Bathymetry

The United States has an interest in knowing the full extent of its continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles from shore (called the extended continental shelf, or ECS) so that it can better protect, manage and use the resources of the seabed and subsoil contained therein. The USGS contributes to the ECS effort through membership and leadership on the interagency U.S. ECS Task Force, a group...

The impacts of climate change and sea-level rise around the Pacific and Arctic Oceans can vary tremendously. Thus far the vast majority of national and international impact assessments and models of coastal climate change have focused on low-relief coastlines that are not near seismically active zones. Furthermore, the degree to which extreme waves and wind will add further stress to coastal...

The west coast of the United States is extremely complex and changeable because of tectonic activity, mountain building, and land subsidence. These active environments pose a major challenge for accurately assessing climate change impacts, since models were historically developed for more passive sandy coasts.

Learn about the USGS Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center Marine Facility’s vast array of field equipment, sampling devices, and mapping systems, and our capabilities. Our engineers, designers, mechanics, and technicians have also designed and developed some of the specialized field equipment we use in field operations in the nearshore, in the deep sea, and on land.

Bathymetry of a dynamic tidal estuary, such as San Francisco Bay, provides the observable linkage between anthropogenic modifications of the landscape—such as evolving land use practices, flood control, and water diversions—and natural forces of climate-driven river flow, sea level change, tides, and wind. By examining our record of hydrographic surveys, spanning over 150 years, we can gain...

The primary objective of this task is to develop tools for predicting the long-term geomorphic evolution of estuaries. Sediment core and historical change analysis will be used in combination with interpretation of high-resolution seismic profiles to develop tools for predicting geomorphic evolution of estuaries. Historical change analysis will use hydrographic and lidar data. Longer-term data...

The USGS is working in partnership with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and the State of California Ocean Protection Council (OPC) to evaluate sand and gravel resources in Federal and State waters for potential use in future beach nourishment projects. Prior to the leasing and development of outer continental shelf (OCS) sand resources for use in beach restoration or coastal...

The ITER Systems SWATHplus 234 kHz is an interferometric bathymetric survey tool for surveys in water depths from 1 to 200 meters.

The Teledyne Reson 7111 is a multibeam echosounder system that produces bathymetry, or depth, data in deep water.