scholarly journals THE FOUNDATION PROBLEMS ON THE GULF COAST

2000 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 13
Author(s):  
Spencer J. Buchanan
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Natural Resources ◽  
Continental Shelf ◽  
Coastal Plain ◽  
Industrial Development ◽  
Gulf Coast ◽  
Coastal Region ◽  
The United States ◽  
Shelf Area ◽  
Offshore Area

The foundation problems of the coastal region of the Gulf of Mexico are unique. Normally, a coastal region is thought of as the land area, such as a plain, adjacent to a body of water. Such a region usually is somewhat regular in its geology and because of the natural resources, terrain or climate may be given to a relatively common industry involving a somewhat similar development throughout. The coastal region of the Gulf of Mexico, as regards the United States, violates this criterion in a multitude of ways. The region is not limited to the coastal plain bordering the Gulf of Mexico, by any means, but, rather has been broadened by our commerce and the need for the development of natural resources to also embrace, the delta areas and offshore belt extending to the limit of the continental shelf, lying as far as 70 miles from the shore. The delta areas have long been avoided in the past by industry of all types that is, with the exception of the fishing industry, because of the unstable nature of the foundation media. Likewise the continental shelf area normally is not considered for industrial development because of the availability of the more desirable coastal plain. However, the quest for natural resources, like sulphur and petroleum, in spite of the efforts toward Federal Control, has made necessary the solution of very extraordinary foundation problems in this offshore area. In addition to the foregoing unusual aspects of the foundation problems of the Gulf Coast, the coastal plain is unusual in itself because this region at one time formed the floor of the Gulf of Mexico and, as the sea receded or the land was uplifted, the residual sedimentary soils have been drained and desiccated to result in unusual formations that serve as foundation media for the industrial and domestic developments of the region. The foregoing factors combine to make the foundation problems of the Gulf of Mexico Coastal Region very interesting.

scholarly journals Multi-Attribute Ecological and Socioeconomic Geodatabase for the Gulf of Mexico Coastal Region of the United States

Data ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 3
Author(s):  
Andrew Shamaskin ◽  
Sathishkumar Samiappan ◽  
Jiangdong Liu ◽  
Jennifer Roberts ◽  
Anna Linhoss ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Gulf Coast ◽  
Coastal Region ◽  
The United States ◽  
Geospatial Data ◽  
Data Driven ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Funding Agency ◽  
Non Profit ◽  
The U.S

Strategic, data driven conservation approaches are increasing in popularity as conservation communities gain access to better science, more computing power, and more data. High resolution geospatial data, indicating ecosystem functions and economic activity, can be very useful for any conservation expert or funding agency. A framework was developed for a data driven conservation prioritization tool and a data visualization tool. The developed tools were then implemented and tested for the U.S. Gulf of Mexico coastal region defined by the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council. As a part of this tool development, priority attributes and data measures were developed for the region through 13 stakeholder charrettes with local, state, federal, and other non-profit organizations involved in land conservation. This paper presents the measures that were developed to reflect stakeholder priorities. These measures were derived from openly available geospatial and non-geospatial data sources. This database contained 19 measures, aggregated into a one km2 hexagonal grid and grouped by the overarching goals of habitat, water quality and quantity, living coastal and marine resources, community resilience, and economy. The developed measures provided useful data for a conservation planning framework in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico coastal region.

Shark Nursery Grounds of the Gulf of Mexico and the East Coast Waters of the United States

2007 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
East Coast ◽  
Gulf Coast ◽  
Atlantic Coast ◽  
The United States ◽  
Shark Species ◽  
Carcharhinus Plumbeus ◽  
Nursery Areas ◽  
Pesticide Metabolites

<em>Abstract.</em>—Because of their tendency to accumulate in estuaries and coastal regions, organochlorine (OC) contaminants such as pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) represent potential threats to the quality of essential fish habitat for many shark species. These compounds pose special risks to immature sharks in particular because of their ability to impair growth and sexual maturation in juvenile fish at environmentally relevant levels of exposure. In order to assess the extent of these risks in shark populations on the East Coast of the United States, the present study examined concentrations of 30 OC pesticides/pesticide metabolites and total PCBs in juvenile sandbar <em>Carcharhinus plumbeus </em>and blacktip <em>C. limbatus </em>sharks from seven major nursery areas in the western Atlantic Ocean and eastern Gulf of Mexico. Quantifiable levels of PCBs and 13 OC pesticides/ pesticide metabolites were detected via gas chromatography and mass spectrometry in liver of 25 young-of-the-year blacktip sharks from the southeastern U.S. Atlantic coast and three regions on Florida’s gulf coast: Cedar Key, Tampa Bay, and Charlotte Harbor. Similarly, quantifiable levels of PCBs and 14 OC pesticides/metabolites were detected in 23 juvenile <em>C. plumbeus </em>from three sites on the northeastern U.S. coast: middle Delaware Bay, lower Chesapeake Bay, and Virginia’s eastern shore. Liver OC concentrations in Atlantic sandbar and blacktip sharks were higher than expected and, in some cases, comparable with elevated levels observed in deep-sea and pelagic sharks. Although significantly lower than those observed in Atlantic sharks, pesticide and PCB levels in Florida blacktip sharks were similar to, if not greater than, OC concentrations reported in adults of other coastal shark species. Based on these data, OC contamination appears to pose significant threats to habitat quality in sandbar and blacktip shark nursery areas on the U.S. Atlantic coast.

scholarly journals Hurricane Katrina (2005). Part I: Complex Life Cycle of an Intense Tropical Cyclone

2007 ◽  
Vol 135 (12) ◽  
pp. 3905-3926 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ron McTaggart-Cowan ◽  
Lance F. Bosart ◽  
John R. Gyakum ◽  
Eyad H. Atallah
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Hurricane Katrina ◽  
Gulf Coast ◽  
The United States ◽  
Historical Record ◽  
Complex Life Cycle ◽  
Loop Current ◽  
The Bahamas ◽  
The Impact

Abstract The devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina (2005) on the Gulf Coast of the United States are without compare for natural disasters in recent times in North America. With over 1800 dead and insured losses near $40 billion (U.S. dollars), Katrina ranks as the costliest and one of the deadliest Atlantic hurricanes in history. This study documents the complex life cycle of Katrina, a storm that was initiated by a tropical transition event in the Bahamas. Katrina intensified to a category-1 hurricane shortly before striking Miami, Florida; however, little weakening was observed as the system crossed the Florida peninsula. An analog climatology is used to show that this behavior is consistent with the historical record for storms crossing the southern extremity of the peninsula. Over the warm Gulf of Mexico waters, Katrina underwent two periods of rapid intensification associated with a warm core ring shed by the Loop Current. Between these spinup stages, the storm doubled in size, leading to a monotonic increase in power dissipation until Katrina reached a superintense state on 28 September. A pair of extremely destructive landfalls in Louisiana followed the weakening of the system over shelf waters. Despite its strength as a hurricane, Katrina did not reintensify following extratropical transition. The evolution of the storm’s outflow anticyclone, however, led to a perturbation of the midlatitude flow that is shown in a companion study to influence the Northern Hemisphere over a period of 2 weeks. An understanding of the varied components of Katrina’s complex evolution is necessary for further developing analysis and forecasting techniques as they apply to storms that form near the North American continent and rapidly intensify over the Gulf of Mexico. Given the observed overall increase in Atlantic hurricane activity since the mid-1990s, an enhanced appreciation for the forcings involved in such events could help to mitigate the impact of similar severe hurricanes in the future.

Recent Developments with Respect to the Continental Shelf

1948 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 849-857 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Young
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Natural Resources ◽  
Continental Shelf ◽  
International Law ◽  
The United States ◽  
Sea Bed ◽  
Recent Developments

The proclamation of the President of the United States on September 28, 1945, declaring as a matter of policy that the natural resources of the subsoil and sea bed of the continental shelf appertain to the United States, proves to have offered a marketable concept in the marts of international law. Six States have followed the example in the last three years, with certain notable modifications of their own, and it appears not improbable that the principle thus put forward may gain increasing acceptance in international practice. It seems appropriate therefore briefly to review various developments with respect to jurisdiction over the continental shelf, the epicontinental sea, and their resources.

scholarly journals Historic and Contemporary Environmental Justice Issues among Native Americans in the Gulf Coast Region of the United States

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Jessica L. Liddell ◽  
Catherine E. McKinley ◽  
Jennifer M. Lilly
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Native American ◽  
Environmental Justice ◽  
Gulf Coast ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Coastal Region ◽  
Geographic Location ◽  
The United States ◽  
Gulf Coast Region ◽  
Coast Region

Settler-colonialism is founded in environmental racism, and environmental justice is foundational to all forms of decolonialization. Native American groups located in the Gulf Coast Region of the United States are particularly vulnerable to environmental justice issues such as climate change and oil spills due to their geographic location and reliance on the coastal region for economic and social resources. This study used the framework of historical oppression, resilience, and transcendence (FHORT) to explore the historic and contemporary forms of environmental injustice experienced by a Native American tribe in the Gulf Coast region of the United States. This critical ethnography analyzeda series of individual, family, and focus group semi-structured qualitative interviews with a total of 208 participants. Following the critical ethnographic method, data were interpreted through reconstructive analysis using NVivo. Findings of this study reveal the continuing impact of the BP oil spill and difficulty accessing resources following the spill, complicated by the tribe’s lack of federal recognition. Additional themes include the continuing impact of coastal erosion, historical and contemporary land loss, geographic marginalization, and concerns about a loss of tribal identity when tribal members are forced to relocate. Lack of federal tribal recognition has exacerbated all of these issues for this tribe. This study supports national findings that Native American groups experience extensive historic and contemporary environmental injustices and contextualizes these findings for a Native American tribe in the Gulf Coast region of the United States. Recognizing Native American sovereignty is key to addressing the environmental justice issues described.

scholarly journals Land Conservation in the Gulf of Mexico Region: A Comprehensive Review of Plans, Priorities, and Efforts

Land ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 84 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sathishkumar Samiappan ◽  
Andrew Shamaskin ◽  
Jiangdong Liu ◽  
Jennifer Roberts ◽  
Anna Linhoss ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Gulf Coast ◽  
Coastal Region ◽  
Land Conservation ◽  
Federal State ◽  
Conservation Priorities ◽  
Conservation Effort ◽  
Internet Searches ◽  
Conservation Plans ◽  
Extensive List

An unprecedented land conservation effort is presently underway in the Gulf of Mexico Coastal Region (GCR) due to an influx of funds from settlements related to the 2012 RESTORE Act. A complete understanding of the priorities of the states in the GCR is critical to ensure that land conservation planning efforts are implemented effectively and efficiently. The paper reviews past, current, and future land conservation priorities in the GCR to inform strategic planning efforts. This review catalogs an extensive list of projects and plans proposed and implemented at federal, state, county, and city levels with direct ties to land conservation during the past 20 years. Comprehensive restoration goals proposed by the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration (Restore) Council were used as a framework for grouping priorities within conservation plans and projects. Plans were first compiled via internet searches and expert sources, then a series of eight stakeholder charrettes were held across the GCR states to validate the catalog and add missing projects and plans. A geospatial web tool was developed using the Restore Council goal framework to allow for the identification and exploration of plans in the GCR.

Paleogeography and Sea Level Positions on the Southeastern U.S. Continental Margin Since the LGM

2018 ◽  
pp. 90-107
Author(s):  
M. Scott Harris
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Continental Shelf ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Continental Margin ◽  
Coastal Plain ◽  
West Coast ◽  
The West ◽  
Level Curves ◽  
And Sea Level

Southeastern U.S. sea level curves are presented, showing that at LGM there was an increase of 25% to 50% more Coastal Plain exposed than there was available for Paleoamericans. Using GIA-corrected bathymetry from 26KA to present, including shorelines from Virginia to the Gulf of Mexico, this chapter demonstrates that Clovis and Pre-Clovis populations could have lived on the edge of the continental shelf, including Bull Scarp, except for the west coast of Florida.

Company Towns in the United States

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hardy Green
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Natural Resources ◽  
Industrial Development ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
The United States ◽  
Small Towns ◽  
High Tech ◽  
Company Towns ◽  
Gary Indiana ◽  
Social Experimentation

Company towns can be defined as communities dominated by a single company, typically focused on one industry. Beyond that very basic definition, company towns varied in their essentials. Some were purpose-built by companies, often in remote areas convenient to needed natural resources. There, workers were often required to live in company-owned housing as a condition of employment. Others began as small towns with privately owned housing, usually expanding alongside a growing hometown corporation. Residences were shoddy in some company towns. In others, company-built housing may have been excellent, with indoor plumbing and central heating, and located close to such amenities as schools, libraries, perhaps even theaters. Company towns played a key role in US economic and social development. Such places can be found across the globe, but America’s vast expanse of undeveloped land, generous stock of natural resources, tradition of social experimentation, and laissez-faire attitude toward business provided singular opportunities for the emergence of such towns, large and small, in many regions of the United States. Historians have identified as many as 2,500 such places. A tour of company towns can serve as a survey of the country’s industrial development, from the first large-scale planned industrial community—the textile town of Lowell, Massachusetts—to Appalachian mining villages, Western lumber towns, and steelmaking principalities such as the mammoth development at Gary, Indiana. More recent office-park and high-tech industrial-park complexes probably do not qualify as company towns, although they have some similar attributes. Nor do such planned towns as Disney Corporation’s Celebration, Florida, qualify, despite close ties to a single corporation, because its residents do not necessarily work for Disney. Company towns have generally tended toward one of two models. First, and perhaps most familiar, are total institutions—communities where one business exerts a Big Brother–ish grip over the population, controlling or even taking the place of government, collecting rent on company-owned housing, dictating buying habits (possibly at the company store), and even directing where people worship and how they may spend their leisure time. A second form consists of model towns—planned, ideal communities backed by companies that promised to share their bounty with workers and families. Several such places were carefully put together by experienced architects and urban planners. Such model company towns were marked by a paternalistic, watchful attitude toward the citizenry on the part of the company overlords.

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