is privately-owned with property values as high as $10,000 per linear foot of lakefront.
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
Geology of the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary - USGS Fact Sheet
Description: The geology and oceanography of the Farallones and surrounding area is atypical and complex. These factors complicate the process of understanding the environmental effects of man's influence such as the disposal of dredge spoils and radioactive wastes. Our goal is to assemble, in a non-crisis mode, geological information to support sound management decisions for any purpose.
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:

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