U.S. Geological Survey Oceanographic Time-Series Data Collection

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Description: The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Coastal Change Processes Project conducted a field experiment on the inner continental shelf offshore of Fire Island, New York, in response to Hurricane Sandy to study the coastal processes that mobilize and transport sediment in the region. A previous study in 2012 deployed oceanographic equipment at 9 sites offshore of Fire Island in approximately 20m of water to study the circulation around a series of shore-face connected ridges on the sea floor (http://soundwaves.usgs.gov/2012/08/fieldwork2.html). The specific intent of this 2014 investigation was to measure the alongshore variability of waves along the coast and to measure cross-shore sediment fluxes. Scientists from the USGS, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and the University of South Carolina, deployed oceanographic equipment at nine sites along a 10 km section of coastline in water depths of approximately 12 meters (40 feet), with one site farther offshore at a water depth of approximately 25 meters (80 feet) (http://soundwaves.usgs.gov/2014/02/spotlight3.html).

The equipment consisted mainly of tripods deployed on the sea floor that hold instruments to measure surface waves, ocean currents, water levels, salinity, and temperature. Several sites have additional equipment to measure near-bed turbulence, vertical profiles of suspended-sediment concentrations, and sea floor ripples. All of the sites were guarded with surface buoys to help protect the equipment. Several of the buoys have meteorological sensors to measure wind speed and direction, atmospheric pressure, air temperature, and solar heat fluxes. A specialized buoy that measures surface wave parameters and telemeters data back to shore was deployed at the farthest offshore site.

This effort is in part a response to assess the impacts and to help determine the resiliency of coastal systems, such as Fire Island, to storm events such as Hurricane Sandy. This information will be used to assess the alongshore variability in coastal response to storms. The overall goal is to better understand the processes that cause coastal change and to develop models for forecasting coastal change.

Duration: Feb-May 2014

USGS Principal Investigator: J.C. Warner

Publications:

Armstrong, B.N., Warner, J.C., List, J.H., Martini, M.A., Montgomery, E.T., Traykovski, Peter, and Voulgaris, George, 2015. Coastal Change Processes Project data report for observations near Fire Island, New York, February to May 2014: U.S. Geological Survey Open-File Report 2015-1033, http://dx.doi.org/10.3133/ofr20151033.

Warner, J.C., List, J.H., Schwab, W.C., and Hapke, C.J., 2014, USGS Deploys Oceanographic Gear Offshore of Fire Island, New York Sound Waves, January/February, 2014.

Warner, J.C., List, J.H., 2014,Update on Oceanographic Study Offshore of Fire Island, New York Sound Waves, March/April, 2014.

Field Activity Reports: 2014-004-FA 2014-005-FA.

Revision History

• March 2015 original publication

Please use the following citation when referencing this dataset:

Armstrong, B.N., Warner, J.C., List, J.H., Martini, M.A., Montgomery, E.T., 2015, Oceanographic measurements-- Fire Island, NY, nearshore, 2014: U.S. Geological Survey data release, http://dx.doi.org/10.5066/F7GH9G0B.