Living shorelines' is a term used to define a number of shoreline protection options that allow for natural coastal processes to remain through the strategic placement of plants, stone, sand fill, and other structural and organic materials.The goal is to retain much of the wind, tide, and storm-related wave protection of a hard structure, while maintaining some of the features of natural shorelines.

This report represents a general overview of the primary causes and consequences of coastal land loss. Most of the examples and references are from states bordering the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean where the largest magnitudes and highest rates of coastal land losses in the United States are recorded (Dahl, 2000). The report serves as an introductory guide to the topics and literature on coastal land loss, and acts as a link to ongoing research being conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey.

Drawing on decades of experience in marine and coastal pollution research, Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) undertook a collaborative project with Ocean Conservancy (OC) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Marine Debris Program (NOAA MDP) to better understand marine debris within the United States.

This video describes methods for conducting an exploratory analysis of historical water quality data collected from a water distribution system using online monitoring instruments. It also describes how source water constituents of concern can be estimated in near-real-time using continuous water-quality data.

Although trash heaps are easier to spot in waterways, microplastics - pieces of plastic smaller than five millimeters - have started to stir more concern. Acting as sponges, the pieces soak up the chemicals around them and often make their way through the food chain, ending up on dinner plates. Most microplastics are created over time from larger pieces or directly from microbeads in products like face washes or toothpaste.

Ten years ago, as news of the BP oil disaster reached Louisiana's Grand Bayou Indian Village, Rosina Philippe dispatched her brother Maurice Phillips on a reconnaissance mission. Phillips pointed his flatboat toward the Gulf of Mexico and motored through a series of canals and inlets until he reached a fertile fishing ground called Bay Jimmy, eight miles from home. He returned with a passenger: a brown pelican, alive but slathered in petroleum. Philippe and her brother belong to the Atakapa-Ishak/Chawasha Tribe.

Aerial photo of Isle de Jean Charles in 1963 from the USGS. Click for photos of Isle de Jean Charles in 1978, 1993, 1998, 2008, and 2010.

In addition to restoration by volunteers, PC also utilizes aerial seeding techinques. If successful the seeds spread by airplane will grow into towering swamp trees, which will help to rebuild swamp habitat and will also protect surrounding communities from storm surge.

Over the last 100 years, agricultural expansion and intensification has led to changes in water quality and the health of stream ecosystems. Considerable increases in fertilizer and pesticide use began in the 1960s. In 2010, about 11 billion kilograms of nitrogen fertilizer and 300 million kilograms of pesticides were used annually to enhance crop production or control pests.

In this WDSU news segment from 2018, "the [Pontchartrain Conservancy] advises the public of algae bloom in the Northwest corner of Lake Pontchartrain."