Projected Seafloor Elevation Change in the Upper Florida Keys 25, 50, 75 and 100 Years from 2002

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center conducted research to quantify the combined effect of all constructive and destructive processes on modern coral reef ecosystems by measuring regional-scale changes in seafloor elevation in the Upper Florida Keys, Florida (FL), including both coral-dominated habitats and adjacent, non-coral-dominated habitats. USGS staff used historical bathymetric data from the 1930's and light detection and ranging (lidar)-derived data acquired in 2002 to calculate changes in seafloor elevation (Yates and others, 2017). Using these changes in seafloor elevation, further analyses were conducted that calculated annual erosion rates and utilized those results to project seafloor elevation changes 25, 50, 75, and 100 years from 2002. Data were collected under Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary permit FKNMS-2016-068. For more information visit: Yates, K. K., Zawada, D. G., Smiley, N. A., and Tiling-Range, G., 2017, Divergence of seafloor elevation and sea level rise in coral reef ecosystems: Biogeosciences, v. 14, p. 1739-1772, https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-14-1739-2017.