Virginia Coast Reserve LTER

How do slow, progressive environmental changes (such as sea level rise) interact with brief disturbances (including intense waves and storms) to shape our seaside landscape? We are trying to find out!

Since the mid 1980s, scientists from over half a dozen universities have worked together through the Virginia Coast Resever (VCR) Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) program to better understand barrier islands, coastal forests, salt marshes, oyster reefs, and seagrass meadows.  

Our goal is to not only UNDERSTAND how coastal systems work, but also to PREDICT how they may function or change in the future due to a changing climate, sea level rise, and land usage.  We also connect any of those changes to the ecological and economic services the coastal barrier island system provides to you (such as storm protection, flood control, fisheries habitat, tourism).  

Beyond VA's coast, we are connected to a national network of LTER sites, studying and comparing environments all over world.