Simulation of Water-Table and Freshwater/Saltwater Interface Response to Climate-Change-Driven Sea-Level Rise and Changes in Recharge at Fire Island National Seashore, New York
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- Document: Report (21.2 MB pdf)
- Related Works:
- Scientific Investigations Report 2020–5080 - Simulation of Water-Table Response to Sea-Level Rise and Change in Recharge, Sandy Hook Unit, Gateway National Recreation Area, New Jersey
- Scientific Investigations Report 2020–5104 - Simulated Effects of Sea-Level Rise on the Shallow, Fresh Groundwater System of Assateague Island, Maryland and Virginia
- Data Release: USGS data release - MODFLOW-NWT model used to simulate water-table and freshwater/saltwater interface response to climate-change-driven sea-level rise and changes in recharge at the Fire Island National Seashore, New York
- Download citation as: RIS | Dublin Core
Abstract
The fresh groundwater system at Fire Island National Seashore in New York is one of the natural resources that is most vulnerable to climate change; the various federally listed threatened or endangered species that live on Fire Island, including the piping plover, roseate tern shorebird, and seabeach amaranth may be affected by changes in the groundwater system. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the National Park Service, developed a three-dimensional groundwater-flow model to simulate climate-change-related changes in depth to the water table and depth to freshwater/saltwater interfaces on Fire Island. An existing SEAWAT three-dimensional variable-density groundwater flow and transport model was converted to a MODFLOW–NWT three-dimensional finite-difference groundwater model with the Seawater Intrusion (SWI2) package and recalibrated using the UCODE_2005 automatic calibration software. The simulated groundwater divide was found to be skewed strongly toward the ocean shore in response to the modeled wave setup and tidal pumping overheight.
Effects of climate change include sea-level rise and changes in groundwater recharge rates. Sea-level rise scenarios included specified uniform steady states at 0.2-, 0.4-, and 0.6-meter increases above the 2015 level, applied to the existing topography. A high-recharge scenario was created by increasing 2015 recharge rates by 10 percent. Under all scenarios except the low-recharge scenario, the depth to the water table and the thickness of the unsaturated zone decreased. The thickness of the freshwater lens decreased under every scenario. Resulting maps were generated on a 25-meter grid and indicate changes in areas where natural resources may be vulnerable because of projected climate changes.
Suggested Citation
Misut, P.E., and Dressler, S., 2021, Simulation of water-table and freshwater/saltwater interface response to climate-change-driven sea-level rise and changes in recharge at Fire Island National Seashore, New York: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2020–5117, 47 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20205117.
ISSN: 2328-0328 (online)
Study Area
Table of Contents
- Acknowledgments
- Abstract
- Introduction
- Hydrogeologic Framework
- Results of Shallow Groundwater Flow System Simulations of Fire Island
- Summary
- References Cited
- Appendix 1. Groundwater-Flow Model Design and Calibration
Publication type | Report |
---|---|
Publication Subtype | USGS Numbered Series |
Title | Simulation of water-table and freshwater/saltwater interface response to climate-change-driven sea-level rise and changes in recharge at Fire Island National Seashore, New York |
Series title | Scientific Investigations Report |
Series number | 2020-5117 |
DOI | 10.3133/sir20205117 |
Year Published | 2021 |
Language | English |
Publisher | U.S. Geological Survey |
Publisher location | Reston, VA |
Contributing office(s) | New York Water Science Center |
Description | Report: vii, 47 p.; Data Release |
Country | United States |
State | New York |
Other Geospatial | Fire Island National Seashore |
Online Only (Y/N) | Y |
Additional Online Files (Y/N) | N |
Google Analytic Metrics | Metrics page |