| Description |
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center conducted research to quantify bathymetric changes near St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. Changes in seafloor elevation were calculated using historical bathymetric point data from the 1960s and 1970s (see Yates and others, 2017a) and light detection and ranging (lidar)-derived elevation data acquired in 2014 (NOAA, 2015) using methods outlined in Yates and others (2017b). An elevation change analysis between the historical and 2014 data was performed to quantify and map historical impacts to seafloor elevation and to determine elevation-change statistics for 18 habitat types found near St. Thomas. Annual elevation-change rates were calculated for each elevation-change data point. Seafloor elevation-change near St. Thomas was projected 25, 50, 75 and 100 years from 2014 using these historical annual rates of elevation change. Water depth was projected 25, 50, 75 and 100 years from 2014 using historical rates of annual elevation change plus 2014 local sea level rise (SLR) data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). [More]
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