NASA Logo

NTRS

NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server

Collections About News Help Login
Back to Results
Using Remote Sensing Data to Evaluate Habitat Loss in the Mobile, Galveston, and Tampa Bay WatershedsThe Gulf of Mexico has experienced dramatic wetland habitat area losses over the last two centuries. These losses not only damage species diversity, but contribute to water quality, flood control, and aspects of the Gulf coast economy. Overall wetland losses since the 1950s were examined using land cover/land use (LCLU) change analysis in three Gulf coast watershed regions: Mobile Bay, Galveston Bay, and Tampa Bay. Two primary causes of this loss, LCLU change and climate change, were then assessed using LCLU maps, U.S. census population data, and available current and historical climate data from NOAA. Sea level rise, precipitation, and temperature effects were addressed, with emphasis on analysis of the effects of sea level rise on salt marsh degradation. Ecological impacts of wetland loss, including fishery depletion, eutrophication, and hypoxia were addressed using existing literature and data available from NOAA. These ecological consequences in turn have had an affect on the Gulf coast economy, which was analyzed using fishery data and addressing public health impacts of changes in the environment caused by wetland habitat loss. While recent federal and state efforts to reduce wetland habitat loss have been relatively successful, this study implies a need for more aggressive action in the Gulf coast area, as the effects of wetland loss reach far beyond individual wetland systems themselves to the Gulf of Mexico as a whole.
Document ID
20110014663
Acquisition Source
Marshall Space Flight Center
Document Type
Preprint (Draft being sent to journal)
Authors
Steffen, Morgan (NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL, United States)
Estes, Maurice G. (Universities Space Research Association Huntsville, AL, United States)
Al-Hamdan, Mohammad (Universities Space Research Association Huntsville, AL, United States)
Date Acquired
August 25, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2010
Publication Information
Publication: Journal of Coastal Research
Publisher: Coastal Education and Research Foundation
Subject Category
Earth Resources And Remote Sensing
Report/Patent Number
M10-0432
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.

Related Records

There are no records associated with this record.
No Preview Available