Charlotte Harbor is America's 17th largest and Florida's second largest open water estuary. It has a broad barrier island chain, large parts of which are in public ownership; its mangrove shoreline is largely intact and in public management. Regardless, the Charlotte Harbor Watershed is under significant development pressure with potential impact on storm water run-off characteristics, salinity patterns and temporal variations within the harbor, and nutrient and turbidity levels. The Harbor itself is ...

The Estero Bay watershed is under significant development pressure with potential impacts on storm water runoff characteristics, and changes in salinity patterns, nutrient and turbidity levels. Environmental quality in the bay is particularly vulnerable to future degradation due to increasing urbanization and the Bay's limited volume. In recent years, the Caloosahatchee Estuary system has also been impacted due to development and water management activities. These impacts have prompted the development of ...

Land development and alterations of the ecosystem in South Florida have decreased freshwater and increased nutrient flows into Florida Bay. As a result, there has been a decrease in the water quality of the bay; the decline in water quality has prompted sea grass die-offs and has led to reduced fish populations. Restoration of water quality in Florida Bay will depend partly upon using numerical-circulation and sediment-transport models to establish water-quality targets and to assess progress toward ...

During the last few decades, the coastal environments of south Florida have shown signs of ecological deterioration that has been attributed to changes in freshwater inflows caused by management practices and corresponding increases of salinity and nutrient content in estuarine waters. With plans to restore water levels in the Southern Golden Gate Estates area north of Tamiami Trail to more natural conditions, changes are expected in the amount, timing, and distribution of freshwater discharge through ...

Lake Okeechobee is located in south Florida and is bounded by the Kissimmee River Basin to the north and Everglades National Park to the south. Lake Okeechobee is the largest lake (1890 km2) in Florida and encompasses a drainage area of over 14,200 km2. The lake provides agricultural water supply, back-up water supply for urban areas, flood protection to adjacent communities, critical bird and fisheries habitats, is part of the Okeechobee Waterway navigation canal, and boating recreation. Over the past 100 ...

Lemon Bay is a long narrow body of water on the west central Florida coast, straddling both Sarasota and Charlotte counties. It encompasses nearly 7700 acres and ranges in depth from 7 meters (m) at Stump Pass to less than 10 centimeters (cm) on the many emergent shoals throughout the bay. The bay is home to a sizeable manatee population where they feed in the very shallow waters on sea grass. Manatees have been satellite tracked and found their daily routine includes moving to and from grass flats ...

The Loxahatchee River and estuary is a small (544 square miles), shallow, water body located in Southeastern Florida that empties into the Atlantic Ocean at Jupiter Inlet. The watershed drains an area of over 200 square miles within northern Palm Beach and southern Martin counties. Historically this system was primarily fresh-water; however, tidal flows opened the inlet for some of the time. In 1947, the inlet was dredged for navigation and has remained permanently open since that time. Drainage patterns ...

During the past century, river and tidal creeks through the coastal wetlands of the Everglades have filled with sediment and vegetation of surrounding landscapes to the point that many have greatly diminished or disappeared entirely. Restoration plans are under consideration to redirect additional freshwater inflow from the Everglades to open and sustain these waterways to a level that closely resembles historic patterns. The South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) has developed hydrodynamic ...

Tampa Bay and its environs have experienced phenomenal urban growth and significant changes in land-use practices over the past 50 years. This trend is expected to continue, with human activity intensifying and affecting a wider geographic region. Urbanization has created impervious surfaces, which increase storm water run-off and contribute to higher levels of chemicals flowing into the area's waters. These chemicals have contributed to declines of sea-grasses and other marine life. A major focus of the ...

Restoration of the Everglades requires the implementation of many components staged temporally and spatially with results realized on different time and spatial scales. Due to extensive feeding and migratory patterns of manatees, restoration effects on Florida manatees must be modeled monitored over large time and space scales. U.S. Geological Survey efforts have focused on collecting manatee movement data throughout the Ten Thousand Islands (TTI) region, and developing an individual-based model for ...

The Caloosahatchee River is located in Southwest Florida and drains northern parts of the Florida Everglades. It stretches 110 km (68 miles) inland and empties into the Gulf of Mexico at Ft. Myers and Cape Coral, FL. The lower section of the river is part of the Estero Bay Estuary system providing critical habitat for a large variety of plants and animals. The river has been greatly altered for navigation, agricultural and human development needs and its flow is managed by a series of upland locks and dams. ...

Land development and alterations of the ecosystem in South Florida have decreased freshwater and increased nutrient flows into Florida Bay. As a result, there has been a decrease in the water quality of the bay; the decline in water quality has prompted sea grass die-offs and has led to reduced fish populations. Restoration of water quality in Florida Bay will depend partly upon using numerical-circulation and sediment-transport models to establish water-quality targets and to assess progress toward ...

Lake Okeechobee is located in south Florida and is bounded by the Kissimmee River Basin to the north and Everglades National Park to the south. Lake Okeechobee is the largest lake (1,890 square kilometers [km2]) in Florida and encompasses a drainage area of over 14,200 km2. The lake provides agricultural water supply, back-up water supply for urban areas, flood protection to adjacent communities, critical bird and fisheries habitats, is part of the Okeechobee Waterway navigation canal, and offers boating ...

Tampa Bay and its environs have experienced phenomenal urban growth and significant changes in land-use practices over the past 50 years. This trend is expected to continue, with human activity intensifying and affecting a wider geographic region. Urbanization has created impervious surfaces, which increase storm water run-off and contribute to higher levels of chemicals flowing into the area's waters. These chemicals have contributed to declines of sea-grasses and other marine life. A major focus of the ...

High resolution bathymetry mapping of the coastal rivers and inland lakes along the Southwest coast of Everglades National Park (ENP) is greatly needed from the perspective of resource mapping and future research and hydrologic modeling efforts. To this end, bathymetric surveys of 8 coastal rivers were completed in 2004 as part of a cooperative project between the US Geological Survey (USGS) and the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD). Recent analyses of geo-databases from the project in 2004 ...

During the past century, river and tidal creeks through the coastal wetlands of the Everglades have filled with sediment and vegetation of surrounding landscapes to the point that many have greatly diminished or disappeared entirely. Restoration plans are under consideration to redirect additional freshwater inflow from the Everglades to open and sustain these waterways to a level that closely resembles historic patterns. In the last 100 years, requirements for water supply and flood protection for urban ...

High resolution bathymetry mapping of the coastal rivers and inland lakes along the Southwest coast of Everglades National Park (ENP) is greatly needed from the perspective of resource mapping and future research and hydrologic modeling efforts. To this end, bathymetric surveys of 8 coastal rivers were completed in 2004 as part of a cooperative project between the US Geological Survey (USGS) and the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD). Recent analyses of geo_databases from the project in 2004 ...

The Cape Canaveral Coastal System (CCCS) is a prominent feature along the Southeast U.S. coastline and is the only large cape south of Cape Fear, North Carolina. Most of the CCCS lies within the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and included in its boundaries are the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS), NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC), and a large portion of Canaveral National Seashore. The actual promontory of the modern cape falls within the jurisdictional boundaries of the CCAFS. These ...

The Cape Canaveral Coastal System (CCCS) is a prominent feature along the Southeast U.S. coastline and is the only large cape south of Cape Fear, North Carolina. Most of the CCCS lies within the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and included in its boundaries are the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS), NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC), and a large portion of Canaveral National Seashore. The actual promontory of the modern cape falls within the jurisdictional boundaries of the CCAFS. These ...

The Cape Canaveral Coastal System (CCCS) is a prominent feature along the Southeast U.S. coastline and is the only large cape south of Cape Fear, North Carolina. Most of the CCCS lies within the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and included in its boundaries are the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS), NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC), and a large portion of Canaveral National Seashore. The actual promontory of the modern cape falls within the jurisdictional boundaries of the CCAFS. These ...

The Cape Canaveral Coastal System (CCCS) is a prominent feature along the Southeast U.S. coastline and is the only large cape south of Cape Fear, North Carolina. Most of the CCCS lies within the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and included in its boundaries are the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS), NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC), and a large portion of Canaveral National Seashore. The actual promontory of the modern cape falls within the jurisdictional boundaries of the CCAFS. These ...

The Cape Canaveral Coastal System (CCCS) is a prominent feature along the Southeast U.S. coastline and is the only large cape south of Cape Fear, North Carolina. Most of the CCCS lies within the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and included in its boundaries are the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS), NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC), and a large portion of Canaveral National Seashore. The actual promontory of the modern cape falls within the jurisdictional boundaries of the CCAFS. These ...

The Cape Canaveral Coastal System (CCCS) is a prominent feature along the Southeast U.S. coastline and is the only large cape south of Cape Fear, North Carolina. Most of the CCCS lies within the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and included in its boundaries are the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS), NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC), and a large portion of Canaveral National Seashore. The actual promontory of the modern cape falls within the jurisdictional boundaries of the CCAFS. These ...

The Cape Canaveral Coastal System (CCCS) is a prominent feature along the Southeast U.S. coastline, and is the only large cape south of Cape Fear, North Carolina. Most of the CCCS lies within the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and included in its boundaries are the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS), NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and a large portion of Canaveral National Seashore. The actual promontory of the modern Cape falls within the jurisdictional boundaries of CCAFS. These various ...

The data from the bathymetric mapping of Lake Okeechobee are provided in two forms: as raw data files and as elevation contour maps

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the University of New Orleans (UNO) and the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources (LDNR), conducted a high-resolution, single-beam bathymetric survey along the southern Louisiana coastal zone from Belle Pass to Caminada Pass. The survey consisted of 483 line-kilometers of data acquired in July and August of 2005. This report outlines the methodology and provides the data from the survey. Analysis of the data and comparison to a similar bathymetric ...

Single-beam bathymetric surveys were conducted on July 27-29, 2010 along 37 cross-shore transects offshore from Cape Canaveral, Fla. The transects were spaced 500 meters (m) apart in the alongshore direction and each was approximately five kilometers (km) long in the cross-shore.

The Gulf Islands National Seashore (GUIS) is composed of a series of barrier islands along the Mississippi - Alabama coastline. Historically these islands have been undergoing long-term change. The devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 prompted questions about the stability of the barrier islands and their potential response against future storm impacts. Additionally, there was concern from the National Park Service (NPS) about the preservation of the historical Fort Massachusetts, located on West Ship ...

The Gulf Islands National Seashore (GUIS) is composed of a series of barrier islands along the Mississippi - Alabama coastline. Historically these islands have been undergoing long-term change. The devastation of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 prompted questions about the stability of the barrier islands and their potential response against future storm impacts. Additionally, there was concern from the National Park Service (NPS) about the preservation of the historical Fort Massachusetts, located on West Ship ...

During the summers of 2008 and 2009 the USGS conducted bathymetric surveys from West Ship Island, Miss., to Dauphin Island, Ala., as part of the Northern Gulf of Mexico (NGOM) Ecosystem Change and Hazard Susceptibility project. The survey area extended from the shoreline out to approximately 2 kilometers and included the adjacent passes. The bathymetry was primarily used to create a topo-bathymetric map and provide a base-level assessment of the seafloor following the 2005 hurricane season. Additionally, ...

Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center in St. Petersburg, Florida, collected bathymetric data along the upper shoreface and within the wilderness breach at Fire Island, New York, in June 2014. The U.S. Geological Survey is involved in a post-Hurricane Sandy effort to map and monitor the morphologic evolution of the shoreface along Fire Island and model the evolution of the wilderness breach as a part of the Hurricane Sandy Supplemental Project GS2-2B ...

Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center in St. Petersburg, Florida, collected bathymetric data along the upper shoreface and within the wilderness breach at Fire Island, New York, in June 2014. The U.S. Geological Survey is involved in a post-Hurricane Sandy effort to map and monitor the morphologic evolution of the shoreface along Fire Island and model the evolution of the wilderness breach as a part of the Hurricane Sandy Supplemental Project GS2-2B ...

Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center in St. Petersburg, Florida, collected bathymetric data along the upper shoreface and within the wilderness breach at Fire Island, New York, in June 2014. The U.S. Geological Survey is involved in a post-Hurricane Sandy effort to map and monitor the morphologic evolution of the shoreface along Fire Island and model the evolution of the wilderness breach as a part of the Hurricane Sandy Supplemental Project GS2-2B ...

Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center in St. Petersburg, Florida, collected bathymetric data along the upper shoreface and within the wilderness breach at Fire Island, New York, in June 2014. The U.S. Geological Survey is involved in a post-Hurricane Sandy effort to map and monitor the morphologic evolution of the shoreface along Fire Island and model the evolution of the wilderness breach as a part of the Hurricane Sandy Supplemental Project GS2-2B ...

Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center in St. Petersburg, Florida, collected bathymetric data along the upper shoreface and within the wilderness breach at Fire Island, New York, in June 2014. The U.S. Geological Survey is involved in a post-Hurricane Sandy effort to map and monitor the morphologic evolution of the shoreface along Fire Island and model the evolution of the wilderness breach as a part of the Hurricane Sandy Supplemental Project GS2-2B ...

Scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center in St. Petersburg, Florida, collected bathymetric data along the upper shoreface and within the wilderness breach at Fire Island, New York, in June 2014. The U.S. Geological Survey is involved in a post-Hurricane Sandy effort to map and monitor the morphologic evolution of the shoreface along Fire Island and model the evolution of the wilderness breach as a part of the Hurricane Sandy Supplemental Project GS2-2B ...