Georgia Coast Atlas: A Portal To Hidden Stories

Press release from Emory University:

By Carol Clark | Emory University

The Georgia Coast Atlas is a public, online gateway to the dynamic ecosystems and intriguing history of the state’s 100-mile-long coast and barrier islands. Emory University’s Department of Environmental Sciences and the Emory Center for Digital Scholarship launched the ambitious project. It showcases scholarship in science and the humanities, weaving together research, fieldwork and technology to create an unprecedented resource for educators, conservationists, students and the general public.

The interactive trove — made up of stunning flyover video, oral and written stories and annotated maps — keeps expanding through the efforts of Emory students and faculty.

“The main aim of the Atlas is to show how special the Georgia coast is as a place,” says Anthony Martin, a professor of practice in Environmental Sciences. “Secondly, it documents how the region is rapidly changing.”

Jessie Moore Torres contributed research as an Emory undergraduate, majoring in environmental sciences. She focused on three little-known islands at the mouth of the Altamaha River — Wolf, Egg and Little Egg — providing a detailed picture of their role in the coastal ecosystems. She also conducted an in-depth spatial analysis, combining historical aerial photos she uncovered in archives and modern satellite data, to show how the shorelines of Wolf and Egg eroded in recent decades.

“Few people know about these islands, because they are a U.S. National Wildlife Refuge and visitors aren’t allowed, but they’re an important nesting area for migratory birds and sea turtles,” says Torres, a native of Puerto Rico.

“The more people learn about the Georgia coast, the more likely they will want to take care of it," says Jessie Moore Torres, shown during a 2017 class field trip to Georgia's St. Catherines Island. She stands next to the roots of a massive toppled oak — one of many felled by the combined effects of sea-level rise, storms and a shifting shoreline.

“The more people learn about the Georgia coast, the more likely they will want to take care of it," says Jessie Moore Torres, shown during a 2017 class field trip to Georgia's St. Catherines Island. She stands next to the roots of a massive toppled oak — one of many felled by the combined effects of sea-level rise, storms and a shifting shoreline.

Torres was deep into the final throes of her Atlas project during her junior year, in the fall of 2017, when Hurricane Irma spun through the Caribbean. Although the Category 5 storm only grazed Puerto Rico, it cut power to more than 1 million residents of the island, before lashing Georgia, causing coastal flooding and storm surges. Irma, however, was just the warm-up act. Hurricane Maria arrived two weeks later, hitting Puerto Rico as a Category 4 storm and causing catastrophic damage. Waist-deep floods covered much of Torres’ hometown, the capital of San Juan, although she was relieved to learn that the apartment building where her mother lived was spared.

“It was a very intense semester, I can tell you that,” Torres says, describing the stress of following hurricane news while in Atlanta. “My mother kept telling me not to worry, to focus on my studies, but obviously I was worried watching images of massive clouds about to hit San Juan. It shocked me. But it also inspired me to do the best job I could with my research.”

The barrier islands of Georgia, she explains, like the mangroves and coral reefs of Puerto Rico, are critical to buffer the impact of storms. “We need to protect coastal habitats — for the benefit of wildlife and of people,” Torres says.

This press release was produced by Emory University. The views expressed here are the author’s own.