The U.S. Atlantic large coastal shark fishery grew rapidly during the 1980s when commercial landings increased from 135 metric tons (t) in 1979 to a high of 7122 t in 1989 (NMFS, 1993). In 1993, a quota of 2750 t was established; in 1997 this quota was halved to 1375 t in order to rebuild depleted shark stocks. This fishery targets several species of sharks that are valued for fins (exported to...

Coastal mapping is essential for a number of applications such as coastal resource management, coastal environmental protection, and coastal development and planning. Coastal mapping has been carried out using a wide range of techniques such as ground surveying and aerial mapping. Recently, satellite images, active sensor elevation models, and multispectral and hyperspectral images have also be...

This paper evaluates the IPCC Technical Guidelines for Assessing Climate Change Impacts and Adaptations with respect to the guidance offered for coastal-adaptation assessment. It appears that the IPCC Technical Guidelines focus strongly on implementation. This paper uses both conceptual and empirical information is used in this paper to show that coastal adaptation embraces more than selecting ...

Threats to beaches have accelerated the coastal destruction. In recent decades, geotextile tubes were used around the world to prevent coastal erosion, to encourage beach nourishment, and to assist mangrove rehabilitation. However, the applications of geotextile tube in sandy and muddy coasts have different concerns as the geological settings are different. Applications of geotextile tubes in s...

Land cover changes significantly influence vegetation greenness in different regions. Dense Landsat time series stacks provide unique opportunity to analyze land cover change and vegetation greenness trends at finer spatial scale. In the past three decades, large reclamation activities have greatly changed land cover and vegetation growth of coastal areas. However, rarely has research investiga...

Introduction: The California Coastal Sediment Management Workgroup (CSMW) has requested proposals from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Western Coastal and Marine Geology Team (WCMG) to evaluate the transport and fate of fine sediments discharged into California coastal waters. The rationale for this proposed work is a need to better understand the environmental consequences of beach nourishme...

This EA Sourcebook Update focuses on assessing the potential environmental impacts of proposed sewage outfalls on coastal waters and estuaries. It is intended to assist those involved in managing coastal wastewater discharges and planning appropriate levels of pollution control. It complements Environmental Sourcebook Updates nos. 2, 7 and 10 concerned respectively with environmental screening,...

Coastal environment is controlled by a complex interaction of physical, chemical, biological, and geological processes. Physical processes are responsible for controlling the transport and distribution of all dissolved and suspended matters in coastal waters. A comprehensive understanding of these processes is crucial to the design and implementation of management strategies that track ecosyste...