Fact Sheet 2011–3031
1Coastal and Marine Geology Program, USGS National Center, Mail Stop 915-B, 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive, Reston, VA 20192
2USGS Science Coordinator – Gulf of Mexico, Bldg. 1100, Room 108, Stennis Space Center, MS 39529
3U.S. Geological Survey, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, 600 4th Street South, St. Petersburg, FL 33702
![]() SummaryThe northern Gulf of Mexico coastal region and its diverse ecosystems are threatened by population and development pressure and by the impacts of rising sea level and severe storms such as the series of hurricanes that has impacted the northern Gulf in recent years. In response to the complex management issues facing the region, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) organized a multidisciplinary research program to coordinate the activities of USGS and other scientists working in the northern Gulf of Mexico region. The Northern Gulf of Mexico (NGOM) Ecosystem Change and Hazard Susceptibility Project aims to develop a thorough understanding of the dynamic 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. A special issue of Geo-Marine Letters published in December 2009 is devoted to early results of studies completed as part of this project. These studies, which have been conducted at sites throughout the northern Gulf region, from the Chandeleur Islands to Apalachicola Bay, have focused on three themes: (1) the underlying geologic framework that exerts controls over coastal processes, (2) the impact of human activities on nearshore water quality, and (3) hurricanes and associated effects. |
First posted March 29, 2011
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Brock, J.C., Lavoie, D.L., and Poore, R.Z., 2011, Early results from the Northern Gulf of Mexico Ecosystem Change and Hazard Susceptibility Project: U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2011–3031, 4 p.