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S. Jeffress Williams

S. Jeffress Williams, a senior scientist emeritus, research coastal marine geologist with the USGS Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, Woods Hole, MA, has focused his research career on understanding the geologic history and processes of coastal, estuarine, wetland, and inner continental shelf regions.

He has more than 50 years research experience investigating topics on the geologic origins and development of coastal, continental shelf, and estuarine regions, Great Lakes coastal systems, Holocene sea-level history, climate-change effects on coasts, and the geologic origins and character of marine sand bodies. Williams has led or participated in more than 80 field studies along the Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, Pacific, Great Lakes coasts, and the Irish Sea, UK and been principal investigator on many offshore geologic mapping investigations. Williams was awarded the Coastal Zone Foundation Award for career achievement in coastal science, the USGS 40-year career service award and career achievement awards for natural resources research from the Eastern Regional Director of the National Park Service and the Director of the NPS. Williams has authored more than 350 scientific publications and been a member on many national and state science committees. In addition, he is a frequent lecturer at scientific meetings, state and local legislatures, and civic groups on coastal topics. Williams directed the USGS Coastal and Marine Geology Program from 1996 to 2000. Prior to joining the USGS, Williams was a research marine geologist with the Coastal Engineering Research Center and an invited visiting scientist at the Institute of Oceanographic Sciences, Taunton, UK. He earned degrees in geology and oceanography.

Professional Experience

  • Present- 2010 Senior scientist emeritus, USGS/WHSC

    Present- 2010 Professional coastal scientist, consultant

    2015-2010 Affiliate Faculty, Un.of Hawaii, Geology Department

    2010- 2000 Senior research coastal-marine geologist, USGS/WHSC

    2000- 1996 Director, USGS Coastal and Marine Geology Program

    1996-1993 Research geologist, USGS

    1993-1987 Co-coordinator, USGS National Coastal Geology Program

Education and Certifications

  • MS Lehigh University

    BS Allegheny College

Affiliations and Memberships*

  • Organized and co-chaired a special session, “Coasts in Crisis: Sea Level Rise and Inundation and the Drivers for Adaptation”, 2016 AGU Ocean Sciences Mtg.

    Invited technical expert, Hawaii Sea-Level R

Science and Products

Atlas of shoreline changes from 1853 to 1989 : Louisiana barrier island erosion study Atlas of shoreline changes from 1853 to 1989 : Louisiana barrier island erosion study

No abstract available.
USGS scientists J. Alton Anderson and Dennis W. Risser prepare to collect a full-waveform sonic log from a 1,000-foot deep strat
USGS scientists prepare to collect a full-waveform sonic log
USGS scientists prepare to collect a full-waveform sonic log
USGS scientists J. Alton Anderson and Dennis W. Risser prepare to collect a full-waveform sonic log from a 1,000-foot deep strat

USGS scientists prepare to collect a full-waveform sonic log

USGS scientists prepare to collect a full-waveform sonic log

USGS scientists J. Alton Anderson and Dennis W. Risser prepare to collect a full-waveform sonic log from a 1,000-foot deep stratigraphic test hole drilled by the Pennsylvania Geological Survey at the edge of a Marcellus Shale production well pad in Lycoming County, PA.

By
Water Resources Mission Area, Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center, Communications and Publishing
USGS scientists J. Alton Anderson and Dennis W. Risser prepare to collect a full-waveform sonic log from a 1,000-foot deep strat

USGS scientists prepare to collect a full-waveform sonic log

USGS scientists prepare to collect a full-waveform sonic log

USGS scientists J. Alton Anderson and Dennis W. Risser prepare to collect a full-waveform sonic log from a 1,000-foot deep stratigraphic test hole drilled by the Pennsylvania Geological Survey at the edge of a Marcellus Shale production well pad in Lycoming County, PA.

By
Water Resources Mission Area, Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center, Communications and Publishing
Filter Total Items: 102

Mercury concentrations in Seaside Sparrows and Marsh Rice Rats differ across the Mississippi River Estuary Mercury concentrations in Seaside Sparrows and Marsh Rice Rats differ across the Mississippi River Estuary

Mercury (Hg) concentrations and their associated toxicological effects in terrestrial ecosystems of the Gulf of Mexico are largely unknown. Compounding this uncertainty, a large input of organic matter from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill may have altered Hg cycling and bioaccumulation dynamics. To test this idea, we quantified blood concentrations of total mercury (THg) in Seaside...
Authors
Andrea Bonisoli-Alquati, Allyson K. Jackson, Collin A. Eagles-Smith, Sydney Moyo, Anna A. Pérez-Umphre, Michael J. Polito, Allison M. Snider, S. Tyler Williams, Stefan Woltmann, Philip C. Stouffer, Sabrina S. Taylor
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Persistence-based area prioritization for conservation: Applying occupancy and habitat threats and risks analyses Persistence-based area prioritization for conservation: Applying occupancy and habitat threats and risks analyses

Effective habitat conservation is predicated on maintaining high levels or increasing local persistence probability of the species it purports to protect. Thus, methodological approaches that improve the inferential value of local persistence are of utmost value to guide conservation planning as they inform area selection processes. Herein we used the painted bunting Passerina ciris, a...
Authors
L. M. Yirka, Jaime A. Collazo, S. G. Williams, D. T. Cobb
By
Cooperative Research Units

Coastal landforms and processes at the Cape Cod National Seashore, Massachusetts—A primer Coastal landforms and processes at the Cape Cod National Seashore, Massachusetts—A primer

Anyone who spends more than a few days on Cape Cod (the Cape) quickly becomes a coastal geologist, quickly learning the rhythms of daily tides and the seasonal cycles of beaches growing and being swept away by storms; swimmers and surfers track how the breakers appear, and dog-walkers notice the hard-packed sand blanketed overnight by an airy layer that leaves deep labored tracks...
Authors
Graham S. Giese, S. Jeffress Williams, Mark Adams
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

The potential for sea-level-rise-induced barrier island loss: Insights from the Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana, USA The potential for sea-level-rise-induced barrier island loss: Insights from the Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana, USA

As sea level rises and hurricanes become more intense, barrier islands around the world become increasingly vulnerable to conversion from self-sustaining migrating landforms to submerging or subaqueous sand bodies. To explore the mechanism by which such state changes occur and to assess the factors leading to island disintegration, we develop a suite of numerical simulations for the...
Authors
Laura J. Moore, Kiki Patsch, Jeffrey H. List, S. Jeffress Williams
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Introduction to the special issue on “Understanding and predicting change in the coastal ecosystems of the northern Gulf of Mexico” Introduction to the special issue on “Understanding and predicting change in the coastal ecosystems of the northern Gulf of Mexico”

The coastal region of the northern Gulf of Mexico owes its current landscape structure to an array of tectonic, erosional and depositional, climatic, geochemical, hydrological, ecological, and human processes that have resulted in some of the world's most complex, dynamic, productive, and threatened ecosystems. Catastrophic hurricane landfalls, ongoing subsidence and erosion exacerbated...
Authors
John Brock, John A. Barras, S. Jeffress Williams
By
St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, Coastal Changes and Impacts, Coastal National Elevation Database (CoNED) Applications Project, Gulf of America

Character of shell beds flanking Herod Point Shoal, southeastern Long Island Sound, New York Character of shell beds flanking Herod Point Shoal, southeastern Long Island Sound, New York

High biogenic productivity, strong tidal currents, shoal topography, and short transport distances combine to favor shell-bed formation along the lower flanks of a cape-associated shoal off Herod Point on Long Island, New York. This shell bed has a densely packed, clast-supported fabric composed largely of undegraded surf clam (Spisula solidissima) valves. It is widest along the central...
Authors
Lawrence J. Poppe, S. Jeffress Williams, Ivar G. Babb
By
Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Barriers on the brink? The complex intertwined roles of geologic framework, sediment availability and sea-level rise in island evolution Barriers on the brink? The complex intertwined roles of geologic framework, sediment availability and sea-level rise in island evolution

Sensitivity experiments in the North Carolina Outer Banks (OBX) have previously revealed that substrate sand proportion, followed by substrate slope, sea-level rise rate and sediment-loss rate are the most important factors in determining how barrier islands respond to sea-level rise. High sediment-loss rates and low substrate sand proportions cause barriers to be smaller and more deeply...
Authors
Laura Moore, Jeffrey H. List, S. Jeffress Williams, Kiki Patsch
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Coastal vulnerability assessment of the Northern Gulf of Mexico to sea-level rise and coastal change Coastal vulnerability assessment of the Northern Gulf of Mexico to sea-level rise and coastal change

A coastal vulnerability index (CVI) was used to map the relative vulnerability of the coast to future sea-level rise along the Northern Gulf of Mexico from Galveston, TX, to Panama City, FL. The CVI ranks the following in terms of their physical contribution to sea-level rise-related coastal change: geomorphology, regional coastal slope, rate of relative sea-level rise, historical...
Authors
E.A. Pendleton, J.A. Barras, S.J. Williams, D.C. Twichell
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

A review of sediment budget imbalances along Fire Island, New York: Can nearshore geologic framework and patterns of shoreline change explain the deficit? A review of sediment budget imbalances along Fire Island, New York: Can nearshore geologic framework and patterns of shoreline change explain the deficit?

Sediment budget analyses conducted for annual to decadal timescales report variable magnitudes of littoral transport along the south shore of Long Island, New York. It is well documented that the primary transport component is directed alongshore from east to west, but relatively little information has been reported concerning the directions or magnitudes of cross-shore components. Our...
Authors
Cheryl J. Hapke, Erika E. Lentz, Paul T. Gayes, Clayton A. McCoy, Rachel E. Henderson, William C. Schwab, S. Jeffress Williams
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Eastern Ecological Science Center

Complexities in barrier island response to sea level rise: Insights from numerical model experiments, North Carolina Outer Banks Complexities in barrier island response to sea level rise: Insights from numerical model experiments, North Carolina Outer Banks

Using a morphological-behavior model to conduct sensitivity experiments, we investigate the sea level rise response of a complex coastal environment to changes in a variety of factors. Experiments reveal that substrate composition, followed in rank order by substrate slope, sea level rise rate, and sediment supply rate, are the most important factors in determining barrier island...
Authors
Laura J. Moore, Jeffrey H. List, S. Jeffress Williams, David Stolper
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Sedimentary basins reconnaissance using the magnetic Tilt-Depth method Sedimentary basins reconnaissance using the magnetic Tilt-Depth method

We compute the depth to the top of magnetic basement using the Tilt-Depth method from the best available magnetic anomaly grids covering the continental USA and Australia. For the USA, the Tilt-Depth estimates were compared with sediment thicknesses based on drilling data and show a correlation of 0.86 between the datasets. If random data were used then the correlation value goes to...
Authors
A. Salem, S. Williams, E. Samson, D. Fairhead, D. Ravat, R.J. Blakely

Mississippi River delta plain, Louisiana coast, and inner shelf Holocene geologic framework, processes, and resources Mississippi River delta plain, Louisiana coast, and inner shelf Holocene geologic framework, processes, and resources

Extending nearly 400 km from Sabine Pass on the Texas-Louisiana border east to the Chandeleur Islands, the Louisiana coastal zone (Fig. 11.1) along the north-central Gulf of Mexico is the southern terminus of the largest drainage basin in North America (>3.3 million km2), which includes the Mississippi River delta plain where approximately 6.2 million kilograms per year of sediment is...
Authors
S. Jeffress Williams, Mark Kulp, Shea Penland, Jack L. Kindinger, James G. Flocks
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center

Science and Products

Atlas of shoreline changes from 1853 to 1989 : Louisiana barrier island erosion study Atlas of shoreline changes from 1853 to 1989 : Louisiana barrier island erosion study

No abstract available.
USGS scientists J. Alton Anderson and Dennis W. Risser prepare to collect a full-waveform sonic log from a 1,000-foot deep strat
USGS scientists prepare to collect a full-waveform sonic log
USGS scientists prepare to collect a full-waveform sonic log
USGS scientists J. Alton Anderson and Dennis W. Risser prepare to collect a full-waveform sonic log from a 1,000-foot deep strat

USGS scientists prepare to collect a full-waveform sonic log

USGS scientists prepare to collect a full-waveform sonic log

USGS scientists J. Alton Anderson and Dennis W. Risser prepare to collect a full-waveform sonic log from a 1,000-foot deep stratigraphic test hole drilled by the Pennsylvania Geological Survey at the edge of a Marcellus Shale production well pad in Lycoming County, PA.

By
Water Resources Mission Area, Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center, Communications and Publishing
USGS scientists J. Alton Anderson and Dennis W. Risser prepare to collect a full-waveform sonic log from a 1,000-foot deep strat

USGS scientists prepare to collect a full-waveform sonic log

USGS scientists prepare to collect a full-waveform sonic log

USGS scientists J. Alton Anderson and Dennis W. Risser prepare to collect a full-waveform sonic log from a 1,000-foot deep stratigraphic test hole drilled by the Pennsylvania Geological Survey at the edge of a Marcellus Shale production well pad in Lycoming County, PA.

By
Water Resources Mission Area, Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center, Communications and Publishing
Filter Total Items: 102

Mercury concentrations in Seaside Sparrows and Marsh Rice Rats differ across the Mississippi River Estuary Mercury concentrations in Seaside Sparrows and Marsh Rice Rats differ across the Mississippi River Estuary

Mercury (Hg) concentrations and their associated toxicological effects in terrestrial ecosystems of the Gulf of Mexico are largely unknown. Compounding this uncertainty, a large input of organic matter from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill may have altered Hg cycling and bioaccumulation dynamics. To test this idea, we quantified blood concentrations of total mercury (THg) in Seaside...
Authors
Andrea Bonisoli-Alquati, Allyson K. Jackson, Collin A. Eagles-Smith, Sydney Moyo, Anna A. Pérez-Umphre, Michael J. Polito, Allison M. Snider, S. Tyler Williams, Stefan Woltmann, Philip C. Stouffer, Sabrina S. Taylor
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center

Persistence-based area prioritization for conservation: Applying occupancy and habitat threats and risks analyses Persistence-based area prioritization for conservation: Applying occupancy and habitat threats and risks analyses

Effective habitat conservation is predicated on maintaining high levels or increasing local persistence probability of the species it purports to protect. Thus, methodological approaches that improve the inferential value of local persistence are of utmost value to guide conservation planning as they inform area selection processes. Herein we used the painted bunting Passerina ciris, a...
Authors
L. M. Yirka, Jaime A. Collazo, S. G. Williams, D. T. Cobb
By
Cooperative Research Units

Coastal landforms and processes at the Cape Cod National Seashore, Massachusetts—A primer Coastal landforms and processes at the Cape Cod National Seashore, Massachusetts—A primer

Anyone who spends more than a few days on Cape Cod (the Cape) quickly becomes a coastal geologist, quickly learning the rhythms of daily tides and the seasonal cycles of beaches growing and being swept away by storms; swimmers and surfers track how the breakers appear, and dog-walkers notice the hard-packed sand blanketed overnight by an airy layer that leaves deep labored tracks...
Authors
Graham S. Giese, S. Jeffress Williams, Mark Adams
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

The potential for sea-level-rise-induced barrier island loss: Insights from the Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana, USA The potential for sea-level-rise-induced barrier island loss: Insights from the Chandeleur Islands, Louisiana, USA

As sea level rises and hurricanes become more intense, barrier islands around the world become increasingly vulnerable to conversion from self-sustaining migrating landforms to submerging or subaqueous sand bodies. To explore the mechanism by which such state changes occur and to assess the factors leading to island disintegration, we develop a suite of numerical simulations for the...
Authors
Laura J. Moore, Kiki Patsch, Jeffrey H. List, S. Jeffress Williams
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Introduction to the special issue on “Understanding and predicting change in the coastal ecosystems of the northern Gulf of Mexico” Introduction to the special issue on “Understanding and predicting change in the coastal ecosystems of the northern Gulf of Mexico”

The coastal region of the northern Gulf of Mexico owes its current landscape structure to an array of tectonic, erosional and depositional, climatic, geochemical, hydrological, ecological, and human processes that have resulted in some of the world's most complex, dynamic, productive, and threatened ecosystems. Catastrophic hurricane landfalls, ongoing subsidence and erosion exacerbated...
Authors
John Brock, John A. Barras, S. Jeffress Williams
By
St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center, Coastal Changes and Impacts, Coastal National Elevation Database (CoNED) Applications Project, Gulf of America

Character of shell beds flanking Herod Point Shoal, southeastern Long Island Sound, New York Character of shell beds flanking Herod Point Shoal, southeastern Long Island Sound, New York

High biogenic productivity, strong tidal currents, shoal topography, and short transport distances combine to favor shell-bed formation along the lower flanks of a cape-associated shoal off Herod Point on Long Island, New York. This shell bed has a densely packed, clast-supported fabric composed largely of undegraded surf clam (Spisula solidissima) valves. It is widest along the central...
Authors
Lawrence J. Poppe, S. Jeffress Williams, Ivar G. Babb
By
Coastal and Marine Hazards and Resources Program, Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Barriers on the brink? The complex intertwined roles of geologic framework, sediment availability and sea-level rise in island evolution Barriers on the brink? The complex intertwined roles of geologic framework, sediment availability and sea-level rise in island evolution

Sensitivity experiments in the North Carolina Outer Banks (OBX) have previously revealed that substrate sand proportion, followed by substrate slope, sea-level rise rate and sediment-loss rate are the most important factors in determining how barrier islands respond to sea-level rise. High sediment-loss rates and low substrate sand proportions cause barriers to be smaller and more deeply...
Authors
Laura Moore, Jeffrey H. List, S. Jeffress Williams, Kiki Patsch
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Coastal vulnerability assessment of the Northern Gulf of Mexico to sea-level rise and coastal change Coastal vulnerability assessment of the Northern Gulf of Mexico to sea-level rise and coastal change

A coastal vulnerability index (CVI) was used to map the relative vulnerability of the coast to future sea-level rise along the Northern Gulf of Mexico from Galveston, TX, to Panama City, FL. The CVI ranks the following in terms of their physical contribution to sea-level rise-related coastal change: geomorphology, regional coastal slope, rate of relative sea-level rise, historical...
Authors
E.A. Pendleton, J.A. Barras, S.J. Williams, D.C. Twichell
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

A review of sediment budget imbalances along Fire Island, New York: Can nearshore geologic framework and patterns of shoreline change explain the deficit? A review of sediment budget imbalances along Fire Island, New York: Can nearshore geologic framework and patterns of shoreline change explain the deficit?

Sediment budget analyses conducted for annual to decadal timescales report variable magnitudes of littoral transport along the south shore of Long Island, New York. It is well documented that the primary transport component is directed alongshore from east to west, but relatively little information has been reported concerning the directions or magnitudes of cross-shore components. Our...
Authors
Cheryl J. Hapke, Erika E. Lentz, Paul T. Gayes, Clayton A. McCoy, Rachel E. Henderson, William C. Schwab, S. Jeffress Williams
By
Ecosystems Mission Area, Eastern Ecological Science Center

Complexities in barrier island response to sea level rise: Insights from numerical model experiments, North Carolina Outer Banks Complexities in barrier island response to sea level rise: Insights from numerical model experiments, North Carolina Outer Banks

Using a morphological-behavior model to conduct sensitivity experiments, we investigate the sea level rise response of a complex coastal environment to changes in a variety of factors. Experiments reveal that substrate composition, followed in rank order by substrate slope, sea level rise rate, and sediment supply rate, are the most important factors in determining barrier island...
Authors
Laura J. Moore, Jeffrey H. List, S. Jeffress Williams, David Stolper
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center

Sedimentary basins reconnaissance using the magnetic Tilt-Depth method Sedimentary basins reconnaissance using the magnetic Tilt-Depth method

We compute the depth to the top of magnetic basement using the Tilt-Depth method from the best available magnetic anomaly grids covering the continental USA and Australia. For the USA, the Tilt-Depth estimates were compared with sediment thicknesses based on drilling data and show a correlation of 0.86 between the datasets. If random data were used then the correlation value goes to...
Authors
A. Salem, S. Williams, E. Samson, D. Fairhead, D. Ravat, R.J. Blakely

Mississippi River delta plain, Louisiana coast, and inner shelf Holocene geologic framework, processes, and resources Mississippi River delta plain, Louisiana coast, and inner shelf Holocene geologic framework, processes, and resources

Extending nearly 400 km from Sabine Pass on the Texas-Louisiana border east to the Chandeleur Islands, the Louisiana coastal zone (Fig. 11.1) along the north-central Gulf of Mexico is the southern terminus of the largest drainage basin in North America (>3.3 million km2), which includes the Mississippi River delta plain where approximately 6.2 million kilograms per year of sediment is...
Authors
S. Jeffress Williams, Mark Kulp, Shea Penland, Jack L. Kindinger, James G. Flocks
By
Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center, St. Petersburg Coastal and Marine Science Center

*Disclaimer: Listing outside positions with professional scientific organizations on this Staff Profile are for informational purposes only and do not constitute an endorsement of those professional scientific organizations or their activities by the USGS, Department of the Interior, or U.S. Government

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